Anderson Silva is still the best fighter in the world, and on Saturday night his Brazilian fans got to see it first hand.
Silva put on one of his textbook striking displays against Yushin Okami at UFC 134, winning a second-round technical knockout, thrilling the crowd in Rio de Janeiro and making a strong case that he’s the greatest champion the UFC has ever seen.
Silva is now 31-4 in his mixed martial arts career, including 14-0 in the UFC. His 14-fight streak is unmatched in UFC history.
The victory was revenge of a kind for Silva, as the last time Silva lost it was to Okami in a 2006 fight before either man had signed with the UFC. That loss was a controversial disqualification when Silva landed an illegal kick, but this time there was nothing controversial about it, it was just Silva showing he’s the best in the world at what he does.
“I train hard for the best guys in the world,” Silva said afterward. “I’m ready to fight.”
The first round didn’t have a lot of action, as Silva spent the early part of the round feeling Okami out on his feet and finding his range, and Okami and Silva clinched against the cage without landing any significant strikes for the middle part of the first round. It wasn’t until the end of the round that Silva started to let his strikes go, including a big head kick in the closing seconds, and that was enough to give an otherwise close round to Silva.
At the start of the second round Silva really started to bring it on, knocking Okami flat on his butt with a right jab, then letting Okami get back up only to batter him with more punches, including another right hand to knock Okami down again. This time Silva followed Okami to the ground and battered him repeatedly until referee Herb Dean stepped in to stop the fight.
Silva’s striking is on another level from the rest of the MMA world. He showed on Saturday night why he’s the best.
Anderson Silva is still the best fighter in the world, and on Saturday night his Brazilian fans got to see it first hand.
Silva put on one of his textbook striking displays against Yushin Okami at UFC 134, winning a second-round technical knockout, thrilling the crowd in Rio de Janeiro and making a strong case that he’s the greatest champion the UFC has ever seen.
Silva is now 31-4 in his mixed martial arts career, including 14-0 in the UFC. His 14-fight streak is unmatched in UFC history.
The victory was revenge of a kind for Silva, as the last time Silva lost it was to Okami in a 2006 fight before either man had signed with the UFC. That loss was a controversial disqualification when Silva landed an illegal kick, but this time there was nothing controversial about it, it was just Silva showing he’s the best in the world at what he does.
“I train hard for the best guys in the world,” Silva said afterward. “I’m ready to fight.”
The first round didn’t have a lot of action, as Silva spent the early part of the round feeling Okami out on his feet and finding his range, and Okami and Silva clinched against the cage without landing any significant strikes for the middle part of the first round. It wasn’t until the end of the round that Silva started to let his strikes go, including a big head kick in the closing seconds, and that was enough to give an otherwise close round to Silva.
At the start of the second round Silva really started to bring it on, knocking Okami flat on his butt with a right jab, then letting Okami get back up only to batter him with more punches, including another right hand to knock Okami down again. This time Silva followed Okami to the ground and battered him repeatedly until referee Herb Dean stepped in to stop the fight.
Silva’s striking is on another level from the rest of the MMA world. He showed on Saturday night why he’s the best.
Anderson Silva is still the best fighter in the world, and on Saturday night his Brazilian fans got to see it first hand.