RIO DE JANEIRO — This is the UFC 134 live blog for Ross Pearson vs. Edson Barboza, a lightweight bout on tonight’s UFC: Rio pay-per-view at the HSBC Arena in Brazil.
In his last appearance, the TUF 9 winner Pearson (12-4) defeated Spencer Fisher at UFC 127 in February. Barboza (8-0) has defeated Mike Lullo and Anthony Njokuani in his two UFC fights.
On the stat sheet, Barboza stands out with a six-inch reach advantage over the Brit.
Round 1: Lots of head movement from Pearson. Barboza throws a heavy leg kick and misses. Pearson aggressively puhses forward and he’s landing punches. Barboza chops away with leg kicks as he tries to circle away from Pearson’s offense. A nice exchange has Pearson connecting to the body and Barboza landing with a counter right hand. Pearson closes the distance with a knee but Barboza shoves him off. Barboza lands a spinning back kick on the arm and it doesn’t really phase Pearson. Pearson scores on a straight left. Pearson is doing a good job mixing up his punches even though he’s throwing kicks sparingly. Barboza throws a head kick but it’s blocked. Pearson changes angles and connects with a body shot. Pearson shoots for a double near the end of the round but Barboza stops it. 10-9 Pearson.
Round 2: They both clip each other with a jab. Barboza hits Pearson with a kick to the body and then connects on a right to knock Pearson down on his knees. Barboza is ridiculously quick with his kicks/punches. Pearson recovers and uses his jabs. Pearson catches Barboza off guard with a leg kick. Pearson lands with left as Barboza backs. Barboza scores with a right hand. Pearson uses consistent head movement. Pearson shoots halfway through the round and Barboza moves out of the way. Barboza with a huge right that is blocked. Pearson continues to pick off Barboza with jabs. Barboza connects with a spinning back kick that pushes Pearson back. Pearson is doing a good job with his lead left hooks. Barboza wins the round on the early knockdown but Pearson controlled the rest of the round. 10-9 Barboza.
Round 3:
RIO DE JANEIRO — This is the UFC 134 live blog for Ross Pearson vs. Edson Barboza, a lightweight bout on tonight’s UFC: Rio pay-per-view at the HSBC Arena in Brazil.
In his last appearance, the TUF 9 winner Pearson (12-4) defeated Spencer Fisher at UFC 127 in February. Barboza (8-0) has defeated Mike Lullo and Anthony Njokuani in his two UFC fights.
On the stat sheet, Barboza stands out with a six-inch reach advantage over the Brit.
Round 1: Lots of head movement from Pearson. Barboza throws a heavy leg kick and misses. Pearson aggressively puhses forward and he’s landing punches. Barboza chops away with leg kicks as he tries to circle away from Pearson’s offense. A nice exchange has Pearson connecting to the body and Barboza landing with a counter right hand. Pearson closes the distance with a knee but Barboza shoves him off. Barboza lands a spinning back kick on the arm and it doesn’t really phase Pearson. Pearson scores on a straight left. Pearson is doing a good job mixing up his punches even though he’s throwing kicks sparingly. Barboza throws a head kick but it’s blocked. Pearson changes angles and connects with a body shot. Pearson shoots for a double near the end of the round but Barboza stops it. 10-9 Pearson.
Round 2: They both clip each other with a jab. Barboza hits Pearson with a kick to the body and then connects on a right to knock Pearson down on his knees. Barboza is ridiculously quick with his kicks/punches. Pearson recovers and uses his jabs. Pearson catches Barboza off guard with a leg kick. Pearson lands with left as Barboza backs. Barboza scores with a right hand. Pearson uses consistent head movement. Pearson shoots halfway through the round and Barboza moves out of the way. Barboza with a huge right that is blocked. Pearson continues to pick off Barboza with jabs. Barboza connects with a spinning back kick that pushes Pearson back. Pearson is doing a good job with his lead left hooks. Barboza wins the round on the early knockdown but Pearson controlled the rest of the round. 10-9 Barboza.
Round 3:
Filed under: UFCUFC 134 in Brazil promises to be memorable for a variety of reasons. Here are just a few of them, in no particular order or importance.
I. “Yushin Okami is not only the biggest middleweight I’ve ever fought,” Mike Swick told me once, “…
UFC 134 in Brazil promises to be memorable for a variety of reasons. Here are just a few of them, in no particular order or importance.
I. “Yushin Okami is not only the biggest middleweight I’ve ever fought,” Mike Swick told me once, “He might be the biggest middleweight I’ve ever seen.” In fact, it was a decision loss to Okami that convinced Swick he was in the wrong weight class, since he just could compete with Okami’s size and strength. It may not always come across on TV, but Okami isn’t just a good wrestler — he’s a powerhouse. He’s the kind of fighter who can, if he has to, take you down and lay on you until the judges declare him the winner. For a champion whose biggest weakness is his takedown defense, that’s a legitimate problem.
II. But how much time will Okami get to work on the ground, anyway? Let’s be honest here: if Okami tries to go all human blanket on Silva for five full rounds, the Brazilian crowd is going to let him have it. No referee is going to admit it, but a continuous stream of boos has hastened more than one ref stand-up in MMA history. It shouldn’t, of course. The third man in the cage should remain oblivious to everything outside of it. That’s easier said than done, however. Sure, Bob Dylan had the fortitude to get booed every night when he went electric, but does Mario Yamasaki have that same iron will that Dylan had? Could Herb Dean power through “Like a Rolling Stone” even as the hate poured down on him? I’m not so sure. Let Okami get a couple rounds of takedowns and ground control under his belt, and we may find out.
III. There are two ways to beat Mauricio “Shogun” Rua. One is to be a vastly superior fighter, as Jon Jones was. The other is to deal with his bull rush in the early going, absorbing and/or deflecting his aggression as best you can, then turn it up in the later rounds when he’s burned through his jetpacks. The latter is what Forrest Griffin did the first time they met, whether intentionally or unintentionally, and it’s his best chance in the rematch. He’s bigger, stronger, and if he can make Rua carry some of that weight and wear himself out, that’s when Griffin can put him away. Skill-for-skill, Rua is probably the more gifted fighter, but Griffin has a way of just hanging around. Some nights, that’s enough.
IV. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira hasn’t fought in a year and a half. During that time, he also had knee and hip surgery. Now he’s coming back to fight Brendan Schaub, who’s looking to continue the legend-slaying tour he began with a knockout of Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic in March. Anybody else seeing disaster in the works for Big Nog? He’s the kind of fighter who seems to have crammed three careers worth of action into the last decade, and now he’s not looking quite so spry or resilient anymore. Schaub is a big, young, hungry heavyweight. Unless Nogueira can pull off a hail mary submission off his back — possibly after being knocked there by a Schaub right hand — it’s hard to see how he wins this.
V. If you’ve been looking for a chance to get to know more Brazilian fighters, you’re in luck. In all, fourteen Brazilians are competing on this card, ranging from ones you might know (ever hear of this Anderson Silva guy?) to ones you might not (Erick Silva and Luis Ramos, for instance, who will be debuting in the UFC against one another). In other words, even though he’ll be there to corner his buddy Okami, this might not be the night for Chael Sonnen to regale the boys backstage with his particular brand of cultural insult comedy.
VI. Once more unto the breach for Ross Pearson. The British lightweight was on his way up the ladder until that surprising loss to Cole Miller, then he bounced back with a decision over Spencer Fisher. The time for gradual build-ups is apparently over, because now he gets the Brazilian buzzsaw, Edson Barboza, who’s been known to make audience members cry just from witnessing his brutal leg kicks in person. Okay, so that last part is just a rumor I’m trying to start, but the point is it could be true. Pearson has a seriously tough night ahead of him against Barboza. Even if he pulls off the upset, chances are he’ll be hobbling through the airport in the morning.
VII. How good is Dan Miller‘s leglock defense? We’re about to find out. Miller’s never been submitted in his MMA career, but he’s also never fought an enemy of knee ligaments everywhere quite like Rousimar Palhares. “Toquinho” has won three of his last four with submissions below the waist. As long as he can keep his head in the game and avoid another costly mental lapse like the one he suffered against Nate Marquardt, he has the potential to be a real problem for Miller, who could really use a win right about now.
VIII. Pity poor Ian Loveland and Yves Jabouin. Theirs is the only fight on the card that doesn’t feature at least one Brazilian. Will that make it a novelty for the Rio fans, or just the perfect moment to visit the concessions stand? It is on the prelims, and early on in the night, too. If the crowd is operating on Brazilian time, they may miss it entirely.
IX. There’s just no way Anderson Silva will be anything but one hundred percent serious while fighting in his home country, right? I mean, it’s one thing to screw around in Abu Dhabi, but Rio? No chance he decides to samba for five rounds here. Not in front of family and friends, not to mention his big time corporate sponsors and his reactionary boss. Not on your life, right? Right?
Filed under: UFCWill Anderson Silva improve to 14-0 in the UFC, or will Yushin Okami pull off one of the biggest upsets in MMA history? Can Shogun Rua avenge his loss to Forrest Griffin, or does Griffin have Rua’s number? Does Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira …
Will Anderson Silva improve to 14-0 in the UFC, or will Yushin Okami pull off one of the biggest upsets in MMA history? Can Shogun Rua avenge his loss to Forrest Griffin, or does Griffin have Rua’s number? Does Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira have anything left, or is Brendan Schaub going to knock Big Nog into retirement? Those are the questions I’ll answer as I predict the winners at UFC 134.
What: UFC 134: Silva vs. Okami
When: Saturday, the Spike TV preliminaries begin at 8 PM ET and the pay-per-view starts at 9.
Where: HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Predictions on the five pay-per-view fights below.
Anderson Silva vs. Yushin Okami Okami is the last man to defeat Silva: On Jan. 20, 2006, the two fought in the first round of a Rumble on the Rock tournament, and Silva was disqualified when he kicked Okami in the head on the ground. To the extent that their first meeting is relevant to their rematch, however, it should give Silva more confidence than it gives Okami: Silva was in control of the bout during all the stand-up exchanges until that unfortunate illegal kick the first time the fight went to the ground.
So what would Okami have to do to pull off the historic upset? The key for Okami would be to fight Silva the way Chael Sonnen fought Silva — except for the part where Sonnen got caught in a submission in the fifth round. Okami is a powerful grappler who has good takedowns and might just be able to do some of the same things to Silva that Sonnen did.
But Okami’s wrestling isn’t on the same level as Sonnen’s, and even if Okami is able to take Silva down, he’s going to have a hard time keeping Silva down. And Okami isn’t anywhere near Silva’s class as a striker. Is it possible that Okami could grind out a decision and become the new middleweight champion? Yes. Is it likely to happen? No. I think Silva wins by TKO. Pick: Silva
Maurício Rua vs. Forrest Griffin The co-main event is also a rematch, of Griffin’s upset victory over Rua at UFC 76. Going into that fight, most people thought Rua — a Pride wrecking machine making his UFC debut — would run through Griffin, who was very popular but known mostly for his stint on The Ultimate Fighter. Instead it was Griffin who finished Rua with a rear-naked choke in the third round.
Rua is again a big favorite this time around, as most people seem to think that Rua is healthier now than he was then, and that Griffin, at age 32, isn’t quite the fighter he once was. But I’m not convinced. I think Griffin’s size and strength is going to be tough for Rua to handle on the ground, and Griffin’s use of leg kicks will be very important to slowing Rua down. I see Griffin winning a hard-fought decision. Pick: Griffin
Brendan Schaub vs. Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira Nogueira has had a long and honorable MMA career spanning more than a decade, and he’s finally fighting in his native Brazil for the first time. So it would be great to see him put on a phenomenal performance.
Unfortunately, there’s not much reason to believe Nogueira has any phenomenal performances left in him. He’s been inactive for a year and a half, so ring rust may be a problem, and in his last fight he was knocked cold by Cain Velasquez. Nogueira was once legendary for his chin, but that knockout loss to Velasquez — as well as Nogueira’s TKO loss to Frank Mir at UFC 92 — has me thinking Schaub could put him to sleep.
Schaub is a former football player who only started fighting three years ago, so he’s got nothing close to the experience of Nogueira, but he’s strong as a bull and hits like a Mack truck. I expect Schaub to handle Nogueira, and as a longtime Minotauro fan, I just hope it’s not an ugly loss. Pick: Schaub
Ross Pearson vs. Edson Barboza Pearson won Season 9 of The Ultimate Fighter and has shown since then a real propensity for landing effective punches and putting on exciting fights. But Barboza is a different kind of striker, a guy whose leg kicks are legendary and who is capable of finishing opponents with his hands, his elbows or his knees. The 25-year-old Barboza is 8-0 and a rising star in the lightweight division, and he should earn his biggest victory to date against Pearson. Pick: Barboza
Luiz Cane vs. Stanislav Nedkov Win or lose, Cane’s fights usually end quickly: He’s been to the second round just twice in his 14-fight career. The 11-0 Nedkov is also a finisher, with five wins by technical knockout and four by submission, so don’t expect this fight to go the distance. I think Cane will welcome Nedkov to the UFC with a TKO win. Pick: Cane
Filed under: UFC, NewsThe UFC’s August 27 fight card in Rio de Janeiro is continuing to fill up with fights featuring a Brazilian fighting on his home turf against an opponent from another country.
The latest fight announced for the card features unde…
The UFC’s August 27 fight card in Rio de Janeiro is continuing to fill up with fights featuring a Brazilian fighting on his home turf against an opponent from another country.
Filed under: MMA Videos, UFC, Strikeforce, FanHouse Exclusive, Bellator, VideosWe return on Monday with another two-hour live edition of The MMA Hour. Some of the guests who will be stopping by include:
RIO DE JANEIRO — This is the UFC 134 live blog for Ross Pearson vs. Edson Barboza, a lightweight bout on tonight’s UFC: Rio pay-per-view at the HSBC Arena in Brazil.
Will 
The UFC’s August 27 fight card in Rio de Janeiro is continuing to fill up with fights featuring a Brazilian fighting on his home turf against an opponent from another country.
We return on Monday with another two-hour live edition of