Anderson Silva leads Brazilian party at UFC Rio

Brazilian party at UFC Rio, an event that took place this Saturday (27) in the capital of Rio de Janeiro and marked the return of the largest MMA organization in the world to Brazil. With the stands at the HSBC Arena full, the Brazilian public watched a show by Tupiniquin athletes, who won seven of the eight clashes against foreign fighters. In the main fight of the night, valid for the middleweight belt, Anderson Silva proved why he is considered the best in the world today and gave no chance to Yushin Okami, knocking out the Japanese at the beginning of the second round with a series of punches in the ground fight.

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Check out the photo gallery from the event
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Anderson shines and defends his reign in the middleweight division
If there was any opponent in the middleweight category who Anderson Silva it hadn't hit, it no longer exists. The Brazilian put on an impeccable fight against Yushin Okami and defended the UFC belt for the ninth consecutive time. The champion began the fight cautiously, waiting for the Japanese's initiative, who sought to close the distance and trap the “Spider” against the fence. But at the end of the first round, the Brazilian athlete showed why he is the champion and landed a beautiful high kick and the Japanese athlete was saved by the bell. When the fight resumed in the second round, Anderson unleashed his game and put on a show. Silva lowered his guard and with a jab took down Yushin, who still got up, but was punished again in the exchange. With a right cross, Okami went to the ground once again and with a sequence of punches, the “Spider” took the win at 2 minutes of the second round. With the triumph, Anderson Silva scores the 31st victory in his career, the fifteenth consecutive and the ninth defense of the UFC belt.

Shogun gets the rematch, knocks out Forrest and returns to fight for the belt
If the first fight between Shogun and Griffin lasted almost 15 minutes, the rematch was quick and in favor of the Brazilian fighter. The Brazilian showed that he is back in the fight for the light heavyweight belt and did not give the American a chance. Waiting for Forrest's initiative, the Shogun used the counterattack to connect with a direct hit and take Griffin to the ground. Without wasting time, Mauricio went up and threw several punches at his opponent until the referee interrupted, and the technical knockout was declared at 1min:53sec of the duel.

In an even fight, Barboza beats Pearson
The Brazilian Edson Barboza and Englishman Ross Pearson had the most competitive duel at UFC Rio. With both athletes showing speed in their striking, the fight developed without definition until the last second. The British fighter used boxing strikes to punish the Brazilian, who responded with great kick variations. Pearson landed the best blows in the first round, while in the second round the Tupiniquim athlete was better, even connecting with a cross, which made Ross bend his knee. In the last and decisive round, the Englishman walked forward and looked for the attack, but the most resounding blow came from Barboza, who opened a large cut near his opponent's eye. In the end, after much public apprehension, victory for Edson Barboza in the judges' split decision (29×28, 28×29, 29×28). With the triumph, the Brazilian fighter maintains his unbeaten career record with nine victories.

Minotaur shines and knocks out Schaub
Rodrigo Minotauro he had been away from the octagon for 18 months, after three surgeries and almost an early retirement. But all this was not enough to take down the Brazilian “Rocky Balboa”. Considered a sporting legend by the whole world, Minotauro was not intimidated by the dangerous boxing of Brendan Schaub and accepted the frank exchange of punches. Very quick to dodge, the Tupiniquim black belt did the pendulum well and counterattacked using counterattacks on the American. After a beautiful straight right applied by Minotauro, Schaub felt the blow and stepped back. With a lot of pressure, Minotauro applied three more blows and took his opponent to the ground, who was already knocked out. The audience went wild and Minotauro, very emotional, thanked all his fans for their support in the difficult time of recovery

Nedkov knocks out Banha
In the first fight of the main card, the Brazilian Luiz Banha ended up surprised by the Bulgarian Stanislav Nedkov. Taking advantage of his greater size, the Brazilian athlete started the fight better, using straight blows and low kicks to punish Nedkov, who even felt two follow-ups from the Brazilian. However, even though he had the advantage in the fight, Banha ended up being surprised by a cross from the Bulgarian and walked backwards, turning his back on his opponent. Stanislav took advantage of the good moment and threw a series of punches that forced the referee to stop the duel.

Thiago tavares knocks out Spencer Fisher
In the third confrontation between Brazilians and Americans on the preliminary card, Thiago tavares guaranteed another victory for Brazil. Facing veteran Spencer Fisher, the Brazilian athlete didn't want to take any chances with the American's striking and soon looked for a takedown. With an efficient game on the ground, Thiago started a sequence of punches on the ground until the bell sounded. On the way back to the second round, Tavares repeated the feat and took down Spencer. The Brazilian, very aggressive, went for ground and pound punishment and forced the referee to stop the fight, with a technical knockout being declared.

Toquinho “waves”, but runs over Dan Miller
In a sensational performance, Rousimar Toquinho experienced great emotions at UFC Rio. The athlete from Minas Gerais, who is known for his skills in ground fighting, surprised Dan Miller with excellent striking and took the North American to the ground with two knockdowns. But the emotion was yet to come: after delivering a beautiful high kick, Toquinho started punching the ground and after Miller screamed, the Tupiniquim athlete stopped hitting and celebrated. But to the surprise of Toquinho and the entire public, the referee had not stopped the fight and the duel resumed. In the stand-up fight, still confused by the confusion, Rousimar suffered a knockdown and ended the first round on bottom. In the second round, the Tupiniquim athlete knocked down his opponent and inflicted harsh punishment on Miller, who only managed to survive the fight. In the last round, Toquinho felt the rhythm of the confrontation and Miller went up, but without power, the Brazilian controlled the fight until the end and took the win in the judges' decision. (29-27, 30-27, 30-25)

Paulo thiago beats David Mitchell
In the first match between Brazil and the United States, the Brasilia native Paulo thiago proved favoritism against David Mitchell. With sharp striking, the BOPE police officer abused boxing blows and takedowns to control the fight. The Brazilian athlete still defended all of the American's submission attacks well. In the third round, the Tupiniquim athlete felt the rhythm of the duel, but in the end he still reached Mitchell's back and almost ended the fight with a rear choke, but David was saved by the bell. In the end, victory Paulo thiago in the unanimous decision of the judges.

Raphael Assunção control Johnny Eduardo and takes the decision
In the third Brazilian duel of the night, Raphael Assunção used its greater international experience to control the fight against Johnny Eduardo. A specialist in jiu-jitsu, Assunção avoided entering the Rio athlete's range of action. Halfway through the first round, Raphael knocked Johnny down and kept the fight on the ground. In the second round, history repeated itself and Assunção almost finished after reaching his back. In the third round, Johnny landed a counter blow that knocked Raphael down, but the athlete from Pernambuco managed to recover and take the win in the decision (30×27, 30×27, 30×27)

Erick silva knocks out Beição
In the second Brazilian fight of the night, Erick silva didn't give Luis Beição a chance. Right at the beginning of the duel, Erick started trying for a takedown that was well defended by the athlete from Rio. But with a beautiful right swing, Silva knocked Luiz to Luiz. Without wasting time, the athlete from Espírito Santo launched into a sequence of punches and forced the referee to stop the fight.

Marajó beats Sertanejo in Brazilian duel
In the first fight involving Brazilians at UFC Rio, Yuri Marajó used his greater experience to defeat his compatriot Felipe Sertanejo in the unanimous decision of the judges. The athlete from Pará started the fight well with the exchange of blows, but used takedowns to keep Felipe on top and score points. After two rounds of advantage, Marajó attempted a takedown and ended up scraped, however, Yuri controlled the fight well and took the judges' unanimous decision (29×28, 30×27, 30×27)

Check out the full results of the event below

Main Card
Anderson Silva derrotou Yushin Okami by technical knockout in R2;
Mauricio “Shogun” Rua defeated Forrest griffin by knockout in R1;
Rodrigo “Minotauro” Nogueira defeated Brendan Schaub by knockout in R1;
Edson Barboza defeated Ross Pearson via split decision;
Stanislav Nedkov derrotou Luiz Banha Cane by technical knockout in R1;

Preliminary Card
Thiago tavares defeated Spencer Fisher via TKO in R2;
Rousimar “Toquinho” Palhares defeated Dan Miller in the unanimous decision of the judges (30×25, 29×27, 30×27);
Paulo thiago defeated David Mitchell via unanimous decision (30×27, 30×27, 30×27);
Raphael Assunção derrotou Johnny Eduardo in the unanimous decision of the judges (30×27, 30×27, 30×27);
Erick silva defeated Luis “Beição” Ramos by knockout in R1;
Yuri “Marajó” Alcântara defeated Felipe “Sertanejo” Arantes (30×27, 30×27, 29×28)
Yves Jabouin defeated Ian Loveland via unanimous decision.

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