- (Photo courtesy of Zuffa, LLC.)
This Saturday night the UFC drops in on the South American country of Brazil for only the second time since the organization’s inception and does so in spectacular fashion in the form of UFC 134: Silva vs. Okami. The card is chock full of hometown heroes with the likes of light heavyweight Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt “Banha” Luiz Cane (9-3), heavy-handed former Ring of Combat Lightweight Champion Edson Barboza (8-0), “Minotauro” Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (32-6-1) of PRIDE fame, and top-ranked former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion “Shogun” Mauricio Rua (19-5) battling it out with undefeated Bulgarian fighter Stanislav Nedkov (5-0), British slugger “The Real Deal” Ross Pearson (17-6-1), The Ultimate Fighter10 runner-up “The Hybrid” Brendan Schaub (7-1), and comical fan favorite Forrest Griffin (18-6), respectively. Headlining the event is a rematch for the ages with UFC Middleweight Champion and top pound-for-pound fighter in the world “The Spider” Anderson Silva (28-4) putting his long-standing UFC title on the line against the last man to hand him a loss, “Thunder” Yushin Okami (26-5). UFC 134 showcases some of the promotion’s premier talent and promises to deliver entertainment in a big way. Here, the MMA Gospel staff predicts what they think will go down this Saturday night.
Dan Griffin, MMA Gospel CEO
Anderson Silva vs. Yushin Okami: Silva via KO (Punch), Round 3
Mauricio Rua vs. Forrest Griffin: Griffin via Unanimous Decision
Brendan Schaub vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira: Nogueira via Submission (Rear Naked Choke), Round 2
Ross Pearson vs. Edson Barboza: Pearson via TKO (Strikes), Round 2
Luiz Cane vs. Stanislav Nedkov: Cane via KO (Punch), Round 2
Mallory Mejia, MMA Gospel Editor-in-Chief
Anderson Silva vs. Yushin Okami: Silva via TKO (Strikes), Round 2
Mauricio Rua vs. Forrest Griffin: Rua via TKO (Strikes), Round 3
Brendan Schaub vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira: Schaub via KO (Punches), Round 2
Ross Pearson vs. Edson Barboza: Barboza via Unanimous Decision
Luiz Cane vs. Stanislav Nedkov: Cane via TKO (Strikes), Round 2
Gary Friedman, MMA Gospel Radio Host
Anderson Silva vs. Yushin Okami: Silva via Unanimous Decision
Mauricio Rua vs. Forrest Griffin: Rua via TKO (Strikes), Round 3
Brendan Schaub vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira: Schaub via TKO (Strikes), Round 1
Ross Pearson vs. Edson Barboza: Barboza via Unanimous Decision
Luiz Cane vs. Stanislav Nedkov: Cane via KO (Punch), Round 2
Spilled Bag of Ice, MMA Gospel Columnist / MMA Gospel Radio Co-Host
Anderson Silva vs. Yushin Okami: Silva via TKO (Strikes), Round 2
Mauricio Rua vs. Forrest Griffin: Rua via KO (Punch), Round 3
Brendan Schaub vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira: Schaub via KO (Punch), Round 1
Ross Pearson vs. Edson Barboza: Pearson via Unanimous Decision
Luiz Cane vs. Stanislav Nedkov: Nedkov via Unanimous Decision
TJ Martinez, MMA Gospel Staff Writer
Cole Moorman, MMA Gospel Staff Writer
Patrick Guera, MMA Gospel Staff Writer
Ronald Young Jr., MMA Gospel Staff Writer
Brian Da Silva, MMA Gospel Staff Writer
Anderson Silva vs. Yushin Okami: Silva via TKO (Strikes), Round 4
Mauricio Rua vs. Forrest Griffin: Rua via Unanimous Decision
Brendan Schaub vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira: Schaub via TKO (Strikes), Round 2
Ross Pearson vs. Edson Barboza: Barboza via TKO (Strikes), Round 2
Luiz Cane vs. Stanislav Nedkov: Cane via TKO (Strikes), Round 1
Matt Homeyer, MMA Gospel Staff Writer
Brendan Schaub vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira: Nogueira via Submission (Guillotine Choke), Round 2
