Middleweight Championship: Anderson Silva vs. Yushin Okami
Silva is a walking superlative. He’s undefeated in the last five years; his striking is unmatched in MMA; he’s undisputedly the best pound-for-pound MMA fighter; he’s probably the best MMA fighter in history; he will attempt to defend his title for the 9th time on Saturday in Rio.
Okami is an underrated fighter whose biggest strength is his wrestling. He’s been ranked at the top of the middleweight division for years, but has missed his title shot due to injuries and scheduling complications and pretty much every reason you can imagine. Now, after training with Chael Sonnen, the man who has come the closest to defeating Silva in half a decade, Okami challenges for the title himself.
Okami is also the last person to defeat Silva, but it was [over five years ago] and Silva was actually disqualified for knocking Okami out with an illegal kick. (American MMA rules don’t allow a fighter to kick another fighter’s head unless the fighter being targeted is standing on their feet.) It clearly wasn’t the sort of career-defining loss that inspired Silva to Rocky Montage his way through the next few opponents, but still, a loss is a loss; you have to expect Silva to relish the chance to avenge his most recent defeat, even if it happened so long ago, Manny Pacquiao was still a Featherweight.
Light Heavyweight bout: Maurício “Shogun” Rua vs. Forrest Griffin
Shogun is a dangerous striker who literally stomped his way through the 205-pound division of the old PRIDE FC, but has looked positively mortal in the last few years. He’s a former champion who has knee trouble and inconsistent conditioning, which isn’t unusual until you realize he’s only 29.
Griffin is a well-rounded fighter who will probably outweigh Shogun by at least 15 pounds on fight night. Like Shogun, he is a former champion, but unlike Shogun, his conditioning is probably his strength. Griffin doesn’t have knockout power, a granite chin, or blinding speed; he’s one of those guys who is guaranteed to be bouncing on his toes in the final round.
This is also a rematch: Griffin was Shogun’s first opponent in the UFC. Shogun gassed horribly and was eventually submitted with less than fifteen seconds remaining in the fight. Now, after four years and two knee surgeries, Shogun has a chance to prove that last time was a fluke. Likewise, Griffin can solidify his place among the elite of the light heavyweight division if he beats the former champion.
Heavyweight bout: Brendan Schaub vs. Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira
Nogueira is a living legend in MMA. His name is synonymous with jiujitsu greatness like the Gracies. In his prime, he was indestructible; unfortunately for his brain, he spent most of his prime proving he was indestructible by absorbing inhumane amounts of punishment. Nogueira’s jiujitsu hasn’t been a factor in his last few fights, but he’s just had hip and knee surgery, so Saturday may feature a more dynamic Nogueira than in recent years.
Schaub is a former football player who has only been a professional mixed martial artist for just over three years. This is a big step up for Schaub; he came up through The Ultimate Fighter reality TV show, but his last fight was against the (over the hill, over the next hill, and over several other hills) legendary Mirko Filipovic.
Lightweight bout: Ross Pearson vs. Edson Barboza
Pearson is another alum of The Ultimate Fighter show, having won that tournament two years ago, and going 3-1 in the UFC since. He’s a very creative striker who put on a Fight of the Night against another kickboxer last year, which means we could see some fireworks on Saturday night.
Barboza is an undefeated striker who earned a Fight of the Night performance in his last outing. He is a traditional Muay Thai fighter who’s probably not going to take the fight to the ground any more than Pearson will; that being said, he’s no stranger to flashy striking either.
Light Heavyweight bout: Luiz Cane vs. Stanislav Nedkov
Cane is a reasonably well-rounded striker who’s back to fighting lower-echelon fighters after a two fight losing streak. Nedkov is making his UFC debut after fighting primarily in regional Bulgarian MMA promotions. Nedkov is undefeated, but also untested against UFC-quality fighters. These guys have a combined 25 professional fights, so file this one under the “future stars” category.