At UFC 134, Silva proved he’s the best ever
UFC middleweight champion Anderson “The Spider” Silva fought in front of his countrymen for the first time since coming to the UFC on Saturday night, and he was greeted by a standing ovation from Brazilian fans at the HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro.
Silva's (31-4-0) opponent at UFC 134, Yushin Okami (26-6-0), was the last fighter to beat him more than 5 1/2 years ago by disqualification from a illegal kick.
As Silva walked to the cage it brought back memories of watching Muhammad Ali and Mike Tyson fights. It’s an indescribable feeling you get when the best fighter in the world is about to display his skills.
Silva is unequivocally the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world and the most dominating MMA fighter ever, which he proved again Saturday with a second-round TKO to retain his UFC middleweight title for the ninth time.
As the referee issued the final instructions before the start, both fighters refused to touch gloves.
In the first round, Silva struck first with a leg kick, and his switched from orthodox to southpaw stances. Okami was able to get Silva against the cage, but he could not land any significant punches. Silva landed a left head kick just before the horn. It was the most damaging blow of the fight at that pont.
In the second round, Silva started out fast with a straight right jab to the chin of Okami, knocking him on his back. Silva motioned for Okami to stand up and with his hands at his sides Silva played with Okami before he knocked him down again with another right jab. This time the champion followed Okami to the canvas and held the head down of the challenger with his left hand and repeatedly punched him with the right hand.
Referee Herb Dean stepped in and stopped the bout at 2:04 of the second round.
Silva's traditional walkout song send a message to Okami before the fight even begin, he walked out to the octagon to DMX's version of Bill Withers song, “Ain’t No Sunshine”. Okami who is from Japan -- the land of the rising sun -- got to experience the lyrics of the song first hand: “Ain’t no sunshine when it’s on, only darkness every day.”
In the co-main event Brazilian Mauricio “Shogun” Rua (20-5-0) defeated American Forrest Griffin (18-7-0) in a rematch of former light heavyweight champions.
Rua finished Griffin in the first round by knockout. He hit Griffin with a right hand hook, and Griffin had a delayed reaction to the punch before falling to the canvas. Rua jumped on Griffin and hit him with four consecutive hammer fists before the referee stepped in and stopped the bout at 1:53 of the first round.
Brazilian fans had waited 13 years for the UFC to return to their country. It was the most exciting UFC crowd I have every seen.
The full undercard results:
Yves Jabouin won by split decision over Ian Loveland.
Yuri Alcantara won by unanimous decision over Felipe Arantes.
Erick Silva won by TKO (Punches) over Luis Ramos at 0:40 of the first round.
Raphael Assuncao won by unanimous decision over Johnny Eduardo.
Paulo Thiago won by unanimous decision over David Mitchell.
Rousimar Palhares won by unanimous decision over Dan Miller.
Thiago Tavares won by TKO (Punches) over Spencer Fisher at 2:51 of the second round.
Stanislav Nedkov won by TKO (Punches) over Luiz Cane at 4:20 of the first round.
Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira won by KO (Punches) over Brendan Schaub at 3:09 of the first round.
Edson Barboza won by split decision over Ross Pearson.
Kevin Richardson has been a fan of mixed martial arts competition ever since UFC 3, when 600-pound sumo wrestler Emmanuel Yarborough was beaten by Keith Hackney. Kevin will cover the world of MMA — in Baltimore, nationally and internationally. He plans to take readers into the locker rooms and MMA schools, where they'll hear from local fighters and trainers. If you have a news tip or suggestions for the blog, please 
Comments
Kevin
I thought I heard Dana White say that if silva and gsp won their last fights that they
would fight each other.
Since that time Silva has fought twice and gsp once, I believe gsp is fighting soon.
Is there any chance these 2 guys fight while they are both at the top of their game?
Posted by: Putter | August 28, 2011 9:33 AM
I got the fight even though my power went out before Rua and Spider fight. That was an awesome card---instant classic. And, I believe that Silva is the best fighter ever. Despite comparing apples to oranges, I believe that his handy work is much better than Ali. Ali roped a doped, but I never remember him dropping his hands and knocking out someone nevertheless 2 premiere fighters, one a former champion (Forrest). He is certainly the most complete fighter ever whether in stand up or the ground. As a wrestler, it irritates me that a jitz guy is the best ever, but he's the truth.
Posted by: Ballz Mahoney | September 15, 2011 10:53 AM