Saturday’s UFC 134 has all the makings of a good one. The card is strong, the main event rocks and Rio will be going nuts for the 14 Brazilians fighting.
Here’s five ways a good night can become great.
1. Chael Sonnen
The People’s Middleweight Champion (TM) apparently won’t be cornering Yushin Okami on Saturday — pissing off an entire country will do that. Our hope against hope? The sponsor reports are wrong, and he’ll show. It’s a win-win: Viewers get to enjoy 14,000 people screaming Portuguese obscenities at him, and Sonnen looking smug, wondering how many miles per carrot Brazilian buses get.
2. Silva-Griffin II
With the revolving door atop the UFC heavyweight, light heavyweight and lightweight classes, we quite like having a few unbeatable super-champions in the mix. Yushin Okami, by all accounts, is a good guy. He’s an exciting fighter, and he’d be a wonderful middleweight champ. But on some level, it would be nice to see Anderson Silva run through him, Forrest Griffin style. There’s never been an MMA striker like Silva, and he doesn’t have all that many fights left in him. The 185-pound torch will be passed eventually. Let’s see a few more of those completely ridiculous highlights now, while he’s still around.
3. A singing celebration
Anderson Silva can bring the house down by celebrating his win with a little musical interlude.
4. A safe Minotauro
Unfortunately, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira is getting to the part of his career where every fight’s a risk. He’s 40 fights in, and he’s taken more than his share of shots (and not just from Cain Velasquez). A lot, unfortunately, points to the Brazilian taking a beating — Brendan Schaub’s a hard hitter, and Nogueira rushed his rehab to fight at home. Whether he wins or not is no big deal; Nogueira’s legacy is assured. We just don’t want to see him hurt because he’s hung on too long.
5. The gladiator
The UFC’s iconic opening is apparently gone with the Fox TV deal. We’re not sure if he’ll show up Saturday night, but we’d like to see him once more. To say goodbye.
