The UFC returns to Brazil for only the second time in its
history where national hero Anderson The Spider Silva (30-4) defends his
middleweight title for an amazing 9th time at UFC 134 (his bout with Lutter at UFC 67
being a non title fight due to Lutter not making weight and his appearances vs
Irvin and Griffin taking place at Light Heavyweight). The Spider who has yet to
be defeated in the UFC has posted a whopping 13 fight winning streak and hopes
to continue his legacy by dismissing Okami come Saturday. The plot however
thickens, as Okami (26-5) just happens to be the last man to beat Silva, albeit
due to disqualification resulting from an illegal up kick back in 2006, in a
fight I believe Anderson was winning.
There are also a couple of other interesting fights slated
for the event. Here are my predictions for the main bouts
Anderson Silva vs Yushin Okami
While the UFC promoters do everything in their power create
hype and keep fights interesting, I believe they have their backs up against
the wall when it comes to Anderson Silva, who has made a mockery of opponents
time and time again. Although the Sonnen fight did expose a long suspected
chink in Silva’s armour, it also showed just what a great champion he is, when
all but defeated he managed to conjure up a miraculous triangle. I do not
believe that Yushin Okami has the same wrestling pedigree or complete disregard for
Silva’s abilities that Sonnen used to pressure the champion, without which this
fight could be a complete mismatch. I predict, after a one-sided opener, Silva
will knock Okami out in the second round to retain his Middleweight strap.
Mauricio Rua vs Forrest Griffin
This fight is an interesting one to call, as both fighters
have had mixed results in recent times, stringing both impressive and dismal
performances together with no real consistancy. Rua looked destined for
greatness as he rose to the challenge that was Lyoto Machida, but looked ordinary
in his title defence against Jon Jones earlier this year. Forrest Griffin was
completely outclassed by Silva in 2009, but bounced back with wins over Tito
Ortiz and Rich Franklin. A lot will depend on which fighters show up on the
night, though I envision history repeating itself as Forrest Griffin gets the
nod via decision.
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