UFC Middleweight Championship
Anderson Silva vs. Yushin Okami
SILVA Wins
Round 1
Referee Herb Dean is in charge of this middleweight title bout; judges Douglas Crosby, Sal D’Amato and Chris Lee are cageside to score the bout should it go the distance. The champion Silva does his standard pre-fight bow and the combatants refuse to touch gloves as ref Dean issues final instructions. Silva strikes first with a low inside leg kick as he moves around the outside, switching between southpaw and orthodox stances. Okami ducks in and ties up, looking to land uppercuts which appear to be mostly blocked. Silva is starting to dance, shuck and jive, planting a left hook on Okami’s chin and circling out. Okami gets inside and puts Silva’s back on a cagepost. There’s not a lot happening as Okami puts punches on Silva’s body and “The Spider” returns fire with sporadic knees. Okami switches to a single-leg, quickly gives it up and goes back to leaning on Silva as the Rio crowd boos. Silva lands a crisp uppercut and a left head kick just before the horn.
Jordan Breen scores the round 10-9 Silva
TJ De Santis scores the round 10-9 Silva
Chris Nelson scores the round 10-9 Silva
Round 2
Silva gets busy early in round two with stiff jabs and rapid-fire leg kicks. The champ’s hands are by his side as he weaves out of the way of Okami’s jab, then drops Okami with a single shot. Silva wants Okami back up. His hands still low, Silva bends at the knees, inviting Okami to come in and sidestepping when he does. Another short right hook drops Okami and the Japanese fighter is in deep trouble. Okami lays on his side, covering his head as Silva drops punches and elbows to his head and body. Referee Dean stands over the down fighter, hesitating for a moment, but ultimately stepping in to halt the action at of 2:04 round two. It’s another impressive finish for Anderson Silva, who retains his UFC middleweight title for the ninth time.
