Card is this Saturday and it's absolutely stacked. Predictions? Main card Middleweight Championship bout: Anderson Silva(c) vs. Yushin Okami Light Heavyweight bout: Maurício Rua vs. Forrest Griffin Heavyweight bout: Brendan Schaub vs. Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira Lightweight bout: Ross Pearson vs. Edson Barboza Light Heavyweight bout: Luiz Cane vs. Stanislav Nedkov Preliminary card (Spike TV) Lightweight bout: Thiago Tavares vs. Spencer Fisher Middleweight bout: Rousimar Palhares vs. Dan Miller Preliminary card (Facebook) Welterweight bout: Paulo Thiago vs. David Mitchell Bantamweight bout: Raphael Assuncao vs Johnny Ecuardo Welterweight bout: Erick Silva vs. Luis Ramos Featherweight bout: Yuri Alcantara vs. Antonio Carvalho Bantamweight bout: Yves Jabouin vs. Ian Loveland Countdown to UFC 134: <iframe src="http://player.vimeo.com/video/28079065?title=0&byline=0&portrait=0" width="400" height="225" frameborder="0"></iframe><p><a href="http://vimeo.com/28079065">Untitled</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/user7156609">zpzp420</a> on <a href="http://vimeo.com">Vimeo</a>.</p> Previews: <object width="640" height="390"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/Z5xK9zUGDsQ&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&version=3"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/Z5xK9zUGDsQ&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&version=3" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" width="640" height="390"></embed></object> <object width="640" height="390"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/bexMQBlXph4&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&version=3"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/bexMQBlXph4&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&version=3" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" width="640" height="390"></embed></object> <object width="640" height="390"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/gQoHB35yfGM&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&version=3"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/gQoHB35yfGM&hl=en_US&feature=player_embedded&version=3" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" allowScriptAccess="always" width="640" height="390"></embed></object>
Don't know Forrest Griffin? He won the first season of the Ultimate Fighter and is one of the most popular fighters in the sport. He's the guy that Silva embarrassed KOing him with a counter jab. Griffin also submitted Rua a few years back, too. Anyway, this should be another good card. I fully expect Silva to beat Okami, but it won't be easy and he'll probably need the championship rounds to do so. If Okami fights smart, he can win rounds with his wrestling. Curious to see if Barbosa is continuing to improve after showing some vulnerabilities in his last fight.
Silva is too good, but he hasn't had the best luck vs them Japanese folks... Only thing that can beat Silva is father time, all we can do is sit and wait... defeat is inevitable, but I doubt it'll be this weekend
Why does Shogun fall so far down the LHW ladder after losing the title? Or is Griffin on the rise after wins over two broken down guys?
Okami has nothing to lose and everything to gain. If he goes out there and is loose and executes a good game plan I think he can beat Silva. I hope Shogun gets his revenge on Forrest. I think Shogun is going to come out looking to prove a point especially after his humiliating beat down by Jones. I hope Big Nog can beat Schaub but I think his better days have passed him by a while ago. Still hoping he's able to pull off a surprising submission. I'm a little bit disappointed some of the other popular Brazilian fighters aren't on this card such as Belfort, D. Maia, Thiago Alves and especially Wanderlei Silva. The event should be off the hook regardless. UFC in Rio? Hells ya!
It's just great timing for a rematch of the first fight, the result of which is still discussed all the time in the MMA community. PRIDE fans simply refuse to believe that Rua was healthy for that fight. And Forrest is on the comeback trail. It's not like he lost to bums before, Evans is clearly a beast and Silva is Silva.
Griffin is on the rise again. If he wins against Shogun I think he's 1 more win away from a title fight. The next in line for a title fight after Rampage in order are Evans, Machida (if he beats Davis), Griffin (if he beats Shogun) and Dan Henderson when he comes back to UFC.
Henderson would leapfrog Machida/Davis/Griffin/Shogun if he comes over. The guy is 40 years old and looking better than ever, they should strike while the iron is hot.
Rumor is management is already looking past Okami to try and set up Anderson vs Henderson for their first event on Fox in November . http://www.bloodyelbow.com/2011/8/2...ing-anderson-silva-vs-dan-henderson-fox-debut
Okami has the tools to employ the same game plan Sonnen did. and Okami can defend the sub, just sayin'.
I know who Griffin is. I meant the guys in the other fights...thats why I couldn't make a prediction.
Anderson via KO & Shogun via decision. Okami may have a gameplan manufactured by Sonnen, but Silva will render that entirely useless with a jaw-dropping array of strikes... he's the GOAT, hands down. Big Nog's been stopped in 2 of his last 3 bouts (only 2 stoppages in his long, storied career), so I like Schaub, the Golden Gloves boxing champ, to finish him in the 2nd. Nog HAS to get the fight to the ground... he's low on gas as he's been involved in some of the most epic wars in MMA history, and just doesn't have what it takes to stand and bang for 15 minutes with a world-class striker. Also, keep an eye on Edson Barboza... absolute Muay Thai machine.
The Silva vs. Okami fight might just be a repeat of this: <iframe width="420" height="345" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/dkSW5Rpe-B4" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
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A five-round middleweight title bout between longstanding champion Anderson Silva and Yushin Okami, the last man to defeat him, will headline the pay-per-view event. Since being disqualified for an illegal upkick on Okami in January 2006, Silva has rattled off 14 straight wins, 13 of them inside the Octagon. Many now consider him the greatest fighter of all-time.