UFC 134: Preview and Predictions

UFC 92 was given the name “The Ultimate 2008” due to the fact that it was not only the UFC’s big New Years card, but it was also a main card that featured a triple threat type of main event. No, the triple threat wasn’t The Rock vs. HHH vs. The Undertaker, it was three fights that had potential to be the main event. Since then, the UFC has seemingly moved away from the “one big card per year” mole, and has focused on making every pay-per view event big (excluding UFC 100 of course). With that said, UFC Rio (134) is upon us and it features three main event worthy fights. Alright fine, maybe you wouldn’t pay $50 to see Brendan Schaub vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, but I thought of a theme for the first paragraph before I actually thought of what I was going to write.

Luiz Cane (11-3) vs. Stanislav Nedkov (11-0)


Other than the fact that he is Bulgarian, undefeated and pretty damn scary looking, I have to admit that I don’t know much about Stanislav Nedkov. Nedkov was signed by the UFC all the way back in 2010, but after pre-fight injuries to both him and his opponents, his debut has been pushed all the way to UFC Rio. Nedkov has a split decision victory over his toughest opponent prior to his upcoming fight with Luiz Cane, but that was over two years ago, so it will be interesting to see how he handles his UFC debut/toughest opponent yet.

In a lot of ways, Luiz Cane was steamrolling his way through the light heavyweight division before getting completely derailed by Antonio Rogerio Nogueira back in Novemeber of 2009. Cane has only fought twice since then and has gone 1-1 in that time, but he looked good in his last fight against Elliot Marshall.

Again, without me knowing a lot about Nedkov, it’s tough to predict what will happen in this fight, but based on what I’ve seen (a highlight video with ominous music that kind of scared me), Nedkov is definitely a threat in the stand up. However, Cane is no slouch in that department either, so it will be interesting to see where the fight goes. There is definitely a chance Cane can get caught, so it may be in his best interest to get on top of Nedkov and work from there because from the looks of that highlight video with ominous music; Can won’t stand a chance if Nedkov gets the upper hand. Every fight card I have a bold prediction so here it is: Nedkov will come out swinging for the fences and get very close to finishing Cane in the first round. Cane will win the second and third rounds as he takes advantage of a gassed out Bulgarian crushing machine. Prediction: Cane by Unanimous Decision

Ross Pearson (12-4) vs. Edson Barboza (8-0)


Edson Barboza is a very skilled Muay Thai fighter who began fighting in MMA in 2009. Since his debut in professional Mixed Martial Arts, he has gone 8-0 and all of his wins have been dominant with the exception of his last fight with Anthony Njokani which went to a decision. He is currently 2-0 in the UFC.
Ross Pearson won the Ultimate Fighter season 9 and despite his first loss in the octagon last year, he appears to be back on track after his win over Spencer Fisher at UFC 127. Pearson has looked pretty great at times and definitely has the potential to go to the top of the lightweight division eventually.

Barboza is a more decorated striker than Perason, but Pearson has shown the ability handle himself more than adequately in that part of his game. The combination of Barboza’s skilled stand up along with his purple belt in Jiu Jitsu should leave Pearson at a loss, and even though Pearson has showed a lot of promise early in his career, Barboza’s game is on another level at this point. That doesn’t mean Pearson won’t be able to put up a fight, but Barboza is a rising star in the lightweight division and Pearson will be a stepping stone to bigger and better things. Whether it’s by leg kick TKO, submission, or knockout, Barboza will be coming out on top here. Predicition: Barboza by TKO Round 2

Brendan Shcaub (8-1) vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (32-6)


After a highlight reel KO loss to Roy Nelson at the Ultimate Fighter season 10 finale, Brendan Schaub has gone 4-0 and is slowly becoming one of the top heavyweights in the world. Many people will disagree with that, but after defeating Gabriel Gonzaga and Mirko “Cro Cop”, his stock has risen and he is now considered one of the up and comers in the division.

“Minotauro” is a legend in the sport of MMA and has been in some of the most incredible fights the sport will ever see. His last fight against current champion Cain Velasquez was definitely not one of those fights and after the aforementioned UFC 92, Nogueira’s chin is no longer considered the best chin in all of MMA.

The advantage “Minotauro” has in the ground game cannot be overstated, however it will not be playing a factor in this fight. Schaub is 28 years old and Nog is 35 in a 50 year old body. Schaub’s quickness on the feet as well as his punching power will be enough to keep Nog at bay until Schaub is finally able to deliver the final blow. The on ly question in my mind is whether or not Schaub is able to finish the fight, or if Nog will be able to last to a decision. Unfortunately, I think that is how a lot of people feel going into this fight and as much as I’d like to see Nogueira pull it off, it won’t happen. I’ll give him the benefit of the doubt and say he puts up a respectable fight and makes it to a decision. Prediction: Schaub by Unanimous Decision

Forrest Griffin (18-6) vs. Mauricio “Shogun” Rua (19-5)


Griffin will be the fan favorite in every fight for the rest of his career with this one exception where he will probably be booed louder than Josh Koscheck was in Montreal. Forrest is so popular that he is always a win or two away from a title shot and right now, he is coming off back-to-back wins and if he can pull this one off, he’ll be right in the mix for his second title shot.

“Shogun” is coming off the worst loss of his career and will look to rebound in a big way against Griffin. When he is at 100%, he is one of the most dangerous fighters in the sport, but when he comes off surgery, he looks more than lackluster. This is his second fight since having knee surgery, so it will be interesting to see what happens with him.

This fight is indeed a rematch and even though “Shogun” was considered to not be in the best shape for their first fight, Forrest had a perfect strategy for Rua and I expect him to implement the same strategy in this fight. It’s safe to say that in the first few minutes of their first fight, Rua and Griffin were relatively even and the wide spread belief is that “Shogun” gassed quicker than he normally would due to the fact that he had knee surgery and wasn’t able to train properly. The same was said after his fight with current champ Jon Jones. I believe that to an extent, but I think it is a more likely scenario that “Shogun” just doesn’t do that well when he’s on his back with a bigger, stronger guy on top of him.

I’m not denying that Rua was unable to train properly, but I do think that there is more than meets the eye when it comes to his suspect cardio after a fight hits the ground. With that said, I think if “Shogun” can avoid the takedown, he will win this fight decisively. I’m going to base my prediction on the fact that Rua knows the only way Forrest can beat him is if Forrest can take him down, so he must have trained his takedown defense to the point where he feels comfortable. Prediction: Shogun by TKO Round 2

Anderson Silva (30-4) vs. Yushin Okami (26-5)


You can’t say enough about Anderson Silva’s credentials in MMA, so I’ll save the kiss assery for another time. Silva’s last fight against Vitor Belfort was supposed to be his biggest challenge yet and he wound up scoring the first front kick knockout in MMA history. Since his disappointing performance against Demian Maia, it seems like Silva is on a mission to prove a point in every fight. His fight with Chael Sonnen didn’t go as planned, but he was injured going into that fight. If Anderson destroys Okami like he has so many others, then it will be the most consistent Anderson Silva we have seen in quite some time.

Okami has been one of the best middleweight’s in the world for quite some time now, but due to his ground and control type of style, he hasn’t necessarily gotten the recognition he deserves. He is in fact the last person to defeat Anderson Silva, however it was because Silva knocked him out with an illegal up kick from his guard. If you haven’t seen it before, watch it HERE, because you will never see anything like it ever again.

The only way Yushin Okami can win this fight is if he takes Silva down and controls him for all five rounds. A healthy Silva is way too good to let that happen and no matter how much Chael Sonnen wants it to be true, Okami is not the favorite in this fight and he won’t be able to mount the offense he needs to win this fight. Silva may get taken down a couple of times and we have seen Silva on his back plenty of times before, but he will inevitably get up, and he has five rounds to deliver the devastating blow he has so many times before. Silva seems like he is on a mission since the Sonnen fight and I can definitely see Anderson coming out all goofy and destroying Okami in the first three minutes of the fight. Prediction: Silva by KO Round 1

Well there it is. The first UFC event to ever take place in Brazil. The crowd should be electric, and it should be a pretty incredible moment for the UFC as they are about to take the sport to a new level with the new deal with FOX. By the way, no Joe Rogan in Brazil, he will be replaced by Kenny Florian for the night.