RIO DE JANEIRO – If there was any doubt as to the level of UFC middleweight champion
Anderson Silva’s popularity in his native Brazil, it was erased when
“The Spider” hit the sand of Rio de Janeiro’s famed Copacabana beach for
Wednesday’s UFC 134 open workout session.
Hordes of supporters chanted his name (and hurled a few demeaning taunts
in the direction of Yushin Okami, Silva’s UFC 134 foe), and hundreds of
credentialed media members clamored for a spot next to the champ.
But could it all go away? Could an Okami upset
quell the incredible surge of popularity of MMA in the place largely
responsible for its birth?