On the heels of making his ninth-consecutive title defense, Anderson Silva should have every reason to enter his bout against Yushin Okami with confidence.
There is just something different about heading into a rematch as opposed to preparing for a new opponent; awareness, knowledge are both pre-existing factors that return in the second encounter, but now with a much stronger presence due to the fact there is previous experience with that opponent. It’s all relatively the same with Silva, and in what he hopes will just be “another fight” will turn out to be a different fight that will likely end in his favour.
While Silva will be motivated to decisively finish Okami this time around, he won’t necessarily go for the finish immediately.
Silva must create the distance against his opponent, who is bigger than the Brazilian, and utilize it as much as he can. Okami’s big frame covers up a lot of distance which allows him to establish clinches and setup takedowns much easier.
As Silva creates distance for himself, he should be measuring distance to find openings on Okami and begin picking his shots. Using an effective jab, along with quick movement from the outside should help Silva establish his distance and time his shots. The sharper and quicker Silva throws his strikes, the less likely Okami will have the chance to look for a takedown.
Of course, the more precise and accurate Silva’s striking becomes, the more comfortable he will be and it will lead to opening up Okami’s stance more often, making the Japanese middleweight more vulnerable. Once he continuously finds openings, Silva becomes much harder to defend against as he picks his opponents apart at will.
Silva’s speed and striking ability will gradually pick up as the fight goes on, and it will make Okami’s wrestling that much more ineffective if he is unable to time Silva’s speed with aggression and imposing his will.
Okami’s strategy, most likely employed by Chael Sonnen, will be a bit too predictable and it won’t be anything “The Spider” hasn’t dealt with before. Silva’s fluid, creative striking and methodical approach will ultimately overwhelm Okami and be too much for him to withstand.
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