The UFC is headed to Rio for a landmark homecoming for many of its high level and most recognizable fighters. UFC 134, taking place on Saturday. None more so than Anderson "The Spider" Silva (30-4, 13-0 UFC). He is one of the most polarizing figures in combat sports today and he will be squaring off against the last man to hand him a defeat in Yushin Okami (26-5, 10-2 UFC).
Okami has been known in the past for just coming up short when it came to title contention. In the UFC, his record stands at 10-2, and the "2" were both #1 contender match-ups. Finally, after a unanimous decision victory against recently-fired Nate Marquardt, he finally gets his chance.
The only problem with his chance (and every other middleweight who has been granted a title shot in the last 5 years) is that it will come against Anderson Silva, considered by many to be the number one pound-for-pound fighter in the world. While Okami is the last person to defeat Silva on paper, that defeat was a disqualification due to an illegal kick to a grounded opponent, a kick that knocked Okami for a bit of a loop. Silva wants to erase that blot, especially since he believed that Okami could have continued the fight.
This time last year, Silva barely escaped with his belt after taking a 4 1/2-round pounding at the hands of Chael Sonnen, only to lock in a miracle triangle choke to retain the title. While he did keep his strap, his one glaring weakness came to light...his lack of wrestling defense. Chael took him down with ease multiple times and kept him there....never even attempting to pass Silva's guard.
It looks like Yushin Okami's best shot is to take Anderson down. His black belt in Judo is certainly a good base, but in order to maximize his chances, he sought out the help of the one man who made Silva look human; Chael Sonnen.
Predictions
With Sonnen's help, Yushin Okami should be able to take Anderson down multiple times in a long fight. The problem that he is going to have to overcome is that every fight starts on the feet, and Anderson Silva is one of the most dynamic and devastating strikers in mixed martial arts history. His front kick knockout of Vitor Belfort in his last outing was a sound display of how unpredictable and destructive Silva's striking truly is.
Silva is always one strike away from finishing any fighter who steps in the octagon with him. He has a great ability to finish opponents, especially when that opponent is the most recent blemish on an amazing record.
Okami, on the other hand, has only one chance to win this fight; take Anderson down and hold him down for 25 minutes. He doesn't possess one-punch KO power. His strikes aren't known to be that effective. Most of his wins are grinding decision victories with little damage being done to his opponents. His size and strength are advantages he takes into the cage with most middleweights, both of which could help him stifle Silva.
Silva is going to be too much. Okami isn't the wrestler that Chael Sonnen is, so Silva isn't going to have much trouble staying on his feet and his ability to finish opponents (and Okami's lack thereof) will give him 25 minutes of nonthreatening combat in which to take care of this fight, but he won't need all of it.
Silva wins by 2nd round TKO and his belt isn't going anywhere just yet.
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