A spirited effort by “Big Nog” allowed him to pick up a win over Brendan Schaub by knockout in the first round of UFC 134.

Nogueira, who had lost two of his last three by knockout, showed an improved chin against Schaub, taking some big punches early in the fight.

The longer the fight remained standing, the more it looked like it was just a matter of time before the Brazilian legend got knocked out by the rising American star.

Instead, Nogueira flashed some of his boxing and landing a big straight punch that stunned Schaub. From there, a flurry of fists flatlined Schaub and gave Nogeuira one of his biggest wins of his career, due to the fact he was fighting in his hometown of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

I would debate that the loudest roar to come from that energized UFC 134 crowd came when Big Nog knocked out Schaub.

Now, the question for Nogeuira is what is next? Is he still a legit contender in a crowded heavyweight division.

I would personally like to see him square off with the likes or Frank Mir or Shane Carwin next.

A win over someone of that caliber puts him in line to be a top-5 member of the heavyweight division.

Griffin is now 2-3 in his last five fights, with all three losses coming by knockout.

Griffin didn’t look good at all in the fight, as he attempted some ugly high kicks that were very slow in delivery. His boxing has always been a strength for him, but it didn’t do him any good against Shogun.

Rua was able to tear right through him and leave us with another image of Griffin out of the cage before hands were raised.

Shogun is now back in the light heavyweight title picture while we are left to wonder what is next for the original Ultimate Fighter winner.

In the last few years, Griffin has now lost convincingly to two of the top light heavyweights and the middleweight champion.

His two wins were close decisions over the likes of Tito Ortiz and Rich Franklin, who are also lost in the light heavyweight shuffle.

While a third match with Ortiz or a rematch with Quinton “Rampage” Jackson may make sense in terms of dollars, it seems pretty clear that Griffin will never contend for a championship again.

The first thought is, Wow! This guy is amazing.

But, then, you chew on the fight for a little while and you are left with this thought: What was Yushin Okami doing?

Coming into this fight I said all that stood in Okami’s way of winning this UFC Middlweight Championship fight was his aggression.

Sure enough, Okami played right into Silva’s hands. He didn’t pressure. He didn’t attempt a takedown. He didn’t get into a “fight” as Chael Sonnen would call it.

What part of standing around and letting Silva pick you apart did Okami think was going to help him win?

Even he had to know when Silva stood right in front of him with his hands down that he was screwed.

Sure enough, just moments later, Silva landed a big right counter that sent Okami down and then he finished him with ease from there.

If I am Okami, I am asking myself if I really did my best. I am wondering if that was the most I made of my title opportunity?

Why haven’t people realized that you can’t let Silva get comfortable? Sonnen gave everyone the blue print, but neither Vitor Belfort or Yushin Okami seemed to want any part of it.

There’s no doubt that Silva is the best fighter in the world. But, he has a pretty clear flaw that nobody seems ballsy enough to want to expose.

If the UFC wants an interesting fight, they will put Silva against Sonnen once again. But, Sonnen has to beat a tough opponent in Brian Stann first.

For Okami, he is probably going to be relegated to undercard fights after that showing.

In the co-main event on Saturday, Mauricio “Shogun” Rua knocked out Forrest Griffin in a big win for the former champ.

Antonio Minotauro Nogeuira also earned a big KO win over Brendan Schaub. But, I will get more into those tomorrow.

For now, here are the results for UFC 134.

UFC 134 Results

Saturday, Aug. 27

HSBC Arena – Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Anderson Silva def. Yushin Okami via TKO (Strikes) Round 2

Mauricio Rua def. Forrest Griffin via TKO (Strikes) Round 1

Edson Barboza def. Ross Pearson via Split Decision

Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira def. Brendan Schaub via TKO (Strikes) Round 1

Stanislav Nedkov def. Luiz Cane via TKO (Strikes) Round 1

Thiago Tavares def. Spencer Fisher via TKO (Strikes) Round 2

Rousimar Palhares def. Dan Miller via Unanimous Decision

Paulo Thiago def. David Mitchell via unanimous decision

Yves Jabouin def. Ian Loveland via split decision

Erick Silva def. Luis Ramos via knockout in round 1

Yuri Alcantara def. Felipe Arantes via unanimous decision

Raphael Assuncao def. Johnny Eduardo via unanimous decision

Here are my picks for tonight’s featured bouts.

UFC Middleweight Championship – Anderson Silva (28-4) vs. Yushin Okami (27-5) – Okami has the right skill set to actually pull off this upset, but he lacks the one thing that he truly needs to win …. aggression. Chael Sonnen had success against Silva by coming out fast and not letting Silva get settled in. If you watch Silva’s fights, he likes to take the first two minutes to dance around and develop a timing for his opponent. Once he has found it, he starts to dance a little and that is when the fight is usually over. Okami can’t let Silva get comfortable, but I fear he will. For that reason, I see Silva scoring a knockout in the second round.

Light Heavyweight Bout – Mauricio “Shogun” Rua (19-5) vs. Forrest Griffin (18-6) – Griffin won the first fight and I think he wins the second. I think this is a bad matchup for Rua because Griffin is a “dog” that will keep coming at him and push a pace that Shogun can’t handle. I see Rua tiring again in the middle of the fight, which will allow Griffin to control the fight on the ground and with his boxing. I pick Griffin by decision in an upset.

Heavyweight Bout – Antonio Minotauro Nogeuira (32-6-10 vs. Brendan Schaub (9-1) – I love the heart that Nogueira has, but I think his chin has taken a beating over the years and eventually Schaub will catch him with a knockout punch. Nogueira has the edge on the ground if the fight goes there, but he lacks the wrestling ability to takedown the likes of Schaub, who is a strong and burly heavyweight. I pick Schaub to win this fight by knockout in the first round.

UFC Lightweight Bout – Ross Pearson (14-4) vs. Edson Barboza (8-0) – Pearson is a tough fighter that likes to scrap, but it would be difficult to prepare for the type of leg kicks he will see against Barboza. After being hit with a few of those, it can completely throw a fighter off his game. For that reason, I see Barboza winning by decision as he will land the most effective strikes and control the pacing and style of the fight.

Light Heavyweight Bout – Luiz Cane (12-3) vs. Stanislav Nedkov (11-0) – Cane has been an all-or-nothing fighter as of late. His last three fights have ended in the first round, two of them saw him getting knocked out. In this fight, he takes on a fighter in Nedkov that can go to the ground and stay standing. If Cane can keep the fight standing, I think he can win, but he doesn’t have great technical skills, and I think that opens the door for Nedkov to get him to the ground and control him. I will take Nedkov to win his debut by decision in this one.

In the main event, UFC Middleweight Champion, Anderson Silva, received a hero’s welcome from the Brazilian fans as he weighed in at 184 pounds while his opponent, Yushin Okami, came in at 183 pounds.

The 183 pounds was somewhat surprising for Okami, who typically fights near 200 pounds come fight night.

Following the weigh in, the two had a mild stare down, but lacked intensity leading up to the fight.

In the co-main event, both Forrest Griffin and Mauricio “Shogun” Rua came in at exactly 205 pounds. The two also had a distant stare down where they didn’t get to close to each other. This fight is a rematch of an upset for Griffin back in 2007. Griffin was booed heavily by the crowd while Rua had the full support of the arena.

For complete weigh-in results from UFC 134, check out the jump.

UFC 134 Weigh-In Results

Saturday, Aug. 27

HSBC Arena, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Anderson Silva (184) vs. Yushin Okami (183)

Mauricio “Shogun” Rua (205) vs. Forrest Griffin (205)

Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (243) vs. Brendan Schaub (247)

Ross Pearson (155) vs. Edson Barboza (155)

Luiz Cane (204) vs. Stanislav Nedkov (203)

Thiago Tavares (156) vs. Spencer Fisher (156)

Rousimar Palhares (185) vs. Dan Miller (184)

Paulo Thiago (169) vs. David Mitchell (171)

Raphael Assuncao (134) vs. Johnny Eduardo (135)

Erick Silva (169) vs. Luis Ramos (171)

Yuri Alcantara (144) vs. Felipe Arantes (145)

Yves Jabouin (135) vs. Ian Loveland (135)

Was it a fluke?

Or does Griffin have Rua’s number?

That is what we will find out this Saturday when the two meet again in the co-main event of UFC 134.

Here is a breakdown of this contest.

Mauricio “Shogun” Rua (19-5) – The former Pride and UFC champion is coming off a loss to Jon Jones at UFC 128 where he was overwhelmed by the young phenom. Rua was coming off a lengthy layoff due to a knee surgery, and looked tired early in the fight. When Rua fought Griffin the first time, he also looked winded early in the fight and was nearly lifeless in the closing moments before being choked out. Rua is an intense striker that likes to push forward and he has some solid submission skills on the ground.

Forrest Griffin (18-6) – Griffin is also a former UFC champion but is at a bit of a stand still in his career. He has won two straight fights, but been somewhat unimpressive in both outings. Griffin was a huge underdog against Rua the first time, and is an underdog again this time. Griffin will look to use his boxing against Rua and again tire him out by pushing a furious pace. Griffin has an under-rated ground game, which he has shown over the years. If he can stay on top of Rua, he should put himself in position to win.

Who Will Win: Griffin has all the chance in the world to win this fight. He tends to do better as an underdog than a favorite, but he is entering the hostile crowd of Brazil. Rua tends to struggle when he can’t start quickly and I think Griffin will be smart and keep Rua off-balance. I look for Griffin to win a decision this time around.

His numerous jabs, insults, and stereotypical comments about the host country of UFC 134 have apparently done a little more damage than he anticipated.

According to MMAJunkie.com, Sonnen will no longer be attending UFC 134 due to Brazil’s growing hatred for the former No. 1 contender in the UFC middleweight division. He was originally supposed to corner Yushin Okami in his title fight with Anderson Silva.

Sonnen said a major sponsor of Okami’s requested he not attend the pay-per-view event, which takes place Saturday at Rio’s HSBC Arena.

A source with knowledge of the situation told MMAJunkie.com that Praetorian, a Brazil-based MMA brand, threatened to pull the Japanese fighter’s sponsorship if Sonnen attended.

“There’s a line of people that want to kick his ass,” the source said.

And that could be the least of problems for the expert trash-talker. Sonnen said friends in the country forwarded him a local-media report in which a police chief threatened to arrest him on sight if he showed. The official cited a law that makes disparaging the national identity a crime.

“You don’t have freedom of speech in Brazil; put it like that,” Sonnen told MMAjunkie.com after a workout at Team Quest Tualatin.

It probably is for the best. I didn’t see Sonnen leaving Brazil without incident after his rants as of late.

The premiere MMA organization wants to put on the two best fights possible for its premiere on the broadcast network on Nov. 12, but reports from Tatame have the UFC setting up a possible rematch between Anderson Silva and Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Champion, Dan Henderson.

Problem is, Silva is fighting Yushin Okami this Saturday at UFC 134.

Anderson Silva will put his belt on the line this Saturday, but the organization is already thinking on his next title defense. According to sources close to the situation, the middleweight champion is in talks with the UFC to fight Dan Henderson at UFC’s first show on FOX, scheduled to November 12, in California.

Anderson, who already defeated the former Pride champion in his long UFC career, tapping him in a rear-naked choke at UFC 82, fights the highly underdog Yushin Okami this Saturday, at UFC Rio, while Henderson waits to define his future with the end of his contract with Strikeforce.

Sources also indicated that if Henderson didn’t agree to move down to middleweight months after a heavyweight showdown against Fedor Emelianenko, Chael Sonnen is the option to replace him against Silva.

Sonnen is set to fight Brian Stann at UFC 136, and if Henderson doesn’t take this fight, he’d be taken out to fight Anderson. Stann, on the other hand, would potentially fight Vitor Belfort.

While Silva is the clear favorite to win this Saturday, we have seen in the past that it is never smart to schedule a match before another one is completed.

One of the owners of Zuffa and the UFC, Lorenzo Ferttita, also made these comments on the matter of the first FOX show.

We don’t have a main event set yet, we’ll find out probably after this Saturday, these fights in Rio, then we’ll set a main event. But it’ll be something big. It’ll be a big fight… I would love to do that. Anderson just needs a win.

While Henderson vs. Silva would be a big fight, as Henderson did well in the first round against “The Spider” before getting choked out in the second round, does “Hendo” really deserve an immediate middleweight title shot?

Henderson was handled by Jake Shields in his Strikeforce debut and then beat Renato Sobral, Rafael Cavalcante, and Fedor Emelianenko.

The win over Fedor was big for Henderson, but is it big enough to get an immediate match with Silva?

If anything, I would like to see Sonnen-Silva II. Sonnen was the only man to take Silva to the limit in the UFC and was the only guy that truly seemed to have his number.

But, no matter what I would like to see, Yushin Okami can ruin all of these plans on Saturday. Will the UFC actually be rooting against him to win?

Okami is actually the last man to beat Silva, as he won by DQ over “The Spider” back in 2006 as part of Rumble on the Rock. Silva threw an illegal upkick that forced Okami to stop fighting.

Here is a look at both fighters, more than five years since their last meeting.

Anderson Silva (30-4) – Widely considered the best single fighter in the world in any weight class, Silva is the most lethal striker in all of MMA. Both of his hands and feet have one-strike KO power and he also has a jiu-jitsu black belt under the Nogeuira brothers. Silva is on a 14-fight win streak and is coming off an impressive KO of Vitor Belfort at UFC 126. Silva seems unbeatable, but his one weakness appears to be wrestling, where Okami is at his strongest.

Yushin Okami (26-5) – “Thunder” has had a long road to a title fight, as this is his 12^th fight in the octagon. Since a tough decision loss to Chael Sonnen, Okami has won three straight, including decision wins over Nate Marquardt and Mark Munoz. Like Sonnen, Okami is a grinder that fights a very ugly style. He likes to clinch and grapple, using his strength to keep his opponent from going on the attack. If Okami can get the fight to the ground, he can win. If the fight remains on the feet, I don’t see him coming out on the winning end.

Who Will Win – It’s hard to see any scenario where Silva doesn’t win, but Okami does have the style that has given Silva the most problems. Sonnen, Dan Henderson, and Travis Lutter were all able to score takedowns on Silva. Sonnen has some very strong wrestling skills, but he isn’t an aggressive fighter. He must be aggressive early and not allow Silva to find his flow. Eventually, I see Silva getting a KO in the second round against Okami, as Silva is just too fast for Okami to get his hands on.

Our friends on at BetOnFighting.com have released odds for four of the main card bouts.

In the main event, Anderson Silva is the favorite (-450) to retain his UFC Middleweight Championship over Yushin Okami (+350). Silva (28-4) is looking to avenge a DQ loss to Okami (27-5) from 2006. Silva threw an up kick to Okami, when he was on his knees, which ended the fight. Okami is a big, strong wrestler, but not as aggressive as the likes of Chael Sonnen. Still, if Okami can get his hands on Silva, he could find a way to win the fight.

In the co-main event, Maurico “Shogun” Rua will look to avenge a loss to Forrest Griffin from back at UFC 76 in 2007. Rua (19-5) is considered the favorite to win this time, with odds of -220. Griffin (18-6) comes in with odds of +180. It should be noted that Rua was a heavy favorite the first time these two met, but Griffin managed to push a pace that Rua couldn’t handle and went on to score a submission in the closing moments of the third round.

For the available odds for UFC 134, including Schaub vs. Nogueira and Barboza vs. Pearson, check out the jump.

UFC 134 Betting Odds

Saturday, Aug. 27

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Anderson Silva (-450) vs. Yushin Okami (+350)

Mauricio Rua (-220) vs. Forrest Griffin (+180)

Brendan Schaub (-225) vs. Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (+185)

Edson Barboza (-275) vs. Ross Pearson (+215)