The main event of UFC 134 tonight (Aug. 27, 2011) in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil featured one of the greatest, or the greatest, depending on your perspective, fighters in the history of MMA, as Anderson Silva defended his middleweight title against number one contender Yushin Okami.
This was another rematch many years in the making, as these two originally met back in Jan. 2006, with the Japanese judo player coming away with a disqualification victory after an illegal upkick by "The Spider." Up until that point, though, it was the Brazilian who was easily getting the better of the fight.
Would he do the same tonight albeit with the outcome he had originally intended?
He sure would ... and he looked damn good doing it. He danced and he ducked, shucked and he jived and just like he said he would, he came to Brazil champion and he will leave Brazil champion.
Silva came out circling, with plenty of his trademark foot movement that gives UFC President Dana White so many headaches. But he does this to figure out his opponent, as Kenny Florian made sure to remind us during the broadcast.
Okami tried his best to make it a dirty, grind it out fight. He clinched with Silva at the earliest opportunity and pushed him up against the cage, while landing uppercuts and knees. The crowd didn't like it but it's an effective strategy against the best striker on Earth.
When they separated, Silva stayed loose, slipping punches as though they were coming from a mile away. He even landed a head kick that staggered his foe. The round ended before he could attempt to finish the job.
As the second round opened, Silva got more aggressive, moving around with speed that Okami simply could not keep up with. Then he started playing Roy Jones Jr., leaving his hands low and letting Yushin punch him before answering with a shot of his own that dropped Okami.
Unreal.
This made Okami reluctant to engage and when Silva decided it was time, he came in quick and with such power that there was simply nothing his opponent could do.
Anderson Silva retains his middleweight title, for the record ninth time, finishing Yushin Okami via technical knockout in the second round.
Was there ever any doubt?
This was another rematch many years in the making, as these two originally met back in Jan. 2006, with the Japanese judo player coming away with a disqualification victory after an illegal upkick by "The Spider." Up until that point, though, it was the Brazilian who was easily getting the better of the fight.
Would he do the same tonight albeit with the outcome he had originally intended?
He sure would ... and he looked damn good doing it. He danced and he ducked, shucked and he jived and just like he said he would, he came to Brazil champion and he will leave Brazil champion.
Silva came out circling, with plenty of his trademark foot movement that gives UFC President Dana White so many headaches. But he does this to figure out his opponent, as Kenny Florian made sure to remind us during the broadcast.
Okami tried his best to make it a dirty, grind it out fight. He clinched with Silva at the earliest opportunity and pushed him up against the cage, while landing uppercuts and knees. The crowd didn't like it but it's an effective strategy against the best striker on Earth.
When they separated, Silva stayed loose, slipping punches as though they were coming from a mile away. He even landed a head kick that staggered his foe. The round ended before he could attempt to finish the job.
As the second round opened, Silva got more aggressive, moving around with speed that Okami simply could not keep up with. Then he started playing Roy Jones Jr., leaving his hands low and letting Yushin punch him before answering with a shot of his own that dropped Okami.
Unreal.
This made Okami reluctant to engage and when Silva decided it was time, he came in quick and with such power that there was simply nothing his opponent could do.
Anderson Silva retains his middleweight title, for the record ninth time, finishing Yushin Okami via technical knockout in the second round.
Was there ever any doubt?
