MMA Nation - UFC 134 Results And Analysis: Silva Vs. Okami

UFC Champ Anderson Silva Still Upset With Manager, Next Fight Uncertain

2011-11-16T18:13:35Z

Jeff Gluck, SBNation's NASCAR editor caught up with UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva this Sunday. Here's his report:

Anderson Silva doesn't know for sure when his next fight will be, but he knows one thing: He's still pissed at manager Ed Soares for a now-infamous photo taken of Soares and Silva rival Chael Sonnen.

"It's a problem," Silva told MMA Nation on Sunday at Phoenix International Raceway, where he was an honorary official for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race. "It's a big problem. I don't like the picture, I don't like the position my manager (was in). Big problem. I don't like it."

It's worth noting, however, that Silva said this with Soares standing right next to him. When it was pointed out that Soares was there, Silva offered a hint of a smile but stuck to his original statement.

"It's a problem," he said. "Bad position."

Silva and Soares both said there's no fight set with Sonnen, not even on Super Bowl Sunday at what will likely be UFC 143.

"There's no date, there's nothing set up," Soares said. "That's what (Sonnen) is saying he wants. But when Dana White decides and when the UFC decides...right now, there's nothing set."

Silva proposed an easy way to get a date set quickly with Sonnen.

"I don't like this guy," he said. "This guy (wants to) fight me? Go to Brazil. No problem. ... Chael talks too much. I'm ready to fight Chael. But you have the chance – go to Brazil to fight me."

Anderson Silva Lasers Yushin Okami At UFC 134

2011-08-28T03:17:08Z

Anderson Silva took his time finding his range and timing against Yushin Okami, letting Okami survive the first round. But he poured it on in the second with two laser-quick straight right hands that dropped Okami flat on his ass. Silva dropped his hands to his waist and taunted Okami in the second. Okami tried to answer with jabs of his own but Silva beat him to the punch by a terrifyingly wide margin.

Anderson Silva defeats Yushin Okami via knockout at 2:04 of Round 2.

Silva landed a crushing high kick to the back of the head that staggared Okami at the end of the first round. Otherwise Okami acquitted himself well in the first round. It was a different story in the second round. Silva came out visibly hyper-active and showed a dramatic increase in his rate of movement. From there it didn't take long for Silva to finish Okami although the Japanese wrestler survived one blast jab that dropped him flat on his butt.

Forrest Griffin Mauricio Shogun Rua At UFC 134

2011-08-28T02:42:33Z

Mauricio "Shogun" Rua dropped Forrest Griffin with a looping right hand then followed it up with his patented go-for-the-kill ground and pound to finish the fight at 1:53 of the first round. Rua showed no mercy as he bounced Griffin's head off the canvas with repeated hammer fists.

Mauricio Rua defeats Forrest Griffin via knockout at 1:53 of Round 1.

Griffin had hoped to win the rematch to put a seal on a series with Shogun, but now they've split their pair of fights 1-1. Rua was utterly dominant in the rematch, hurting Griffin with a looping overhand right and then imposing his brutal will on the American fighter.

Rua was very excited to celebrate in front of the Rio de Janiero crowd after picking up the win. His last fight was a loss to champion Jon Jones. It's a certainty he'd like to get a shot to get his title back although after the one-sided nature of his loss to Jones makes that an uphill climb.

Edson Barboza And Ross Pearson Go To War At UFC 134

2011-08-28T02:22:56Z

Edson Barboza hurt Ross Pearson with repeated bombs to the face. Pearson forced a close range fight, but it turns out that Barboza had the sharper shots up close. Barboza deservedly took a split decision after busting up Pearson's face.

Pearson showed why he was considered a contender coming off a 3-0 streak to enter the UFC tonight. It wasn't enough as Barboza managed to adapt his outside striking game to deal with Pearson's inside game. Barboza caught Pearson with hard crushing hooks.

Edson Barboza defeats Ross Pearson via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28).

Barboza improves to 3-0 in the UFC and 9-0 overall. Pearson falls to 12-5, 4-2 UFC. Barboza will look to enter contention level fights after getting this big win. Pearson will likely hope to be booked on the next UK card. He should be safe from getting cut after a potential Fight of the Night performance at UFC 134.

Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira Smashes Brendan Schaub For Brazilian Crowd At UFC 134

2011-08-28T01:48:30Z

The greatest Brazilian heavyweight of all-time put on a career defining performance against Brendan Schaub at UFC 134. It was Nogueira's first time to fight before a Brazilian crowd in a career spanning more than a decade of fighting at the highest levels of MMA in Japan and the United States.

UFC 134 results: Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira defeats Brendan Schaub via knockout at 3:09 of Round 1.

Schaub tagged the iron-chinned Nogueira several times but in the end Nog connected with a brutal 1-2 combination and followed up with more punches to drop Schaub and one last one on the ground to get the finish. Nogueira came off an 18 month layoff after hip and knee surgery. His last fight was a KO loss to current champion Cain Velasquez at UFC 110 in August 2010.

Schaub looked to be replaying the same game plan that had finished the aging legend Mirko "Cro Cop" Filipovic but Nogueira came back hard to finish Schaub.

Stanislav Nedkov Smashes Luiz Cane In Amazing Come Back At UFC 134

2011-08-28T01:31:11Z

For most of the brief duration of Stanislav Nedkov's UFC debut against Luiz Cane, Cane was putting a beating on the smaller Nedkov. Nedkov had repeatedly thrown only one punch -- a looping overhand right that Cane walked through again and again. But he went to the well once too often and Nedkov hurt him bad toward the end of the round. Once Nedkov had Cane hurt, he poured it on, following the stunned Cane down and forcing referee Mario Yamasaki to stop the fight.

UFC 134 results: Stanislav Nedkov defeats Luiz Cane via knockout at 4:13 of Round 1.

Nedkov, a national wrestling champion in his native Bulgaria brought an 11-0 record to the UFC. He is now 12-0 and 1-0 in the UFC. He might want to consider moving down to the middleweight division because he looked small and outmatched against Luiz Cane. Right up until he knocked him out that is.

Thiago Tavares Defeats Spencer Fisher At UFC 134

2011-08-28T01:04:59Z

Thiago Tavares implemented a classic Brazilian game plan for the home town crowd at UFC 134: Rio de Janeiro and beat down Spencer Fisher from the mounted position in the second round. Tavares had been relentless about taking down Fisher and working for dominant position throughout the first round and was able to advance all the way to the mount. From there he battered Fisher from the top with punches, elbows and forearm smashes.

Thiago Tavares defeats Spencer Fisher via TKO at 2:51 of Round 2.

Tavares showed his Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu acumen by implementing a text book BJJ game plan against Fisher, an American known for his Muay Thai abilities. Tavares made sure Fisher had no chance to use his stand-up striking game by dominating the wrestling aspect of the fight utterly.

If Tavares wasn't pinning Fisher down, he was pulling his hips back to flatten him down, if he wasn't punching from the top position, he was throwing elbows. Both fighters came into UFC 134 off a loss, this will be Fisher's second straight.

Rousimar Palhares And Dan Miller Put On A Doozy At UFC 134

2011-08-28T00:46:15Z

The fight had more of MMA's patented "holy shit did you see that?" moments than your average three or four fight cards. Rousimar Palhares thought he finished Dan Miller in the first round and stopped the assault to celebrate. Unfortunately for him, Referee Herb Dean hadn't stopped the fight. When the action resumed, Miller actually dropped Palhares with a short straight punch. Palhares hung on to survive the first round.

Palhares had dropped Miller with a head kick and followed up with savage ground and pound. But after landing three or four shots on the downed Miller he assumed Herb Dean was stopping the fight. Palhares jumped atop the cage and had to be pulled back down.

UFC 134 results: Rousimar Palhares defeats Dan Miller via unanimous decision (29-27, 30-27, 30-25).

In the second, Palhares came out on a mission and battered Miller with a frenzy of bludgeoning blows. He scored enough in the first two rounds for one judge to award him two rounds by 10-8. It's an indicator of how crazy the fight was and how back and forth the action was that the judges came up with three radically different scores but the same decision -- Palhares won the fight on all ballots.