UFC 134: Silva Stops Okami as Shogun and Nogueira Win in Rio
UFC 134: Silva vs. Okami brought the UFC to Rio de Janeiro’s HSBC Arena on August 27, 2011. Anderson Silva retained the middleweight championship with a second-round stoppage of Yushin Okami, while Mauricio “Shogun” Rua and Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira scored first-round knockouts. The twelve-fight event marked the promotion’s first return to Brazil since 1998 and included seven preliminary bouts alongside its major Brazilian headliners.
Silva retains the belt and settles an old result
Silva and Okami had fought before, with their 2006 encounter ending in a disqualification loss for Silva. Their championship meeting in Rio produced a far different conclusion. Okami had earned his place by beating Nate Marquardt at UFC 122, but could not impose the wrestling and pressure he needed against the champion.
Silva measured the opening round, moving smoothly and picking his opportunities. Okami worked at close range, yet the champion remained dangerous with knees and finished the round with a head kick. The pace changed in the second, when Silva began finding his punches more freely and knocked Okami down.
After Okami returned to his feet, Silva dropped him again and followed with strikes until referee Herb Dean stopped the fight at 2:04. The official outcome was a TKO, Silva’s ninth successful UFC middleweight title defense and his fourteenth consecutive UFC victory. It continued the championship momentum from his front-kick knockout of Vitor Belfort at UFC 126.
The home-country setting gave the defense extra significance, but the performance itself supplied the sporting answer. Silva kept the challenger from establishing sustained control and accelerated when the opening became clear. Rio’s first UFC title fight ended with the reigning champion still in possession of the belt.
Rua reverses the Griffin matchup
Forrest Griffin had submitted Rua in the Brazilian’s UFC debut in 2007. The rematch allowed Rua to reverse that result quickly. After finding his range with an uppercut, Rua pursued Griffin, put him down and finished with punches at 1:53 of round one.
The victory was Rua’s first appearance after losing the light heavyweight title to Jon Jones at UFC 128. It provided an emphatic recovery against a former champion who had recently beaten Rich Franklin at UFC 126. Their rivalry now contained one win for each man, achieved by very different methods.
Nogueira returns with a knockout; Barboza wins closely
Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira returned after a long injury absence and knocked out Brendan Schaub in the opening round. Schaub had his moments in the exchanges, but Nogueira’s combinations eventually hurt him and produced the finish at 3:09. The veteran earned Knockout of the Night honors, making the result one of the event’s defining celebrations.
Schaub had beaten Cro Cop at UFC 128, so this was a meaningful contest between a rising heavyweight and an established former UFC interim and PRIDE champion. Nogueira’s win also answered questions raised by his previous defeat to Cain Velasquez at UFC 110. The veteran remained capable of changing a fight with his boxing.
Edson Barboza edged Ross Pearson by split decision after a competitive lightweight striking battle. Pearson’s pressure made Barboza work throughout, and the bout earned Fight of the Night honors. Stanislav Nedkov supplied the main card’s upset, stopping Luiz Cane with punches in his UFC debut. His victory also prevents the event’s Brazilian success from being described as a complete home-country sweep.
Seven preliminaries include a premature celebration
Rousimar Palhares beat Dan Miller by unanimous decision after an unusual first round. Palhares briefly celebrated as though the fight had ended, but the referee had not stopped it; Miller continued and remained in the contest. The official result came only after three rounds, with Palhares taking a clear decision.
Thiago Tavares stopped Spencer Fisher in round two, and Erick Silva finished Luis Ramos in just 40 seconds. Paulo Thiago, Raphael Assunção and Iuri Alcântara each won by unanimous decision. In the opening bout, Yves Jabouin edged Ian Loveland by split decision. The preliminaries offered decisive finishes and longer contests, giving the Rio event depth before its three celebrated veteran wins.
Complete UFC 134 results
Main card
- Anderson Silva def. Yushin Okami — TKO (punches); round 2, 2:04. Silva retained the middleweight title.
- Mauricio Rua def. Forrest Griffin — KO (punches); round 1, 1:53.
- Edson Barboza def. Ross Pearson — split decision; round 3, 5:00.
- Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira def. Brendan Schaub — KO (punches); round 1, 3:09.
- Stanislav Nedkov def. Luiz Cane — TKO (punches); round 1, 4:20.
Preliminary card
- Thiago Tavares def. Spencer Fisher — TKO (punches); round 2, 2:51.
- Rousimar Palhares def. Dan Miller — unanimous decision; round 3, 5:00.
- Paulo Thiago def. David Mitchell — unanimous decision; round 3, 5:00.
- Raphael Assunção def. Johnny Eduardo — unanimous decision; round 3, 5:00.
- Erick Silva def. Luis Ramos — TKO (punches); round 1, 0:40.
- Iuri Alcântara def. Felipe Arantes — unanimous decision; round 3, 5:00.
- Yves Jabouin def. Ian Loveland — split decision; round 3, 5:00.
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