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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief
UFC 134: SILVA VS. OKAMI
AUGUST 27, 2011
LIVE FROM RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL
======SPIKE TV PRELIMINARY CARD======
Mike Goldberg and Kenny Florian opened up the Spike TV broadcast discussing the historic nature of the UFC's return to Brazil, as well as what the pay-per-view card has to offer tonight. After breaking down the main card, it's time for the first fight of the evening.
FIGHT ONE: ROUSIMAR PALHARES VS. DAN MILLER (MIDDLEWEIGHT)
ROUND ONE: Miller looks a weight class above Palhares with the height difference. Both fighters start tentatively, looking for an opening, with Palhares landing the first leg kick of the bout. Palhares lands a straight right, grabs a clinch and pulls guard. He goes for an arm immediately, but Miller defended well and got back to his feet. Palhares landed a straight kick to the face that hurt Miller and he tried to capitalize. Miller recovered well and shot in for a takedown of his own. Wow. That was nearly what Anderson Silva landed on Vitor Belfort in February. Miller finally stood back up and they got back to their feet. Palhares landed another hard right. Palhares got in with another one and then landed a knee. Palhares dropped Miller with a head kick and landed a bunch of punches on the ground. Things got weird, as Palhares stopped throwing strikes and celebrated, but Herb Dean hadn't stopped the fight. He made the fight restart and Miller dropped Palhares! Palhares recovered, got back to his feet and drove through with a big takedown and landed a big punch after the round ended.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Palhares. He almost cost himself the fight by not paying attention. Dean never made any motion to stop the fight and then he got dropped. Craziness.
ROUND TWO: Miller got poked in the eye early and it didn't get stopped. Palhares landed a few big punches and drove through with a nice takedown. Miller almost locked in a triangle but Palhares slammed him. Miller turned over and attempted a takedown. Palhares grabbed the cage a few times and got warned by Herb Dean. Palhares stood and landed a few punches. Miller tried to throw another triangle up. Palhares landed an elbow. Another triangle attempt ended in a slam. This is a crazy pace in this fight. Palhares dropped into Miller's guard for a little rest. He went back to the ground and pound. Miller landed an elbow from the bottom. Palhares postured up and landed a few big punches. Miller is defending and keeps looking for a submission. Palhares continued throwing punches and Miller is hurting. Palhares looked to grab a leg and gave up position. Palhares continued throwing punches and Miller tried to move to avoid the stoppage. Palhares got back into Miller's guard and he may be tiring from the assault.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-8 Palhares. Palhares is lucky he hasn't had two points taken away in this fight. Miller took a beating in that round but continued to defend and attempt submissions throughout.
ROUND THREE: Miller landed a left early. Palhares stalked and landed a right. Both are very tired here. Palhares landed a left. Miller got in a couple of punches. Palhares landed a short uppercut. Miller caught a kick and countered with a right. They traded lefts. Miller landed a left. Miller popped in with a short two punch combo. Miller landed a left. They each got in with a hard punch in an exchange. Palhares landed a leg kick. Miller landed another short combo. Palhares landed a nice left. A lot less power in the strikes of both fighters. Palhares pressed in with a few. Miller landed a hard jab. Palhares landed a left to the body. Palhares landed a few rights. Miller got in with the jab again. Palhares landed a left hook. They traded strikes. Palhares got a kick and landed a couple of strikes. They traded strikes once more as the round, and fight, ended.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Miller. He had a higher output in that round, though it was very close, but he popped Palhares with a couple of hard jabs. Much slower round after a crazy opening round.
WINNER: Palhares via unanimous decision (29-27, 30-27, 30-25)
STAR RATING: (***) That first round was insane. Palhares stopped punching without Herb Dean stopping it, and then almost got knocked out when they needed to be restarted. It was an insane back and forth, and then he put on a beating in the second round, but both were exhausted by the third, leading to a slow end to the fight.
RAMIFICATIONS: Miller continues to gain good will with the UFC by taking fights like this on short notice and putting in gutsy performances. That was a hell of a fight, and he'll be rewarded for that. Palhares moves himself back up the ladder a little bit, but he nearly cost himself that fight.
FIGHT TWO: THIAGO TAVARES VS. SPENCER FISHER (LIGHTWEIGHT)
ROUND ONE: Tavares threw a head kick immediately but slipped. Fisher let him get back up. They traded kicks to the body. Tavares continued throwing kicks. He then shot in for a takedown and drove Fisher to the cage. Fisher kept his back on the cage, but Tavares stayed on him to drag him down and complete the takedown. Tavares passed nicely to half guard. Fisher got his back to the cage again. Tavares pulled his legs out briefly but Fisher again got his back to the cage. They were in a definite stalemate as Fisher continued to defend. Tavares started throwing elbows and again tried to drag him down. He's simply not able to keep him fully down. He landed a few more strikes and again tried to pull him down but then they were stood up. Tavares threw a body kick. Fisher landed a strike and Tavares ducked under and drove for the takedown. Fisher held it off for a bit but Tavares completed another one. Fisher immediately got his back to the cage again. Tavares landed a hard right and finally got Fisher on his back. He landed some good strikes in the guard and passed to side control. He moved to the full mount and took Fisher's back but time was running out in the round. Fisher got loose and to his feet as the round came to an end.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Tavares. The takedowns, ground and pound and overall control worked in his favor, but Fisher is defending almost everything very well.
ROUND TWO: Tavares began the round with a couple of kicks that Fisher blocked, and then he drove for the takedown. Fisher briefly held it off, but Tavares pulled up and brought him down. Again Fisher moved to get his back to the cage. Tavares landed a few short strikes and tried to pass. Tavares with a few more short strikes. Fisher tried to throw a few back. Tavares landed a right after pulling Fisher's legs out again. They traded strikes in this position some more. Tavares passed to side control and got Fisher's back. He landed some hard strikes as Fisher tried to cover up. He moved to mount and Fisher gave up his back again. Tavares continued throwing strikes and the ref finally stepped in to stop it. Fisher wasn't happy with the stoppage, but he wasn't doing much but covering up. The crowd erupted at the stoppage, and they've done a great job in mic'ing the crowd and giving a great feel for what it's like in the arena right now. Awesome crowd.
WINNER: Tavares via TKO at 2:51 of the second round
POST FIGHT: Tavares switches between English and Portuguese in expressing his post-fight thoughts, drawing boos and cheers from the crowd, respectively. He says he wants to return to action soon.
STAR RATING: (**) It was a bit of a stalemate for much of it, but Tavares was relentless, and finally got to the position he needed to be and didn't let it go. Very good performance from Tavares tonight.
-They re-air Erick Silva's 40 second TKO over Luis Ramos from the Facebook card.
-Dana White and Mike Goldberg yell over each other to give a final sell for the pay-per-view card.
======PAY-PER-VIEW CARD======
-Much like with UFC 129, we get a different type of opening video package, this one highlighting the history of MMA in Brazil before going into the black and white sit down video clips. We still get the same "Face the Pain" opening, probably won't be changing until the Fox show.
-Kenny Florian and Mike Goldberg welcome the pay-per-view crowd and run down the fights on the main card here tonight. We've already had a pretty good night of fights on Facebook and Spike, and the crowd in Brazil has been fantastic. Can't wait to see how they react for the big three fights tonight.
FIGHT THREE: LUIZ CANE VS. STANISLAV NEDKOV (LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT)
ROUND ONE: Cane walked Nedkov down early. Nedkov through a feeler overhand right but it didn't land. Cane landed an inside leg kick and walked Nedkov to the cage again. Nedkov tried to press him back with a right. Cane landed a couple of nice strikes. Nedkov landed a right as he pushed forward. Cane landed another nice inside leg kick. Nedkov threw a big overhand right but it was blocked. Cane landed a left an an inside leg kick again. Nedkov connected with the right again. Cane landed a right but ate a hard counter. Nedkov is finding a home for the overhand right and Cane needs to block it better. Cane slipped and Nedkov tried to chase him down. Cane got back on track and hurt Nedkov with three big punches. Nedkov recovered. Cane landed a big counter left and Nedkov was bleeding. Cane kicked Nedkov's laeg out and landed an uppercut as Nedkov got back to his feet. Cane landed a hard leg kick and kept Nedkov's back on the cage. Nedkov landed a right. Nedkov hurt Cane badly with a huge combination. He pounced and landed a bunch of strikes and dropped Cane against the cage. The ref gave Cane time to recover, but he wasn't defending and Nedkov finished him off. The crowd went silent.
WINNER: Nedkov via TKO 4:13 of the first round
POST FIGHT: The crowd threw in some cheers mixed with the boos. They had some confusion with who was going to translate for Nedkov. This is an awkward mess.
STAR RATING: (**) Decent back and forth one round fight. Cane was landing some big strikes, and had Nedkov hurting, but the Bulgarian changed things up after the overhand right wasn't working and cracked Cane with a left and then followed it up for a nice comeback.
RAMIFICATIONS: Nedkov gets a big win in his UFC debut, and that will give him another featured spot in his next fight. For Cane, this is his third loss in four fights, and he's close to being on his way out.
-We get a nice preview for UFC 135: Jones vs. Rampage. It's going to be "The Legend" vs. "The Future" on September 24. Can't wait for that fight.
FIGHT FOUR: ANTONIO RODRIGO "MINOTAURO" NOGUEIRA VS. BRENDAN SCHAUB (HEAVYWEIGHT)
ROUND ONE: The crowd was electric as the two touched gloves. Nogueira took the center and tried to clinch early. Schaub turned him around and pushed him to the cage. He landed an uppercut in the clinch and separated. They traded punches. Schaub got in a nice straight punch and Nogueira drove in again. Schaub held him off and landed a nice knee. He landed a couple of uppercuts again. Schaub landed the uppercut again after they separated. Nogueira landed a nice right, but immediately ate a combination in counter from Schaub. Schaub landed a kick to the lead leg of Nogueira. They traded jabs. Schaub tried a jumping punch but missed. Nogueira landed a hard jab and continued to stalk. Schaub landed the uppercut again. Nogueira used some decent head movement to avoid some of the flurry, but Schaub landed a bunch of strikes. They traded strikes. Nogueira landed a huge right and Schaub is hurt. He's out on his feet and Nogueira drops him! Nogueira lands one on the ground and it's all over! WOW!
WINNER: Nogueira via KO at 3:09 of the first round
POST FIGHT: Nogueira addressed his hometown fans in Portuguese first much to their delight. Despite the talk of Nogueira being 100%, he said he was actually injured and took the fight because he wanted to fight in his hometown.
STAR RATING: (***+) That was absolutely fantastic. Schaub was finding a home for his uppercut, but then Nogueira kept coming, and kept coming, and crushed him with that combination on the cage. It was a beautiful finish.
RAMIFICATIONS: Schaub's title aspirations just took a nose dive. There's no shame in being knocked out by Nogueira, but it was a huge setback for him regardless. For Nogueira, in the elite-starved heavyweight division, another win like that will put him right back into the title picture, and it did a lot to erase the memory of what happened against Cain Velasquez last year. That was just an absolutely satisfying finish for Nog's fans, and a great win for the legend.
-The Erick Silva victory is shown for the second time on television.
FIGHT FIVE: ROSS PEARSON VS. EDSON BARBOZA (LIGHTWEIGHT)
ROUND ONE: Pearson pressed in early and the two traded strikes Pearson got in close and landed a couple of big punches. He's trying to keep Barboza on the defensive. He landed another right. Barboza threw a front kick that missed. Pearson landed a left. Barboza circled on the outside but Pearson kept his back to the cage. Pearson landed a left and clinched, but Barboza landed a knee to the body and backed off. They traded a few big punches and Barboza got the better of the exchange. Pearson landed a nice left hook. He came in with a knee and then landed a left as Barboza tried to defend. Barboza landed a huge spinning back kick to the body. He still moved forward and landed a kick. Barboza got in with a leg kick. Pearson landed another big punch. He got in a kick to the body. Barboza went up top with a kick but it was blocked. Pearson landed a hard left. Barboza landed a counter right. Barboza landed a nice left. Pearson landed another short combo. He got in a good body punch. Pearson shot in with 20 seconds left for a takedown, but Barboza held him off on the cage. Barboza landed a knee and separated before the round ended.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Pearson. He was very active, landed a bunch of strikes and controlled the pace of the round. Barboza will need to pick up the tempo here.
ROUND TWO: Barboza landed a nice early left. He caught a kick from Pearson and rocked him with an overhand right. Pearson recovered and got to his feet, but he was hurt. Barboza landed a nice right. He got in with a vicious body kick and then a punch to the body. Pearson continued to move ahead. Barboza landed another hard body kick. Pearson connected on a couple of good counter punches. Barboza got in with the right again. Pearson landed an inside leg kick. They traded punches and Barboza circled away. Pearson shot in but Barboza sprawled and hopped up. Barboza landed a jab. Barboza landed a nice straight kick. They traded strikes again. Pearson landed a few. Barboza landed a big right in close. Pearson came back with a jab. Barboza landed the spinning back kick to the body again. He landed a hard kick to the body and then a punch there as well. Pearson landed a superman punch. Barboza landed a left hook. Pearson responded in kind. Barboza landed a body kick and just missed on another spinning back kick. Barboza landed a short combo. Pearson got in for a clinch but after a couple of knees broke off. Barboza landed a leg kick. He missed on the spinning back kick again and the round came to an end.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Barboza. Pearson continued to stalk, but it was Barboza connecting on the better strikes and landing more throughout the round. Good, even fight thus far.
ROUND THREE: Pearson again began the round by coming forward. He feigned a knee and tried to grapple but Barboza shrugged him off. Barboza with the spinning back kick and then another body kick. Barboza went for a flying knee but it didn't connect flush. Barboza landed a right at the end of a few missed punches. Barboza landed a good kick to the body. Pearson rushed in with a takedown attempt and Barboza held him off. He landed a hard knee and got loose. Pearson landed a leg kick. They traded some punches. Pearson threw a knee that was blocked. Someone needs to do something to definitively take the round, because it's very close at this point. Pearson shot in and got stuffed. Barboza went to the spinning back kick again and it missed its target. Pearson landed an inside leg kick. Barboza landed a left. Pearson connected on a few. They traded strikes on the cage and Barboza landed a huge two punch combination that opened Pearson up. Pearson landed a left and pressed in. Barboza landed a counter left. Barboza with the spinning back kick. Pearson pressed with punches to the end of the round, and it could go either way here.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Barboza. Pearson was landing more punches in the round, but Barboza's were more damaging throughout. Neither convincingly took it, and I have Barboza barely edging it, but that round could go to either of them and even could have been a draw.
WINNER: Barboza via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
STAR RATING: (**+) That was a really solid, close fight. Both fighters were throwing and landing, as well as leading and countering. Barboza just edged it, but many will believe Pearson should have taken the last round, and I won't have much argument with that take, it was really close. Good fight, though.
RAMIFICATIONS: Barboza keeps his undefeated record intact, but Pearson doesn't lose much after such a close fight. Both are still firmly in the middle of the pack of a tightly contested division, so they'll each make a lateral move in their next fights.
FIGHT SIX: FORREST GRIFFIN VS. MAURICIO "SHOGUN" RUA (LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT)
ROUND ONE: Griffin took the center and tested the range early with a half-hearted leg kick. Griffin missed a kick and Shogun tried to counter but missed. Griffin threw an awkward body kick that was blocked. Forrest landed a left but ate an uppercut and a knee. He got in with a right. Shogun landed a right. Forrest ducked under a right. Griffin went high with a kick. Shogun landed a few big punches and got Forrest to the ground. Rua landed a huge series of hammerfists and Forrest is out. Big win for Shogun to rebound from the loss to Jones.
WINNER: Shogun via KO at 1:53 of the first round
STAR RATING: (**+) Griffin looked odd in that fight, and seemed very unsure of how he wanted to approach the fight, and as soon as Shogun got a taste of blood he pounced. That was one of the ways I saw the fight going, but thought Griffin would be able to survive the early onslaught; that didn't happen, and Shogun got a huge win in front of his home country fans.
RAMIFICATIONS: This was a detrimental loss for Griffin, and likely means the end of any road back toward a title shot. For "Shogun," he'll likely just need one more win to get back to a shot of his own.
MAIN EVENT FIGHT SEVEN: ANDERSON SILVA VS. YUSHIN OKAMI (MIDDLEWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP)
ROUND ONE: Okami came straight to the center and Silva circled on the outside. Silva threw a leg kick early. Silva rapidly tossed his jab towards Okami to gauge the distance. The crowd is buzzing for the fight. Okami tried to stalk Silva down and he landed a few short punches in a clinch before separating. Silva landed a two punch combo. Okami landed a right. Silva missed a big left. Silva circled around the cage. Okami got in close and clinched with Silva. He landed a punch and pressed Silva to the cage. He landed a couple of short body punches. Silva got in a good knee to the body. They traded knees to the body in the clinch. Okami landed a body punch. Silva tried to set up the thai clinch but Okami was able to keep himself out of it. They traded knees to the body again. Okami landed an uppercut. He dropped for a takedown but gave it up right away. The crowd booed Okami's clinch. Okami backed off with a minute left. Silva landed a couple of straight punches and ducked under the counters. Okami landed a right. Silva landed a leg kick. He got in an uppercut. Silva landed a head kick and a knee to the body as the round ended. Nice end to the round.
Penick's Scorecard: 10-9 Silva. It was a close round, but the final minute from Silva probably gave him the edge. The head kick was a nice closing move before the knee. Good start.
ROUND TWO: Okami stalked to begin the round. Silva moved to the side and landed a right. Silva's getting a little crazed and he landed a few nice punches. He dropped his arms and ate a jab from Okami. He stood and took a jab from Okami and dropped him with a right. He stood there and let Okami stand back up. He landed a hard right. He stood with his hands down waiting for Okami to engage. Okami would not throw a punch. Silva is going to start toying with him. Okami missed a punch and Silva dropped with a right against the cage. He started picking his shots on the ground. He landed a knee to the body and continued landing strikes as Okami covered up and Herb Dean was forced to stop the fight. That man is incredible.
WINNER: Silva via TKO at 2:04 of the second round
POST FIGHT: The crowd was going nuts and Silva began his interview in English talking about his training partners and just said he was so happy. He said something in Portuguese that got the crowd cheering.
STAR RATING: (***+) The first round was dead even, but then Anderson Silva went to another level in the second. Okami had nothing for him, and Silva had him so shell shocked that he had his hands down at his sides for 20 seconds and Okami would not even throw a punch. The way he can slip punches and connect on the exact spot he needs to connect is simply incredible, and that was just a fantastic showing from the greatest fighter on the planet.
RAMIFICATIONS: Okami got his title shot, and suffered the worst loss he's ever had in his career. Silva is likely going to get a rematch in his next fight, perhaps against Dan Henderson, maybe Chael Sonnen if Sonnen beats Brian Stann, or maybe he moves to light heavyweight. It really doesn't matter at this point. The man is the best fighter in the world, and the best MMA fighter of all time. That was greatness on display tonight.
-There will be another hour of preliminary card fights tonight, with the second straight event ending at the end of the second hour of pay-per-view action, so the Facebook prelim between Paulo Thiago and David Mitchell is up next.
-The next prelim shown is the opening fight of the night between Yves Jabouin and Ian Loveland.
-Mike Goldberg and Kenny Florian close out the show by running down the highlights from the night's event.
Thanks for joining us again tonight, we'll be analyzing the results from this card this week and more as we move toward another action packed stretch of MMA events beginning in just two weeks!
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Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
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Frank Hyden - Rich Hansen
Chris Park - Matt Pelkey
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