Both Yushin Okami And Anderson Silva Face Destiny And Fight For A Legacy In The Main Event Of UFC 134

And so it has come to pass: my special mini-series “A Closer Look At UFC 134” enters its third and final day with this, the seventh and final post. I’ve examined all the major fights in detail, and for those who want to catch up or have missed a few posts, here’s the traditional start-of-post recap. To see part 1, click here. Part 2 is available here, Part 3 is right here, and Part 4 is here. Finally, part 5 is here while part 6 is here. Now it’s time to examine the main event of UFC 134: a colossal Middleweight showdown against Yushin Okami and Anderson Silva for Silva’s long-held UFC Middleweight Championship.

Yushin Okami has been with the UFC since 2006, and has only lost two times in twelve fights. Okami earned a sizable underground fanbase that more or less dubbed him “the best Middleweight you’ve never heard of” thanks to his victories over the likes of Evan Tanner, Alan Belcher, Mark Munoz, and more.

Recently, Okami defeated Nate Marquardt to earn his long-awaited rematch against Anderson Silva. Silva nay-sayers and Okami fans alike frequently point out that Okami has beaten Silva before. However, Silva fans and realists in general always point out the reality of the situation: Okami won by disqualification.

Ironically, that DQ loss to Okami would be the last time Silva would lose an MMA bout. Currently, Silva holds an amazing fourteen-fight unbeaten streak. Silva also holds two of the most prestigious records in UFC history: he has the most consecutive title defenses of any UFC champion (eight straight), and he has the longest win-streak of any UFC fighter (thirteen straight).

Much has been made of Anderson Silva’s hit-and-miss performances, in fact, it’s one of the chief reasons why so many Silva fans left him and have even turned into critics. Silva’s performances against the likes of Patrick Cote, Thales Leites, and especially Demian Maia are all still a very sore subject. Nevertheless, Silva continues to show utter brilliance in now-classic fights against the likes of Forrest Griffin, Rich Franklin, Dan Henderson, Nate Marquardt, and most recently Vitor Belfort.

In particular, Anderson Silva KO’ing Vitor Belfort with a Front Kick earlier this year, a move which is traditionally only used to create distance, has already been labeled one of the greatest knockouts in MMA history.

In a way, I see a lot of Chael Sonnen in Yushin Okami. That’s not just because they’re training partners: Okami has always had a great wrestling game, and he’s so incredibly strong that he’s almost always been able to implement it. Okami isn’t just fighting for a championship at this event, he’s fighting to prove to everybody that he’s the best Japanese fighter of all time. Anderson Silva is going to have to deal with a lot of power and some very powerful, very quick takedowns if he wants to beat Yushin Okami.

The difference between Chael Sonnen and Yushin Okami is simple: when Anderson Silva doesn’t fight injured, and when he’s motivated, he gives us highlight-reel stoppage after highlight-reel stoppage. Even when he did fight injured and did fight against a doping Chael Sonnen, he still gave us a highlight-reel stoppage.

This is Brazil, there’s no way Anderson Silva will try to toy with or clown on Yushin Okami. Surrounded by friends and family, Anderson Silva will become the destroyer once again and he’ll do everything in his power to demolish Yushin Okami. As good as Okami is, I just don’t see him beating Anderson Silva. I don’t see anyone beating Anderson Silva for a good long time.