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UFC 134: Anderson Silva vs. Yushin Okami and the Chael Sonnen Factor

UFC 134 is headlined by middleweight champion Anderson “The Spider” Silva (28-4 MMA, 13-0 UFC) defending against Yushin “Okami” Thunder (26-5 MMA, 10-2 UFC), who previously fought in January 2006.Okami picked up the victory courtesy of a Silva upkick…

Okami picked up the victory courtesy of a Silva upkick which landed while both men were fighting for position on the ground.

Nonetheless, the kick is illegal and it ultimately cost Silva the fight at Rumble on the Rock 8.

Since that fight took place, Silva has had his hand raised 14 consecutive times, 13 of which have taken place in the UFC.

Silva’s undefeated since entering the UFC, but his toughest test came against Chael Sonnen, who landed 320 total strikes in dominating Silva for 23 minutes of action.

With the fight coming to a completion with Sonnen clearly ahead on the scorecards, Silva pulled off a “hail mary” submission to retain the title.

Okami has been victorious in 10 of 12 fights inside the Octagon with losses coming at the hands of current light-heavyweight Rich Franklin and middleweight contender Chael Sonnen.

While Okami was able to find some success in his fight with Franklin, he was completely unable to do so against Sonnen at UFC 104.

Sonnen’s elite wrestling proved far superior and Okami was forced to return to the drawing board, which soon included his former foe.

With that being said, both Silva and Okami have faced Sonnen with each fighter taking different paths after the fights.

Anderson clearly isn’t fan of Sonnen and the feeling’s mutual, but Okami on the other hand decided to seek out the former U.S. Olympic wrestling team alternate in hopes of taking his game to the next level.

Since joining Sonnen at Team Quest, Okami is 3-0 with notable victories over Mark Munoz and Nate Marquardt.

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UFC 134 Fight Card: Anderson Silva vs. Yushin Okami, a Head-to-Toe Breakdown

This Saturday’s UFC 134 fight card in Rio de Janeiro is the culmination of a busy MMA summer schedule. That culmination will culminate when Anderson Silva, the consensus best mixed martial artist in the known solar system, faces celebrated Japane…

As you may have heard, Okami is ready for this. He is physically strong. He gets in his reps at the gymnasium. And did you also hear he was the last man to beat The Spider? It’s true. Glad I was the first person to break that news to you.

To be certain, this main event for the middleweight strap will be a crazy combination of styles. Muay Thai versus wrestling. Yin and yang. Oil and sludge. But what, specifically, should viewers expect?

Here’s a detailed breakdown of every phase of this fight.

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UFC 134: Will Anderson Silva Yield Once Again to His Achilles Heel?

Anderson “The Spider” Silva is the Ultimate Fighting Championship’s ultimate fighting machine. In his 34 fight MMA career, “The Spider” has only ever been dismantled by four men; one Brazilian and three combatants from Jap…

Let’s say, for arguments sake, that Brazilian Luiz Azeredo is removed from the equation. What becomes abundantly clear is that Anderson Silva’s last three losses have all been against Japanese opposition, two by submission and one via disqualification.

Daiju Takase finished Silva via Triangle Choke and Ryo Chonan submitted him by way of one of the most amazingly preposterous and intrepid moves to have ever been witnessed in an MMA tournament, the Flying Scissor Heel Hook.

His last loss, against Yushi “The Thunder” Okami, was a loss by default. Even though Anderson vehemently stated that the rules had not been accurately elucidated to him before the fight, the fact remains that Anderson lost the fight after illegally kicking Okami’s chin. Whether by default or not, he lost and that’s what the record books will show.

As far as the UFC and the middleweight division go, his feats are unparalleled. Will the enigmatic and superlative Anderson Silva avenge his last loss to Okami at UFC 134 in Rio Brazil, or will history repeat itself? On a more significant note, will he finally lay to rest the rumors that he has a weakness when pitted against fighters from the Land of the Rising Sun?

It is worth noting that “The Spider” is more than five and half years removed from his last loss in all competitions. However, during the intervening years he has grown as a fighter and evolved into arguably the greatest mixed martial artist of all time.

That being said, “The Spider” has had three bad days at the Japanese office to date. And on any given day, any given athlete can have a bad day.

Analysts and fans alike or not privy to what goes on in a fighters mind prior to a fight. As Muhammad Ali once said, “The fight is won or lost far away from witnesses – behind the lines, in the gym, and out there on the road, long before I dance under those lights”.

So does Anderson have some sort of mental barrier going into this fight against Okami, given that his last three losses have been against Japanese fighters? Will Silva put pressure on himself, knowing that he is fighting in front of his home crowd? If this is the case, then Yushin Okami has an even better chance of dethroning “The Spider”.

From a subjective point of view, I think Anderson Silva will be thirsty to avenge his prior loss and set the record straight.

I have “The Spider” winning in an emphatic manner via KO/TKO strikes.

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UFC 134 Fight Card: Silva vs. Okami: Odds for PPV and Spike TV Fights

On Saturday, August 27 the UFC will return to Brazil for the first time since October 16, 1998. That event, “Ultimate Brazil” was headlined by a middleweight title bout between Frank Shamrock and John Lober, but it is perhaps best remembered for th…

The promotion will bring UFC 134 to the HSBC Arena in Rio next Saturday and the event, like the first UFC Brazil event, will be headlined by a middleweight title fight as Anderson Silva defends his title against Yushin Okami. The co-main event will feature Mauricio “Shogun” Rua facing Forrest Griffin. In all, 14 Brazilian fighters will be competing on the 12 fight card. Only one contest will be without a Brazilian fighter.

What follows are the betting odds for the televised portion of UFC 134:

Pay-Per-View Card:

Anderson Silva (-500) favorite over Yushin Okami (+350)

Mauricio Rau (-230) favorite over Forrest Griffin (+180)

Brendan Schaub (-230) favorite over Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (+180)

Edson Barboza (-300) favorite over Ross Pearson (+220)

Luiz Cane (-220) favorite over Stanislav Nedkov (+175)

Spike TV Televised Card:

Thiago Tavares (-240) favorite over Spencer Fisher (+190)

Rousimar Palhares (-300) favorite over Dan Miller (+220)

Odds provided by BetUs

The below fights will be streamed via the UFC’s Facebook page (odds not provided):

Paulo Thiago vs. David Mitchell

Raphael Assunção vs.Johnny Eduardo

Yuri Alcantara vs. Felipe Arantes

Yves Jabouin vs. Ian Loveland

Erick Silva vs. Luis Ramos

The Facebook stream of the fights will begin at 6 p.m. ET on Saturday. The Spike TV preliminary card will begin at 8 p.m. ET with the pay-per-view starting at 9 p.m. ET.

Georges St. Pierre at Middleweight: How Does He Stack Up?

Georges “Rush” St. Pierre, the current UFC Welterweight champion, is 22-2 in his professional MMA career and has gone 9-0 since his loss to Matt Serra in 2007, defending his Welterweight title six times.Though he’s been criticized recently as over…

Though he’s been criticized recently as overly cautious, there can be no denying St. Pierre’s dominance—since regaining the Welterweight belt in 2008 he has won 23 out of 25 rounds, not including his TKO victory over BJ Penn. Whether by using his vaunted wrestling or newly dominant boxing, St. Pierre has proven that he has what it takes to defeat all challengers at Welterweight.

While there are still fights to be had at Welterweight, Nick Diaz at UFC 137 and potentially Carlos Condit after that, St. Pierre is coming as close to “cleaning out” a division as we’ve ever seen. Add to this the talk that St. Pierre will eventually step-up in weight for a superfight against Middleweight champion Anderson Silva, and the question has to be asked…

How would Georges St. Pierre fare against the UFC’s top Middleweights?

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UFC 134: Will Chael Sonnen Be in Yushin Okami’s Corner for Okami vs Silva II?

Since Chael Sonnen’s California fighter’s license expired on June 29, 2011, it basically gave him the green light to compete in the Octagon again. The always outspoken 185-pounder has given a plethora of interviews since then, and one poin…

Since Chael Sonnen’s California fighter’s license expired on June 29, 2011, it basically gave him the green light to compete in the Octagon again.

The always outspoken 185-pounder has given a plethora of interviews since then, and one point that he has emphasized again and again is that he will be in friend and training partner Yushin Okami’s corner when he takes on Anderson Silva at UFC 134.

This is a bit surprising, given Sonnen more or less declaring war against Brazil due to his feuds with Wanderlei Silva, Lyoto Machida, the reigning UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva, and to a lesser extent, even Jose Aldo.

Nevertheless, the self proclaimed “American Gangster” told interviewer after interviewer that “they love me in Brazil,” and that nothing would prevent him from watching his friend defeat Anderson Silva up close and personal.

In the past few days, this situation has gotten very interesting.

A Facebook event entitled “Lichamento Do Chael Sonnen,” which in English means “Lynching of Chael Sonnen” was recently made public.

The event description, translated to English by Bloody Elbow, states, “Guys, everyone is aware of what this insect has been spewing about Brazil, the fighters, of the people of this country, of our culture.”

“I think we should give him a ‘warm welcome’ when he comes to attend UFC Rio on the 27th, since Brazilians carries the fame of being sympathetic, hospitable, warm people, how about a big party for our friend Chael Sonnen?”

As of this writing, 5,066 people are attending and 12,169 invitees are awaiting reply.

While there is no reason to believe that Sonnen will actually be lynched if he attends UFC 134, it seems that he has been inaccurate in his assessment that he’s a fan favorite in Brazil.

As to be expected at this point, Sonnen took to Twitter to respond to the event:

“Please, FB nerds, no group has the strength to lynch me. I’m a Republican; we run on neither blood nor oxygen.”

Normally, that would be that, but this story continues to have legs.

Apparently, SPORTV spoke with the coaches at Team Quest on Sunday, August 21, and while no direct quotes were released, a translation of the article says that Sonnen will NOT be at UFC 134.

The most telling quote, once again translated by Bloody Elbow, reads, “However, the coaches of Team Quest denied that Sonnen has or will come to Brazil.

“According to a post by the official UFC Brazil twitter, Sonnen was just ‘trolling’ and will not be in Rio for the fight. Sonnen has a fight scheduled for Oct. 8 at UFC 136 against Brian Stann, and will be focused for training for the occasion.”

Sonnen is still on probation from his money laundering case, so it is possible that he may not be allowed to leave the country.

However, on August 18, Sonnen tweeted, “Going to train in the worst conditions to make this fight even easier. Long story short, Rio on Friday! See you in the streets, turkeys.”

Then, on August 21, Sonnen addressed the report once again via Twitter. This time, he was not as forthcoming, though. “Am I going to Rio……. ‘The greatest trick the Devil ever did, was getting the world to believe he didn’t exist,’” he wrote.

So by quoting Keyser Soze, is Sonnen telling us that he will indeed be in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil on August 27?

Looks like only time will tell, but as usual, Sonnen has a significant number of fight fans heavily anticipating his next move

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