Author: Josh Martin

With his second-round TKO against Yushin Okami on Saturday in UFC 134, Anderson Silva continues to prove he’s the best fighter in the UFC.

After controlling the first round, and then taking over in the second, Silva recorded his ninth straight middleweight title defense and 14th straight win inside the Octagon, both UFC records.

His striking on Saturday was vintage Silva, after a period before the Vitor Belfort fight that had some questioning if his heart was still in it.

Well, it is.

Here are five reasons why Anderson Silva is the best fighter in the UFC:

1. The Streak

Dominance is not only measured by a couple rounds, it’s measured throughout a fighter’s career, and it marks consistency when someone like Silva goes on a 14-fight winning streak. Consistency is dominance, no doubt about it, and it distinguishes the great from the legendary.

2. Performance on the Big Stage

You can’t be the best fighter without being the champion. Silva has been the champion nine straight times, and nearly every defense has been heart-stopping. The pressure just doesn’t get to this guy. In fact, his dominance is apparent in his ability to raise his level of fighting when it truly matters most.

3. He’s Not the Most Strongest or Fastest

Saying someone is not the strongest and fastest fighter and declaring him the best fighter seems like an oxymoron. But, at 36 years of age, Silva still dominates despite not being in his peak physical form. That admirable, because it means he has mastered his craft. So many young fighters think you just have to be the biggest and fastest to make waves in the UFC. It’s not how quick you throw those strikes, it’s how they land.

4. We’re Trying to Find Flaws in His Style

After his fight with Chael Sonnen, murmurs began to surface of whether Silva was losing it. He did, after all, go five rounds with Sonnen. But that is what’s so absurd. Silva was in the midst of a historic streak and all we could focus on is that he didn’t win quickly. When you begin nitpicking like that, that’s when you know this guy is like some kind of freak video game character.

5. He Will Beat You Without His Best Stuff

There’s always going to come a time in a fighter’s career when he simply doesn’t have it in a particular fight. He’s not as explosive, has less rhythm than usual, simply isn’t himself, for whatever reason. Silva has predictably had some down fights, but he has still won, and sometimes won convincingly, despite the fact. The true greats know how to win when they don’t have their best stuff.

You have to be a little crazy to dominate inside the Octagon, there’s no denying that.

But the great fighters understand how to channel their energy and Rousimar Palhares has yet to comprehend this.

In his unanimous decision over Dan Miller on Saturday in UFC 134, Palhares, now 31 years of age and apparently not getting any wiser, gave MMA fans yet another bizarre outing in which his outlandish behavior inside the ring outtrumped the outcome.

With 44 seconds left in the first round on Saturday, Palhares exhibited his prowess inside the ring, pummeling Miller with nine shots as Miller appeared all but done. Then, inexplicably, despite the fact that referee Herb Dean hadn’t stopped the fight, he let up. In fact, he not only let up, he sprung off Miller and jumped on the cage as if he had just won the fight.

This, of course, allowed Miller to get up off the mat (while Dean was literally pulling Palhares off the cage), and proceed to land a left and score a takedown before the round ended.

This is nothing new for Palhares, who is seven fights into his UFC career. In his previous loss, against Nate Marquardt, he failed to realize Marquardt was pummeling him on the mat while he looked up and complained to the referee that Marquardt was too oily. Yes, too oily.

In his win against Tomasz Drwal last March, Palhares spoiled a good moment in his young UFC career by failing to let go of his submission upon the referee’s order. The action earned him a 90-day suspension by the N.J. Athletic Control Board.

Palhares is one of those sad cases right now because he’s undoubtedly setting himself up for disappointment against the top dogs of the UFC when he should be a legitimate rising fighter in mixed martial arts. He has supreme athletic ability, has great submission skills and can be a nightmare for his foes.

But he doesn’t think. He’s a headcase and it’s going to hurt him down the line.

What’s more, his foolishness in the first round on Saturday shows that he hasn’t learned from his suspension.

I like Palhares as a fighter based on his skills, but his head’s just not in the ring, and one can only hope he gets it together. Otherwise, he will never live up to his potential.

A bizarre beginning gave way to a fantastic, if one-sided, finish as Rousimar “Toquinho” Palhares took care of Dan Miller, earning a victory by unanimous decision at UFC 134 in Rio de Janeiro on Saturday.

Just as Palhares lived up to his nickname “Tree Stump”, so too did the fight live up to its billing as an action packed slugfest, though it did not seem like it would at first. Palhares put the hurt on Miller early and often, knocking the American back with a kick to the jaw and coming in hot with a series of blows before dropping Miller hard to the mat.

Miller managed to recover from that barrage, if only for long enough to get his wits about him. “Toquinho” came right back, knocking Miller with a right jab, a knee to the body and then a kick to Miller’s head. That was enough to send Miller tumbling and to give Palhares the perfect opportunity to put the fight to bed.

Which he and Miller both thought he had after Palhares put the hurt on Miller with his fists of fury. Referee Herb Dean appeared to break up the fight, at which point “Toquinho” straddled the Octagon fence, thinking he had scored a knockout.

Dean soon informed him otherwise and the fight was back on. That brief respite gave Miller new life, as he immediately took Palhares down and began wailing on him, hoping to end the bout when he had the chance.

Unfortunately for Miller, he wasn’t able to finish off Palhares right then and there. Palhares went on to dominate the final two rounds of competition earning his sixth UFC win, this time by unanimous decision. Miller, meanwhile, returns to the US with his UFC record even at 5-5.

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For complete coverage of UFC 134 Fight Card Results, check out Bleacher Report’s hub page.