UFC 134: Rio

[The HOFF]

Date: Aug 27, 2011
Location: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Venue: HSBC Arena
Broadcast: Pay-per-view

• Anderson Silva vs. Yushin Okami (middleweight title)
• Forrest Griffin vs. Mauricio "Shogun" Rua
• Edson Barboza vs. Ross Pearson
• Luiz Cane vs. Stanislav Nedkov
• Spencer Fisher vs. Thiago Tavares

[The HOFF]

[jspectyper]

Huge shogun fan, I feel he avenges his loss to forrest in convincing fashion (hopefully).

[omalley21]

Forrest could win that fight. Griffin by decision would be my play.

[Conan]

silva
shogun
pearson
cane
fisher
just picks i may take the other sides based on the lines

[jspectyper]

silva
shogun
pearson
cane
fisher
just picks i may take the other sides based on the lines

Like em all. Feel the least confident in fisher but lean that way.

[brooks85]

falcao vs lawlor in the works

im thinking they push back lil nog/franklin to this event

[RaiderNation MMA]

edson barboza should win

[Ladle]

edson barboza should win

I favour Pearson. He'll stick Barboza on his back.

[Conan]

ya barbosa will drop fast

[bogbat]

I think Okami may be worth a small play here. He seems to be improving every fight and has a real chance if he can get the take downs.

[Ladle]

I think Okami may be worth a small play here. He seems to be improving every fight and has a real chance if he can get the take downs.

Might as well bet on Okami by decision when that line comes out.

[The HOFF]

A middleweight bout between Brazilian UFC vets Rousimar Palhares (12-3 MMA, 5-2 UFC) and Alexandre Ferreira (18-7 MMA, 0-1 UFC) has been targeted for UFC 134.

Sources close to the event today told MMAjunkie.com that verbal agreements are in place for the bout, though contracts have yet to be signed. Brazilian website Portal do Vale Tudo first reported the matchup.

[Varker]

wanderlei should be on this card.

[Vrakas]

Now that the Shogun has had his tune up fight it'll be interesting to see what he can do to the Griffin from the forest.

[Chairib]

wanderlei should be on this card.

If someone had agreed to fight Vitor again, he would have been.

[jliggett12]

silva and shogun both win in convincing fashion. and i expect tavares to beat fisher. fisher is one loss away from being out of the ufc and thats exactly what the higher ups wants. tavares is young and on the rise.

[Chairib]

silva and shogun both win in convincing fashion. and i expect tavares to beat fisher. fisher is one loss away from being out of the ufc and thats exactly what the higher ups wants. tavares is young and on the rise.

How do you know what the higher ups want exactly?

[Vaughany]

silva and shogun both win in convincing fashion. and i expect tavares to beat fisher. fisher is one loss away from being out of the ufc and thats exactly what the higher ups wants. tavares is young and on the rise.

How do you know what the hinger ups want exactly?

ha yeah I doubt the "UFC" could give two f**ks if Tavares or Fisher wins in the grand scheme of things...neither are ever gonna be title contenders, I doubt Dana White is even aware tht they're on the card! If anything they'd want Fisher to win because he's the more exciting fighter who always comes to bang!

[illmatick]

Yeah, Tavares hasn't been on the rise since 2007. Roller and WIman aren't exactly known for their knockout power. Not sure if I trust his chin to hold up against a much crisper striker in Fisher. Tavares by submission prop or pass.

Tough fight to call.

[brooks85]

falcao cut by the UFC

http://www.mmamania.com/2011/5/10/2164944/report-maiquel-falcao-cut-by-the-ufc-due-to-legal-troubles

[THE_LOCKSMITH]

falcao cut by the UFC


http://www.mmamania.com/2011/5/10/21...legal-troubles

I'd take a look at the guy for kidnapping Vitor Belfort sister

[The HOFF]

I don't understand why he is being cut. He got charged with assault in 2002, so they're cutting him now?

[Vaughany]

I don't understand why he is being cut. He got charged with assault in 2002, so they're cutting him now?

Hasn't he done more sh*t more recently?

[Chairib]

Hasn't he done more sh*t more recently?

Brazilian justice system is pretty ****** up. All of this stems from that shit that took place back in 2002. Regardless, getting him a **** to fight in the states would probably be next to impossible now.

Why did "v i s a" get censored?

[v1y]

silva and shogun both win in convincing fashion. and i expect tavares to beat fisher. fisher is one loss away from being out of the ufc and thats exactly what the higher ups wants. tavares is young and on the rise.

tavares is young and on the rise? do you watch mma?

[LayingThe$Down]

I don't understand why he is being cut. He got charged with assault in 2002, so they're cutting him now?

In some parts of Brazil MMA is illegal. Many Brazilians don't hold MMA in very high regard there. Falcao has a criminal conviction and it was beginning to get jumped on by MMA critics in Brazil.

So, it was an easy decision for Zuffa to just sever ties with him as opposed to take any public criticism for having him participate on the Rio card.

Public relations ftw.

[Chairib]

In some parts of Brazil MMA is illegal. Many Brazilians don't hold MMA in very high regard there. Falcao has a criminal conviction and it was beginning to get jumped on by MMA critics in Brazil.

So, it was an easy decision for Zuffa to just sever ties with him as opposed to take any public criticism for having him participate on the Rio card.

Public relations ftw.

uh no

[LayingThe$Down]

silva and shogun both win in convincing fashion. and i expect tavares to beat fisher. fisher is one loss away from being out of the ufc and thats exactly what the higher ups wants. tavares is young and on the rise.

Tavares will never stand and bang with Fisher. His game will be what it always consists of: forcing his opponent to the ground so he can work his top control and sub game. Failing that, he will push his opponent into the cage wall and work the clinch with relentless takedown attempts.

Fisher is now 35 and has lost much of the speed responsible for his past success in the cage. He will have to shrug off the takedown attempts, utilize sharp footwork to stay away and work distance well to get his strikes in.

2 or 3 years ago he may have been able to accomplish this.....today at 35 I don't see it.

Tavares by decision.

neither are ever gonna be title contenders,

Sadly, true. I really like both guys very much, but Fisher peaked long ago and Tavares lacks the well-roundedness to excel at the top levels.

[LayingThe$Down]

uh no

You can do better than that? Where did I go wrong?

[Vaughany]

tavares is young and on the rise? do you watch mma?

Perhaps he's thinking of Brad Tavares maybe?!

[Ladle]

2 or 3 years ago he may have been able to accomplish this.....today at 35 I don't see it.

Tavares by decision.

Inclined to agree, but Fisher has taken a big time step in the right direction recently. His last performance against Pearson stood in stark contrast to his performance against Siver (where he looked like she should have been competing on a King of the Cage card) or his performance against Stevenson where he looked like a zombie. He even looked better in losing to Pearson than he did in winning against Warburton. Leaving the Miletich camp may have been the best move of his career.

[RaiderNation MMA]

main events are rematches, interesting

[LayingThe$Down]

Inclined to agree, but Fisher has taken a big time step in the right direction recently. His last performance against Pearson stood in stark contrast to his performance against Siver (where he looked like she should have been competing on a King of the Cage card) or his performance against Stevenson where he looked like a zombie. He even looked better in losing to Pearson than he did in winning against Warburton. Leaving the Miletich camp may have been the best move of his career.

It's a damn shame what happened to MFS over the years. By the end, that camp was a shell of what it was at it's peak. Perhaps you are right....maybe Fisher stayed there a bit too long.

We all know training partners and coaches perform a vital role in a fighter's development and performance.

I remember Pat saying he was just unable to make money training fighters full time and had to pursue other ways of making a living. Once his participation at MFS declined, it was all downhill.

As for Tavares/Roller, Roller had the wrestling to keep the fight standing. He kept it a striking match. I don't think Fisher can replicate that.

However, that Roller fight wasn't the first time Tavares has made the error of backing straight up in a fight, either (I bet Roller in that fight partly due to Tavares' mistakes in striking and the fact he would never get Roller down to the ground and keep him there). If Fisher can shrug off the takedown attempts, he just may be able to catch and hurt Tavares.

I just can't help but think it's more likely Tavares closes distance and turns it into a wrestling/grappling match, and that favors him in a big way. It's his fight to lose imo.

[Vaughany]

Poor poor Nogueira! Can't help but think this is another 1st round TKO/KO loss for him coming up...hopefully get another generous line on Schaub due to Nog's legendary status!..

It appears Brendan "The Hybrid" Schaub (8-1) and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (36-6-1) may be facing one another at UFC 134: Silva vs Okami.
A source has informed that the bout has been verbally agreed to by both parties, with the two set to be added to the main card, taking place on August 27th, at the HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Schaub is riding a four fight winning streak, with his last bout a knockout victory over Mirko Cro Cop Filipovic at UFC 128 in March.
Minotauro has not seen action inside the octagon since February of 2010, a knockout loss suffered to the hands of Cain Velasquez, who has since become the UFC Heavyweight Champion. The living legend from Brazil has been sidelined due to various injuries and surgery to his hips and knee.
The bout is considered a rumour at this point, and has not been confirmed by the UFC