Yusin Okami (left) and Anderson "The Spider" Silva first fought at "Rumble on the Rock 8" in Hawaii in 2006. Silva was disqualified due to an illegal up-kick that incapacitated Okami. It was "The Spider's" last defeat.

According to a report on Saturday from Brazilian MMA site Tatame, UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva will face top contender Yushin Okami when the UFC comes to HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on Aug. 27.

Tatame cites Silva’s teammate Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira as the source for the news.

Okami (26-5) was the last person to defeat Silva (28-4). The loss occurred at Rumble on the Rock 8 in 2006 via disqualification due to an illegal up-kick from Silva that KO’d Okami and left him unable to continue (see video below).

Silva has won 14 straight fights since their initial meeting, 13 of which have been inside the UFC Octagon. Okami has gone 12-2 since the bout, 10-2 in the UFC.

Silva’s most recent title defense took place at UFC 126 in February when he knocked out Vitor Belfort with a front kick to the face at 3:25 of the first round. Prior to that, he submitted Chael Sonnen and won a unanimous decision against Demain Maia, both in 2010.

Okami’s latest fight was at UFC 122 this past November in what was thought to be a title eliminator against Nate Marquardt. Okami won via unanimous decision. Prior to that, he won a split decision over Mark Munoz and a TKO over Lucio Linhares, both in 2010.

There are many who feel Okami’s title shot is long overdue.

MMAJunkie ran a counter-report concerning the Silva-Okami match-up on Saturday, citing sources who claimed the news of the match-up was premature and the UFC was still considering a Georges St-Pierre vs. Anderson Silva super fight if St-Pierre gets past Jake Shields at UFC 129 on April 30.

Many of the UFC’s top Brazilian fighters are vying for spots on the Rio card. It will be the promotion’s first show in Brazil since “UFC Ultimate Brazil” in 1998.

Wanderlei Silva and Vitor Belfort are the only two fighters still on the UFC roster who competed at “UFC Ultimate Brazil”, and it would be quite fitting if a rematch between the two could be arranged for the Aug. 27 card.

Belfort won the initial match-up via TKO in just 44-seconds. It was “The Axe Murderer’s” UFC debut.

Stay close to ProMMAnow.com (www.prommanow.com) as the “UFC: Rio” card (likely to be UFC 134) develops and official fight match-ups are announced. Readers can also keep an eye on our Upcoming Events page  for fight card updates.

Check out this video of Anderson Silva and Yushin Okami’s fight at Rumble on the Rock 8 in Hawaii in Jan. 2006:

Leave a Reply