Antebellum: UFC 134 Rio

Aug. 27, 2011 - PRLog -- MMA in Brazil is experiencing a renaissance brought about earlier this year by the UFC Middleweight Championship fight between Brazilian superstars Anderson "Spider" Silva and "The Phenom" Vitor Belfort. The frenzy continues tomorrow night during UFC 134: Rio. The card is stacked with a "who's who" of Brazilian fighters for the home crowd to cheer for; but it also packs a number of fights that are "required viewing" for any MMA fan. Let's take a look at them before the punches start flying.

MAIN EVENT: Anderson "Spider" Silva vs. Yushin Okami - Middleweight Championship

Background: Whether you agree with Dana White that Silva is the "Greatest of All Time" or not, it's hard to argue that Silva is a force to be reckoned with. With 14 straight wins (13 in the UFC) he holds the record for longest win streak and title defenses in the UFC. He hasn't lost a fight since 2006. The man that holds that distinction? Silva's opponent, Yushin Okami. Okami himself has acknowledged that his victory against Silva requires an asterisk, as the win came by DQ after Silva hit Okami with an illegal up kick, forcing the stoppage.

Result: A lot of this depends on which Spider shows up to fight. If we get the Leites, Maia opponent, expect a boring fight and an angry Dana White. However, if the usual Silva shows up, expect nothing less than a true artist displaying his craft. Okami has acknowledged that Chael Sonnen had a good game plan against Silva, but he's also acknowledged he isn't Chael Sonnen. Okami's best bet is to get Silva down or against the cage to take away his range and movement and maybe grind out a decision after wearing Silva down. That won't happen. Expect the better striker to set the pace of the fight and catch Okami with a highlight worthy TKO.

Prediction...

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