UFC 134 Rio: Predictions, Fight Card, & Betting Odds

Written by Jake Thompson
Friday, 26 August 2011 16:47

Let’s make UFC 134 predictions and check out the betting odds on all of the main card fights this Saturday.

UFC 134 is set for August 27th and our predictions will unfold at the HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.  The main event will be for the UFC Middleweight Championship between current title holder Anderson Silva and top contender Yushin Okami, but this 134 scrap is far from the only fight worth watching.  Former UFC interim heavyweight champion Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira will try to stay relevant against the up-and-coming Brendan Schaub, while former UFC light heavyweight champion Mauricio Rua will try to even the score against Forrest Griffin after the also-former UFC light heavyweight champion pulled a huge upset in their first fight.

UFC 134 Fight Card:

Anderson Silva vs. Yushin Okami

Mauricio Rua vs. Forrest Griffin

Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira vs. Brendan Schaub

Ross Pearson vs. Edson Barboza

Luiz Cane vs. Stanislav Nedkov

Spencer Fisher vs. Thiago Tavares

Rousimar Palhares vs. Dan Miller

Raphael Assuncao vs. Johnny Eduardo

Paulo Thiago vs. David Mitchell

Yuri Alcantara vs. Felipe Arantes

Erick Silva vs. Luis Ramos

Yves Jabouin vs. Ian Loveland

UFC 134 Betting Odds:

Anderson Silva -500

Yushin Okami +400

Mauricio Rua -240

Forrest Griffin +200

Brendan Schaub -250

Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira +210

Edson Barboza -320

Ross Pearson +260

Luis Cane -210

Stanislav Nedkov +175

Thiago Tavares -225

Spencer Fisher +185

Rousimar Palhares -290

Dan Miller +245

Paulo Thiago -425

David Mitchell +340

Raphael Assuncao -165

Johnny Eduardo +145

Yuri Alcantra -450

Felipe Arantes +360

Ian Loveland -200

Yves Jabouin +170

Erick Silva -280

Luis Ramos +240

UFC 134 Predictions:

Anderson Silva vs. Yushin Okami

Silva (30-4) is considered by many to be the best fighter the sport of mixed martial arts has ever seen, and his blend of dominant Muay Thai striking and sneaky Jiu Jitsu has left 14 straight opponents on the losing end of things.  Okami (26-5) is an excellent positional grappler that has the chin and submission defense to ensure that he’s always in the fight.  He’s extremely well-rounded and is nearly impossible to finish.

This will be a rematch of a 2006 fight that saw Silva get disqualified after knocking Okami silly with an illegal kick thrown from his back.  It’s never a smart idea to bet against Silva, but I can’t resist going with Okami at 4-1 odds.  I had a dream last night that Okami took a beating before taking Silva to the ground in the later rounds.  After that he used his grappling to set up a quick arm triangle that forced the champion to hand over the belt, and that is where my UFC 134 predictions are going in this title fight.

Mauricio Rua vs. Forrest Griffin

Griffin (18-6) beat Rua (19-5) with a 3rd round rear-naked choke in their first fight back up 2007.  It was a fight that Rua took despite having problems with his always troublesome knees and I have to think that we’ll see a much different matchup this time around.  Griffin is well-rounded and tough but ultimately I believe that Rua’s explosive striking will get the job done.  Let’s go with the favorite to win by a TKO in the 2nd round, but if it hits the 3rd you have to like Griffin’s cardio edge.

Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira vs. Brendan Schaub

Nogueira (32-6-1) has been one of the best heavyweight fighters in the world for a long time now but the Brazilian has been knocked out in 2 of his last 3 UFC fights.  Schaub (8-1) was the runner-up on The Ultimate Fighter season 10 before putting up 4 straight wins in the UFC.  Nogueira’s chin isn’t the impenetrable force it once was and Schaub hits hard, but ultimately I like the experience edge that the underdog has.  Schaub hasn’t been tested on the ground and Nogueira has a way to elicit the tap out that is almost unrivaled in the sport.  I think that these two box for round 1 before Nogueira finds a way to get Schaub to play his game.  2nd round anaconda choke victory for Nogueira.

Ross Pearson vs. Edson Barboza

Pearson (12-4) has strong boxing skills but Barboza (8-0) has proven to be just plain scary on the feet and will have the huge power edge.  I think that Barboza is a beatable fighter but ultimately Pearson doesn’t have the wrestling to get this fight where it needs to be.  Look for the favorite to dominate with leg kicks throughout as Barboza gets the unanimous decision against his tough but overmatched foe.

Luiz Cane vs. Stanislav Nedkov

Nedkov (11-0) will be making his UFC debut here and the Bulgarian has an excellent ground game that mixes wrestling with submissions.  Cane (11-3) is a heavy-hitting striker that has shown the takedown defense necessary to keep the fight standing before landing the big blow that puts his opponent away for good.  Nedkov is tough as nails but Cane has shown numerous times that the only guys that beat him are ones with more technical striking.  I don’t see that in Nedkov and believe Cane will get the 2nd round TKO victory at UFC 134 after battering his opponent for the majority of the fight.