The main event of UFC 134 will feature Anderson Silva defending his UFC middleweight title against Yushin Okami. It’ll be Silva’s 9th title defense with Okami being the last guy to defeat him(via DQ) back in 2006. Will Okami will be able to pull off the upset?
Yushin Okami comes into this fight with a career record of (26-5) with 9 wins via TKO/KO and 4 wins via submission. Okami was last seen in action defeating Nate Marquardt at UFC 122 last November. Okami is known to be a powerful middleweight with a strong top game when on the ground as well as very good submission defense. Okami has improved his striking over time and has spent a lot of time training with Chael Sonnen, the guy that gave Silva his biggest challenge inside the octagon.
Anderson Silva comes into this fight with a career record of (30-4) with 17 wins via TKO/KO and 6 wins via submission. Silva was last seen in action landing a highlight reel KO against Vitor Belfort at UFC 126. As mentioned, Silva hasn’t lost since 2006. He’s undefeated inside the octagon(13-0) with 11 finishes. Silva is the best striker in all of MMA, has KO power, and is well versed in submissions. The only hole in his game is his takedown defense.
Bet on Fighting has Silva as the betting favorite in this fight at (-525) and Okami is the underdog at (+375).
I think it’s virtually impossibly to go a full 25 minutes with Silva without getting hit with one of those laser beam strikes that put opponents away. Okami could get Silva down but he’ll have to do it 5 times(one takedown each round) and be active enough from the top to avoid being stood up. Okami has good submission defense and Silva’s only threat from his back is probably the triangle choke. So Okami will have to close the distance while standing and either get a body lock on Silva or put him against the cage and then try to take him down. Okami’s been training with Chael Sonnen as I mentioned earlier, but Okami’s wrestling isn’t anywhere near the level of Sonnen’s. Did I mention that Sonnen has a granite chin? Also, Sonnen was really aggressive with Silva and Okami lacks that aggressive pressure attack in his game. In short, Okami will have to take Silva down and control him to win a decision.
As mentioned, Silva is the best striker in MMA. He could also be the best finisher in the game as well when it comes to putting his opponents away. Silva will probably do his usual routine of doing nothing for the first 2 minutes of the fight then once he finds his range he’ll go on the attack. I think Silva will face Okami to shoot for takedowns from long distances in which he should be able to defend for the most part. It’s just a matter of time at that point before one of his pinpoint strikes lands and puts Okami away.
Anderson Silva will defend his title and win via TKO.