UFC 134 "Silva vs. Okami" Facebook Fights Dominated By Brazilians, Anchored By Paulo Thiago And Raphael Assuncao

This weekend, the UFC will host its “UFC 134: Silva vs. Okami” event in Brazil, the latest in a long line of super-cards. UFC 134 is even more important because it marks that UFC’s return to Brazil for the first time in over a decade. From top to bottom, the card is loaded with top Brazilian talent. So it’s my pleasure to bring back my “A Closer Look” series and examine many of the fights in detail. To start us off, let’s look at the five-fight card slated to air on the UFC’s Facebook page.

Let’s talk about the match-up between Yves Jabouin and Ian Loveland first. It’s interesting to note that this is the only fight on the entire UFC 134 card that does not feature a Brazilian, it’s also one of only two fights on the Facebook card that does not feature two Brazilian fighters fighting each other. Jabouin is in “do or die” mode for this fight, having won only once in his past four fights with two stoppage losses. Meanwhile, Ian Loveland just had his seven-fight win-streak ended by top Bantamweight Joseph Benavidez.

Next up is a fight between Yuri Alcantara and Felipe Arantes. For most of his career, Alcantara fought in his native Brazil. In December, he made his WEC debut in the final show the WEC would ever run, winning by first-round KO. Arantes, meanwhile, will be making his UFC debut at this event. Arantes is 13-3 with ten stoppages, and hasn’t lost since 2009, although he does have two No Contests.

Following that will be an interesting fight between Erick Silva and Luis Ramos. Both men will be making their UFC debuts at this event. Silva’s record stands at an impressive 12-1 with one No Contest, with a majority of his wins by submission. Meanwhile, Luis Ramos has been fighting for almost a decade and has compiled a record of 19-6, and is currently on a three-fight win-streak.

The Facebook co-main event will likely be Raphael Assuncao taking on Johnny Eduardo. Assuncao was one of the fighters that transitioned to the UFC once the WEC was folded into it, having fought five times in the famed blue cage. Unfortunately, Assuncao lost his UFC debut by KO and has only won one time in his four most-recent fights. Meanwhile, Eduardo is a UFC newcomer with a record of 25-8, and he’s bringing an eleven-fight win-streak with him when he enters the Octagon.

And finally, the Facebook main event will see Paulo Thiago fight David Mitchell. Mitchell entered the UFC a perfect 11-0 back in September, but would end up losing his UFC debut via Unanimous Decision. Paulo Thiago, meanwhile, has struggled to find steady ground in the UFC’s Welterweight division after his shocking UFC debut saw him KO Josh Koscheck. Currently, Thiago is on a two-fight losing-streak.

And now, here are some quick thoughts I have on these fights.

I don’t like Yves Jabouin’s chances against Ian Loveland. I think this is a fight tailor-made to put Loveland on the comeback trail, and also tailor-made to put Jabouin out of the UFC. I don’t think anyone will catch anything, but I do think Loveland will assert himself early and often and taking a commanding win.

Alcantara and Arantes has all the makings of a “sleeper hit”, so I’ll be paying close attention to this one. It’s a tough fight to call, but right now I’m liking Alcantara because of his WEC credentials.

Erick Silva vs. Luis Ramos will be an interesting “veteran vs. prospect” match-up, but I’m liking the prospect in this one.

Although I’ve enjoyed seeing Raphael Assuncao fight in the past, I’m siding against him at this event simply because he hasn’t looked too good lately and his opponent has a large win-streak coming into his UFC debut.

And finally, I think Paulo Thiago will continue to show all-too-brief flashes of brilliance and dramatically stop David Mitchell.