Making its long awaited return to Brazil, the UFC pulled out all the stops with UFC 134. The fight card was absolutely loaded with superstar talent, including a Middleweight title fight. Naturally, there were Brazilian fighters in every bout, but that only served to excite the on-site fans even more. Overall, the atmosphere was electric and that always seems to have an affect on the fighters. There was some great action, so let's get right to the re-cap.
Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira KO'd Brendan Schaub in the first round. I wasn't sure how this one was going to go. Obviously, on paper, Nogueira was definitely the more well-rounded, experienced fighter. But he's no spring chicken either, so there's always a chance for a young, athletic, heavy-handed fighter like Schaub to pull off a dramatic victory. Nogueira didn't seem to be in a hurry to get the fight to the ground, like many pundits thought he would be. He looked very comfortable striking with Schaub and did major damage with a right hook late in the first round. Schaub's legs buckled and Nogueira got one more hard punch in before the fight was stopped. I'm sure it was heart braking for Schaub, but Nogueira ignited the crowd and the volume inside the building went up significantly. For Nogueira, the win just proves that he's still got something in the tank and that, when healthy, can match up with just about anybody in the heavyweight division.
Edson Barboza defeated Ross Pearson by split decision. This turned out to be a very good fight, because both guys were striking really well. Barboza's Muay Thai skills were applied to MMA with phenomenal effectiveness, while Pearson continues to look better with every UFC appearance. I thought the first round was pretty even, with both fighters giving as well as they got. The edge might have started to move Barboza's way in the second, as he seemed to start landing a little more effectively. Still, it was really close and both fighters should have been thinking it was up for grabs going into the third. Barboza continued to fight well and bloodied Pearson up a bit. Pearson didn't back down a bit and continued to score points as well, but I thought Barboza took the final two rounds and probably would have given Pearson the first. It ended up being a split decision, but the right fighter got the win in my book.
Mauricio "Shogun" Rua TKO'd Forrest Griffin in the first round. If ever the tables were tilted for someone to avenge a loss, it would have seemed so for Shogun in this fight. He had the home crowd behind him and there was no way that Griffin was going to surprise hime. But Griffin is a deceptively effective fighter. His goofball image and self-deprecating sense of humor can keep him from seeming like a threat at times, but I think that's all part of his plan. I mean, the guy has to be smarter than he makes himself seem, right? When healthy and focused, Griffin is one of the biggest, strongest 205-pounders in the world and he doesn't have any glaring weaknesses. In other words, it wouldn't have been completely shocking if he pulled off something spectacular against Shogun again. Well, that didn't happen. They both looked pretty good early in the first, but Forrest dropped down like he was going to try a take down as Shogun threw a flurry of strikes. Instead, Shogun just sort of bulldozed him, landed on top and knocked him silly with hammer strikes. Watching the replay, I really don't think it was any of the standing strikes that hurt Forrest, but the hammer fists on the ground. Honestly, it was really bad technique on Forrest's part. He seemed to be caught off guard and you can't miss a beat against a finisher like Shogun.
Anderson Silva TKO'd Yushin Okami in the second round. In my mind, this was going to go one of two ways. Either Silva would end the fight in spectacular fashion, or Okami was going to grind it out in really boring fashion. The first round started kind of slow. Okami wanted to clinch against the cage, but I think Silva definitely pulled out the round with a huge head kick that landed in the closing seconds. He got to work quickly in the second round, dropping his hands and inviting Okami to attack. When he did, he got tagged with a jab that put him on his butt. He got back up and ended up sitting back down very quickly when Silva hit him hard with another right. This time, Silva finished him off with ground strikes, making it an even better night for all of the Brazilian fans in attendance. There isn't much to say about Silva that hasn't been said a million times already. He's held the Middleweight belt for almost five years now and there still doesn't seem to be anyone capable of taking it away on the radar.
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