|
|
|
Antebellum: UFC 134 Rio by Joe Maurits August 26, 2011 After 13 years, the world's biggest fight promotion is coming back to Brazil; the country that arguably has had the biggest influence on MMA and is home to the pioneers of the UFC brand and MMA as a whole; the Gracie family. MMA in Brazil is experiencing a renaissance brought about earlier this year by the UFC Middleweight Championship fight between Brazilian superstars Anderson "Spider" Silva and "The Phenom" Vitor Belfort. The frenzy continues tomorrow night during UFC 134: Rio. The card is stacked with a "who's who" of Brazilian fighters for the home crowd to cheer for; but it also packs a number of fights that are "required viewing" for any MMA fan. Let's take a look at them before the punches start flying. MAIN EVENT: Anderson "Spider" Silva vs. Yushin Okami - Middleweight Championship Background: Whether you agree with Dana White that Silva is the "Greatest of All Time" or not, it's hard to argue that Silva is a force to be reckoned with. With 14 straight wins (13 in the UFC) he holds the record for longest win streak and title defenses in the UFC. He hasn't lost a fight since 2006. The man that holds that distinction? Silva's opponent, Yushin Okami. Okami himself has acknowledged that his victory against Silva requires an asterisk, as the win came by DQ after Silva hit Okami with an illegal up kick, forcing the stoppage. Result: A lot of this depends on which Spider shows up to fight. If we get the Leites, Maia opponent, expect a boring fight and an angry Dana White. However, if the usual Silva shows up, expect nothing less than a true artist displaying his craft. Okami has acknowledged that Chael Sonnen had a good game plan against Silva, but he's also acknowledged he isn't Chael Sonnen. Okami's best bet is to get Silva down or against the cage to take away his range and movement and maybe grind out a decision after wearing Silva down. That won't happen. Expect the better striker to set the pace of the fight and catch Okami with a highlight worthy TKO. Prediction: Silva by TKO round 2 Mauricio "Shogun" Rua vs. Forrest Griffin Background: These two Light Heavyweights first met at UFC 76 in Shogun's first UFC fight after Pride was absorbed by Zuffa. At 4:45 of the 3rd round, Griffin shocked many as he forced Rua to tap to a Rear Naked Choke. A few qualifiers remain on this fight; Griffin was young and had a lot to prove; Rua, while young in age, was already a veteran of fighting some of the biggest names in MMA history. His body was showing the results. Fighting through an injury and questions about his conditioning seemed to be a major part of his defeat. These two square off now in a fight that can help propel the winner back into the contendership picture. Result: Watch any interview with Griffin these days and he seems to feel he's already lost. He's a great fighter and a funny guy; but he seems beat down. He classifies beating Shogun the first time as his 3rd greatest moment in the UFC (Behind the TUF 1 Finale and winning the belt). Seems he acknowledges the W over Shogun was maybe an impossible scenario. Will lightning strike twice? That depends on Rua. Coming off of a hard loss to champ Jon Jones, Shogun appears to be healthy and has hopefully taken his conditioning seriously leading up to this fight; Griffin is the type of fighter that seems to have a never ending gas tank. But overall, Rua looked utterly outclassed against Jones, so he should be on fire to redeem his last loss. If he can keep his stamina through 3 rounds, expect Shogun to claim this one easily. Prediction: Shogun by Unanimous Decision Antonio "Minotauro" Nogueira vs. Brendan Schaub Background: Big Nog' is one of the legends of the sport, and at 35 years of age, has fought in many wars both in Pride and later in the UFC. Unfortunately, it seems he's been on a little slide as of late, which may be the winding down of a storied career. His last loss to current Heavyweight Champ Cain Velasquez marked the first time Nogueira had ever been knocked out. However, we can’t count the Brazilian Jiu-jitsu as out yet. He's still got many tools in the octagon and a boatload of experience to rely on. Brendan Schaub is a finalist of season 10 of The Ultimate Fighter. His only defeat in the octagon has been in the finale of that season to winner Roy Nelson. Since then "The Hybrid" has won 4 straight, including a dominant performance over Gabriel Gonzaga and a devastating KO delivered to another legend, Mirko "Crocop" Filipovic. Result: While it's hard to ever count Minotauro out, he's facing a young, hungry fighter that has only once gone to decision and only twice made it out of the 1st round (granted, one of those times, it was him staring up at the lights). The Brazilian fans will be cheering for their legend, but ultimately, Schaub has a lot to prove and an arsenal of attacks to end the fight before it even goes to the ground, which is where Nogueira's strengths abound. That may make all the difference; after all, anything can happen in MMA. However, look for an explosive Schaub to put another retirement stamp on another MMA legend when he TKO's Minotauro this Saturday. Prediction: Schaub by TKO round 1 Check back here at MMAQuickHits.com early next week as we have our review and wrap up of what will certainly be a great night of fights. |