Aug 26 UFC 134 Silva vs Okami Preview:

In the birthplace of Brazilian Jiu Jitsu, the UFC has put together a stacked card for this momentous event as the UFC brings UFC 134 to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil this Saturday. From top to bottom this card is littered with amazing matchups that hard core fans are drooling to see.  We breakdown which fights have mainstream appeal, the main reason why fight fans will pay 50$ or more to watch.

Anderson Silva vs Yushin Okami – UFC Middleweight Championship match

Defending champion  Anderson “Spider” Silva will finally get his chance to avenge the 4^th loss and last loss of his career, a loss that happened over 5 years and 14 fights ago. The marketing people are making a big deal out of the fact that this was Anderson Silva’s last loss, and they appear to be some of the rare few who are. More importantly, Anderson Silva is not making a big deal out of it. Never before has he been asked to avenge any of his previous three losses, and now he faces a contender to which he didn’t actually lose against. The upkick Silva scored while Okami’s knees were on the ground was illegal, and the blow was so devasting, that there was no way Yushin could have continued. But Anderson was never in trouble in that fight. Since then, Silva has gone on to decimate UFC champions, fight in 2 different weight classes, and almost never lose in a round in which he actually gave a shit.

Yushin Okami followed up his “win” against Anderson Silva by losing to Jake Shields, and added loses to Rich Franklin and Chael Sonnen, both of whom lost to Anderson Silva. He still racked up 12 wins against mostly solid opponents in a somewhat decent fashion, but fans should consider this a tune up a super fight for Anderson Silva against who people hope is Jon Bones Jones.

Keys to victory for Yushin Okami: Strike with Silva enough to use what may be superior take down skills and get Anderson Silva on the ground. He may not be able to submit Silva, but he may be able to win 3 wins by staying in a dominant position.

Keys to victory for Anderson Silva:  Show up.

Prediction: Anderson Silva by TKO in round 3

Mauricio “Shogun” Rua vs Forrest Griffin

I think this is a match that many really want to see, and the match that could steal the show. Rua was once considered one of the most dangerous fighters on the planet. He was young, he was fast, and he was brutal. But when he came into the UFC, he was anything but those qualities in his first fight against Griffin. We found out later why, when he was out of commission for an extended period due to an injury that required surgery, surgery which he postponed because he did not want to miss out on his debut. Well, unless history repeats itself, Forrest will not have the luxary of fighting a Rua who is less than 50%. This version of Shogun will be in front of his family, in front of his friend, and in front of his country.

Keys to victory for  Forrest Griffin:  Forrest Griffin is a big man who isn’t afraid of anything or anyone. He won’t care if he faces a completely different Shogun, a fact he most likely expects. He is a very intelligent fighter who may have seen some weaknesses he could exploit in Rua’s last fight against Jon Bones Jones. If Griffin can weather the storm through what I expect will be a series of barrages from Rua, and try and use his jab and kicks to keep some distance and set his own pace, he may be able to outpoint Shogun in this match

Keys to victory for Mauricio Rua: I’d like to just say “show up” again, but that’s not going to happen. Rua will be stronger and faster than the one who first faced Griffin, but he needs to be smarter than in his last few fights. Rua seems to run either too hot or too cold. He needs to run at the right temperature and just use his skills and be aggressive when it make sense.

Prediction: Rua by unanimous decision.

Canadiens on the Card

Yves “Tiger” Jabouin vs Ian Loveland

A very important fight for Yves Jabouin, in that he lost his debut in the UFC in his last fight, and has lost 3 of his last 4 overall under the Zuffa umbrella. The UFC has kept calling Jabouin back for the simple reason that win or lose, Yves Jabouin simply brings it. He is always a candidate for fight of the night, and one can only imagine how much more this Zahabi MMA trained athlete will bring to the table in Rio. If Yves can handling dropping in weight class down to bantamweight, this could be a fresh start for The Tiger!

Rest of the fight card

Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira vs. Brendan Schaub
Ross Pearson vs. Edson Barboza
Luiz Cane vs. Stanislav Nedkov
Spencer Fisher vs. Thiago Tavares
Rousimar Palhares vs. Dan Miller
Raphael Assuncao vs. Johnny Eduardo
Paulo Thiago vs. David Mitchell
Yuri Alcantara vs. Felipe Arantes
Erick Silva vs. Luis Ramos

Tags: Anderson Silva \ Forrest Griffin \ Mauricio Ruo \ MMA \ Shogun \ UFC \ Yushin Okami \ Yves Jabouin