Anderson Silva goes to his knees after knocking out Vitor Belfort during their middleweight title bout at UFC 126 Saturday, February 5, 2011 at Mandalay Bay Events Center. Silva won with a knock out in the first round.
Monday, April 18, 2011 | 8:30 p.m.
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Brazil’s first UFC event since 1998 will feature two of the country’s most notable fighters in headlining roles.
Anderson Silva, who is unbeaten in 13 octagon appearances, will put his middleweight belt at risk against No. 1 contender Yushin Okami on Aug. 27 at UFC 134 in Rio de Janeiro. Also, Mauricio “Shogun” Rua will try to bounce back from a UFC 128 loss with a bout against Forrest Griffin.
“These two former world champions always give it their all and this could be one of the most exciting fights of the year,” UFC President Dana White said in a statement.
UFC announced the Shogun vs. Griffin matchup on its website this past weekend, while White first confirmed the Silva booking to USA Today late last week.
Silva and Shogun both said they would love to fight on the Brazilian card in the lead-up to their recent bouts at UFC 126 and UFC 128, respectively. They each will have a chance to avenge losses at the HSBC Arena.
Okami (26-5) was the last man to defeat Silva (28-4) when the two met in January 2006 at a Rumble on the Rock card in Hawaii. But the upset came via disqualification when Silva hit Okami with an illegal upkick.
Griffin (18-6) stunned Rua (19-5) in the former PRIDE standout’s octagon debut at UFC 76. Griffin choked Shogun out in the third round of their meeting four years ago.
Two other bouts were announced for UFC 134. Brazilian light heavyweight Luiz Cane (11-3) will fight Stanislav Nedkov (11-0) and Brazilian lightweight Thiago Tavares (15-4-1) will meet Spencer Fisher (24-7). Expect the card to fill up with more Brazilian combatants in the coming months.
The fight announcements came during an otherwise quiet mixed martial arts period. Last weekend was the first time in a month that neither UFC nor Strikeforce hosted an event.
Below are a few other notes from the MMA world last week.
Nick Diaz looks for pro boxing bout
Nick Diaz created a stir that extended from mixed martial arts and into boxing after his recent victory over Paul Daley to defend his Strikeforce welterweight title.
Diaz and his manager, Cesar Gracie, appeared on a recent episode of “Inside MMA” on HDNet and said the fighter's next bout would be as a boxer. It appears Diaz has found an opponent in former IBF super middleweight champion Jeff Lacy.
Diaz’s camp has expressed interest in facing Lacy, who sent out a release Monday saying he was open to the challenge.
“Honestly, I was a little stunned,” Lacy said. “Nick has accomplished a great deal in mixed martial arts and is certainly one of the best in the sport. But getting in the ring with me for a boxing match is a path he needs to be very wary of taking. I’m willing to put it all on the line anytime, anywhere.”
Canadian moves on in “The Ultimate Fighter”
The 13th season of “TUF” saw its first memorable fight of the year in last Wednesday’s third episode.
Ryan McGillivray, a 24-year-old from Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, and 28-year-old Len Bentley from Olympia, Wash., engaged in a 10-minute war. Both scored a knockdown in the opening minutes before McGillivray rallied to win a majority decision.
Two judges scored the two-round contest 20-18 for McGillivray, while the third had it as a 19-19 draw. The victory gave the team coached by Junior Dos Santos a 2-1 lead over Brock Lesnar’s squad.
The fourth episode of the season airs on Spike at 9 p.m. Wednesday.
UFC partners with local organizations to promote active lifestyles for children
Two Las Vegas-based fighters spent their Saturday teaching youngsters their craft.
UFC light heavyweight Stephan Bonnar and UFC lightweight Tyson Griffin showed members of the Las Vegas Boys & Girls Club MMA training techniques.
It was the start of a new initiative by the UFC and partnership with the Jump for Joy Foundation to encourage physical activity to youth in the area.
Case Keefer can be reached at 948-2790 or [email protected]. Follow Case on Twitter at twitter.com/casekeefer.
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