RIO DE JANEIRO – The UFC's return to Brazil ended in a grand celebration for the greatest pound-for-pound fighter in MMA today.
In the main event of a sold-out UFC 134 event, UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva extended his record for consecutive title defenses to nine with an all-too-easy TKO win over Yushin Okami.
The bout headlined the pay-per-view portion of UFC 134, which took place Saturday at HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro. The event, which also featured prelims on Facebook and Spike TV, was the UFC's first in Brazil since 1998.
The bout concluded a successful night for Brazilian fighters, who went 7-1 when facing competitors from other countries.
The first round of the night's championship headliner opened with little action as Silva circled his opponent and figured out his timing. But a few minutes in, Silva threw some lunging punches, though he still seemed to be fishing for information. Ultimately, though, Okami got the clinch and put Silva against the cage, but he couldn't get the takedown. The fighters then traded some jabs, and Okami was too slow to check a head kick, but the round ended without a clear winner.
In the second round, Silva was ready to engage. He unloaded a quick barrage of punches and low kicks, though Okami initially was up for the firefight. Silva, though, then dropped his hands and seemingly taunted Okami, only to then drop the Japanese fighter with a straight right. Okami was quickly back up, but Silva again dropped him moments later with another quick punch and then stood over him and delivered a steady stream of punches and elbows as Okami covered up.
With Okami unable to fight back as instructed, the TKO stoppage came soon after, at the 2:04 mark of the second round.
With the arena showering him with cheers, Silva was mostly tongue-tied in his post-fight interview.
"I'm so happy bro," Silva told broadcaster Kenny Florian. "I'm sorry."
So who's next for the UFC's unbeatable champ?
"My clone," Silva joked.
Silva (29-4 MMA, 14-0 UFC) now has won 15 straight fights and avenges his most recent loss: a disqualification defeat to Okami (26-6 MMA, 10-3 UFC) at a 2006 Rumble on the Rock show.
"Shogun" gets revenge, KOs Griffin
UFC 134's co-headliner had all types of subplots. Brazilian vs American. Ex-champ vs. ex-champ. A rematch four years in the making.
Ultimately, though, Brazilian star Mauricio "Shogun" Rua avenged a loss in his 2007 UFC debut and scored an impressive first-round TKO victory over Forrest Griffin.
After a brief feeling-out process, a confident Rua closed the distance and unloaded a right that caught Griffin flush. Initially, Griffin kept swinging, but the effects of the blow finally caught up to his legs, and he fumbled to the mat. Once there, Rua unloaded a dizzying assault of hammerfists that forced Griffin's eyes to roll to the back of his head. The ref halted the bout soon after.
The KO stoppage came at the 1:53 mark of the opening round.
"Forrest is a good fighter," said Rua, who suffered submission defeat to Griffin back at UFC 76. "But I trained hard for three months."
Rua (20-5 MMA, 4-3 UFC) fought for the first time since his March title loss to Jon Jones and proves his top-contender status..
Griffin (18-7 MMA, 9-5 UFC), who had gotten back into contention with wins over ex-champs Tito Ortiz and Forrest Griffin, now heads back to the drawing board.
Barboza edges Pearson in stand-up affair
In a bout that featured two evenly matched strikers, Brazil's Edson Barboza used a key second-round knockdown to score a close split-decision victory over fellow lightweight Ross Pearson.
As expected, the two fighters kept the fight upright throughout its 15-minute duration. Both fighters delivers punches and kicks from varying angles, though Pearson was usually more the aggressor.
However, after a close first round, Barboza unloaded a gut-wrenching body-kick/straight-right combo that sent Pearson to the mat midway through the second round. Surprisingly, Pearson quickly returned to his feet, but it likely earned Barboza what would become a pivotal second round.
The third round played out much like the first, though Barboza seemed to keep the edge despite his backpedaling. However, despite both fighters being bloodied and bruised, they continued looking for the knockout blow up until the final seconds of the fight.
Ultimately, the judges scored the fight 29-28, 28-29 and 29-28 for the local fighter. (MMAjunkie.com scored it 30-28 for Barboza after much internal debate.)
"In each fight, we take a step on the UFC ladder, and each time we get a better fight," Barboza said through a translator.
Barboza (9-0 MMA, 3-0 UFC) keeps his perfect record intact and goes to a decision for a second straight time after seven stoppage victories.
Pearson (12-5 MMA, 4-2 UFC), meanwhile, takes a hit following a recent 5-1 run, which included winning "The Ultimate Fighter 9."
"Big Nog" stuns Schaub via KO
Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira was supposed to be a stepping stone on Brendan Schaub's rode to a title shot. Instead, the aging veteran proved he's got a little something left in the tank and posted a stunning first-round knockout in his first-ever fight on home soil.
The Brazilian, though, had his hands full early in the fight. Schaub fought off takedown attempts, out-struck Nogueira from the clinch, and unloaded a series of stiff uppercuts from distance. With the damage mounting and Nogueira unable to score a takedown, he instead let his hands fly.
With Schaub in a precarious position with his back near the cage, Nogueira unloaded the fight-altering right-left combination. Schaub appeared out on his feet, but Nogueira continued with additional blows until Schaub finally fell face first into the canvas, which forced the referee's intervention at the 3:09 mark of the opening round.
Prior to the fight, the often-injured Nogueira admitted he rushed his recovery schedule so he could have the opportunity to fight in his home country.
"I just had three and a half months for training for that fight," he said. "I was injured. I had surgeries in both hips and my knee. I sacrificed, though, because I never fought at home before."
The victory, which came after an 18-month layoff, moves Nogueira (33-6-1 MMA, 4-2 UFC) to 2-1 over his past three fights and 5-2 since late 2006, when he closed out his illustrious PRIDE career with a victory over Josh Barnett.
Schaub (8-2 MMA, 4-2 UFC), who had put together a four-fight win streak after a runner-up finish on "The Ultimate Fighter 10," now returns to the middle of the pack in the UFC's heavyweight division.
Nedkov wins slugfest with Cane
With a single right-left combo, Bulgarian light heavyweight and UFC newcomer Stanislav Nedkov sucked the energy of HSBC Arena and became the night's first non-Brazilian to beat one of the country's fighters.
Facing veteran Luiz Cane, Nedkov often looked overmatched early in the fight. He was slower to the punch and ate a couple punches for each one he landed. Cane sat in the pocket and delivered blows with little regard for his opponent as his confidence continued to build.
However, with Cane seemingly in cruise control in the first round, Nedkov unloaded a right-left combo. Cane was staggered by the blows and tried to shake off the cobwebs. However, Nedkov instantly swarmed, shoved Cane in the fence, unloaded blows that sent him to a seated position, and then battered Cane was additional pucnhes that ultimately forced an end to the fight.
The TKO stoppage came at 4:13 mark of the round.
Nedkov (12-0 MMA, 1-0 UFC), a former World Victory Road/Sengoku fighter, remains undefeated with his sixth career knockout. Cane (11-4 MMA, 4-4 UFC), meanwhile, suffers his third loss in four fights, all of which have come via knockout.
SEE ALSO: UFC 134 preliminary-card results: Tavares stops Fisher, Palhares survives mental gaffe
MAIN CARD
- Champ Anderson Silva def. Yushin Okami via TKO (punches) - Round 2, 2:04 (to retain middleweight title)
- Mauricio "Shogun" Rua def. Forrest Griffin via KO (punches) - Round 1, 1:53
- Edson Barboza def. Ross Pearson via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
- Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira def. Brendan Schaub via KO (punches) - Round 1, 3:09
- Stanislav Nedkov def. Luiz Cane by TKO (punches) - Round 1, 4:13
PRELIMINARY CARD
- Thiago Tavares def. Spencer Fisher via TKO (punches) - Round 2, 2:51
- Rousimar Palhares def. Dan Miller via unanimous decision (29-27, 30-27, 30-25)
- Paulo Thiago def. David Mitchell via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Raphael Assuncao def. Johhny Eduardo via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Erick Silva def. Luis Ramos via TKO (punches) - Round 1, 0:40
- Yuri Alcantara def. Felipe Arantes via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
- Yves Jabouin def. Ian Loveland via split decision (27-30, 29-28, 29-28)
