The UFC is finally making its return back to Brazil this Saturday night. It has been nearly thirteen years since the UFC has been back, and this wait was long overdue. This card is going to set the tone for the upcoming UFC events coming up before 2011 is over. This is also the first card after the UFC announced their new partnership deal with FOX. UFC 134 features a ton of talent, both young and old. There are exciting match-ups throughout the card, and we get a chance to see the best fighter in the world display his talent. (Sorry Chael Sonnen, Anderson Silva is the best fighter in the world, his 13-0 record in the UFC proves it.) Also, anytime Forrest Griffin is on a fight card it's awesome. Shogun Rua gets a chance to show that he is back as one of the top 205-pounders in the world after his lackluster performance against Jon Jones. Old timer vs. new timer when Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Brendan Schaub lock horns as Big Nog tries for one last run at the Heavyweight title, and Schaub tries to establish himself as one of best up and coming fighters in the world. Don't blink during the Ross Pearson and Edson Barbosa fight because this is going to be a stand up war and should be a very exciting fight. Luiz Cane and UFC newcomer Stanislav Nedkov will start UFC 134 in Rio on the pay-per-view card. The HSBC Arena in Rio de Janiero will be off the hook, and once Big Nog, Shogun, and The Spider are entering the cage, the energy in the Arena will be nuts! All 14,000 tickets sold out in 74 minutes once the tickets went on sell, and that just shows how excited the fans of Brazil are for the return of the UFC.
LUIZ CANE (11-3, 4-3 in the UFC)
VS STANISLAV NEDKOV (11-0, 0-0 in the UFC)
Just about every fight that Luiz Cane is in is always full of excitement. Cane does one thing, he comes in to knock you out or to be knocked out. Only one of his seven UFC fights have ended up in the judge's hands. Cane is looking to start a two-fight winning streak after he beat Eliot Marshall at UFC 128. Before that, Cane dropped two fights in a row so this will be a big fight for Cane if he wants to stay relevant in the 205-pound division. He is going to have his hands full against UFC newcomer Stanislav Nedkov. Nedkov brings a perfect 11-0 record, but he has not fought the same caliber of fighters that Cane has. The toughest guy Nedkov beat was Kevin Randleman at Sengoku 8, back in May 2009. Cane will definitely be the toughest fight that Nedkov has had in his young fighting career. The 30-year old Bulgarian fighter will look to start his UFC career with a bang and become someone to wrecking with. Nine of his 11 career fights have either ended in submission or (T)KO, so do not expect this fight to go to the judges. Luiz Cane is the 2:1 favorite in the Vegas betting odds, and in my opinion I think that is a safe bet. I think Nedkov will have his hands full in his first UFC fight, and especially with it being in Cane's backyard in Brazil. Cane will look to set the tone off with excitement in the first fight of the pay-per-view card. I think Cane will get the TKO in the first round, but Cane could very well get caught, because he is going to be willing to stand and trade with Nedkov.
ROSS PEARSON (12-4, 4-1 in the UFC)
VS EDSON BARBOSA (8-0, 2-0 in the UFC)
This fight has fight of the night written all over it. Both of these guys are going to come in and stand and bang. Pearson has shown how good of a fighter he is when he dominated Dennis Siver back in March 2010, but in his next fight Cole Miller submitted him. It is hard to tell how good Pearson is going to be, but one thing is for sure the ceiling is very high for the young lad from England. Pearson bounced back after his loss to Miller, and won a unanimous decision against Spencer Fisher in his last fight. Pearson has shown to be a very capable striker, but he lacks the power as three of his four UFC wins have been by decision. The Ultimate Fighter Nine winner looks to get another win streak as he tries to capture his second straight win against a very game opponent. Edson Barbosa might be the best fighter in the world that no one has ever heard of. This kid is an absolute beast. Barbosa looked very impressive in his last fight against a very tough striker in Anthony Njokuani in route to his unanimous decision victory. All of the other seven fights Barbosa has not made it to the judge's scorecards. He has six wins by (T)KO and one win by submission. This is going to be an exciting back and forth fight, and I am calling this one for fight of the night honors. I have Barbosa winning this fight by a decision, and I think it will be a close fight. I am giving Pearson a better chance at winning than Vegas is, because Barbosa is nearly a 3:1 favorite. I think Barbosa will win via split decision, but do not count out the tough kid from England. Both of these guys are both very talented young fighters in the stacked 155-pound division, and the winner will move up the rankings significantly and probably get a top ten lightweight next.
BRENDAN SCHAUB (8-1, 4-1 in the UFC)
VS ANTONIO RODRIGO NOGUEIRA (32-6-1-1 NC, 3-2 in the UFC)
This is a huge fight for both of these fighters. Schaub wants to prove himself as one of the top tier Heavyweights in the world. Big Nog wants to stay relevant in the Heavyweight division and make one last run at the Heavyweight belt. Rodrigo Nogueira has fought the best in the world during his tremendous career. He has beaten the likes of Mark Coleman, Dan Henderson, Heath Herring (3x), Mirko Cro-Cop, Sergei Kharitonov, Randy Couture, Josh Barnett, Tim Sylvia, and Fabricio Werdum. Plain and simple Big Nog has been around fighting the best in the World for a long time. However, a lot of these wins came back in Big Nog's Pride days so we will see whaw Big Nog shows up. The one against Randy Couture at UFC 102, or the one against Cain Velasquez at UFC 110. On the other hand, Brendan Schaub is a young up and coming fighter who is looking to add another signature win to his resume. He has won four fights in a row since his KO loss to Roy Nelson in TUF 10 Finale. Three of his four UFC wins have come by (T)KO and has shown tremendous striking. Schaub has some of the best hands in the Heavyweight division and his power can end the fight at anytime, just ask Mirko Cro-Cop what happened. Also, Schaub looked very impressive against a very game Gabriel Gonzaga in route of a dominating unanimous decision victory. If Schaub can add Big Nog to his hit list expect him to quickly jump in the mix for the Heavyweight belt. This fight is 50-50 in my eyes and I can see this going either way. Schaub continues to say his jiu-jitsu is right there with Big Nog, but that would be a huge mistake if he really thinks that. However, Schaub definitely has the advantage in striking so this fight will be very intriguing. Schaub is better than a 2:1 favorite in Vegas, and I would put my money on Schaub. I think Big Nog is on the downhill of his career, but still he is a guy that is hard to count out. I could see Big Nog pulling out a submission victory, especially since this fight is in his backyard in Brazil. This should give Rodrigo some extra energy to work with and might push him towards victory as he tries to get back in the Heavyweight title picture. In my opinion, I see the road coming close to an end for Big Nog and I think Schaub will get a second round KO victory with one strong right hand that puts Big Nig out cold.
FORREST GRIFFIN (18-6, 9-4 in the UFC)
VS MAURICIO "SHOGUN" RUA (19-5, 3-3 in the UFC)
Nobody gave Forrest Griffin a chance to beat Shogun at UFC 76 when Shogun made his Octagon debut, but Griffin pulled off the upset with a rear naked choke in the third round. Even if Griffin did not pull out the submission victory he was dominating the fight and would have won on the scorecards. (Most likely I should say, because there have been some head scratching decisions from the judges in the past.) For some odd reason Forrest Griffin always seems to win when he is the heavy underdog. Griffin is a lot more talented than people give him credit for. He is a well rounded fighter and is comfortable wherever the fight ends up. Ever since his back to back losses to Anderon Silva and Rashad Evans, Griffin has bounced back and looked good against Tito Ortiz, and then dominated Rich Franklin in his last fight. Shogun is looking to bounce back after a lackluster performance against Jon Jones when he lost his Light Heavyweight belt. However, Jon Jones has made everyone look bad in every fight he has had in the UFC. Rua has been on of the hardest fighters to predict, mainly because of injuries. Word is Shogun is 100% for this fight, so will see if the Shogun that knocked out Chuck Liddell and Lyota Machida shows up. Also, with the fight being in Brazil you would think that the real Shogun would show up and immolate the Shogun we saw run through Pride. Shogun is a 2.5:1 favorite in Vegas, but I have a funny feeling that if you bet on Forrest you will have some money coming your way. Forrest Griffin always seems to pull out wins when he is the underdog, and I see him doing the same on Saturday night. I see Griffin pulling out a close fight, and I think it will come down to the third round. Shogun has always had an issue with cardio, and Griffin seems to always be ready to fight the full 15 minutes. I see Griffin taking down Shogun in the third round in route to a unanimous 29-28 victory on the scorecards. However, I definitely would not be surprised to see Shogun win this fight either, but I think Griffin will find a way to pull out a grueling decision on the judge's scorecards. This is a huge fight for both fighters as they both try and get closer to getting in a position to capture the 205-pound belt once again.
MAIN EVENT
ANDERSON SILVA (30-4, 13-0 in the UFC)
VS YUSHIN OKAMI (26-5, 10-2 in the UFC)
There are not many people giving Yushin Okami a chance to win this fight, and I am one of those people. Anderson Silva is 13-0 in the UFC and only one man ever was close to beating Anderson Silva in the UFC. Chael Sonnen was two minutes away from becoming the first guy to beat Silva in the UFC. Okami has been training with Sonnen ever since Sonnen beat Okami in 2009. Sonnen is definitely the right guy to be training with preparing for Anderson Silva because he clearly knows how to give Silva his run for his money. However, I think Sonnen and Okami are not in the same class. Okami has always done well against B level fighters but against the top guys in the Middleweight division he has not performed that well. I do not see that changing against Silva. Okami definitely has a good wrestling pedigree and is one of the strongest, if not the strongest, 185-pounder in the world. Okami was the last guy to beat Silva, but Okami was the one who was rocked in the fight and could not continue. An illegal up kick from Silva got him the DQ in the fight with a vicious up kick to the face. This time around Anderson Silva knows the rules and we will not see this again. Okami wants to prove he can beat Silva the right way, and Silva wants to prove he can beat Okami the legal way. I see Silva dominating this fight and getting the KO victory in the first round. I think Silva will get an even better KO victory than the one he displayed on Vitor Belfort with a nasty front kick to the face. I am going on a limb and saying Silva will either win with a KO victory with a spinning back fist or a spinning back kick. Anderson Silva will improve his undefeated UFC record to an impressive 14-0 and will be praying for Chael Sonnen to beat Brian Stann at UFC 136 for one of the most anticipated rematches in UFC history. Hopefully this time around Silva won't be fighting with cracked ribs. Anderson Silva will prove once again that he is the best fighter in the World.
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