UFC Rio: A Proposed 11-Bout Card

Yesterday it was announced that Anderson Silva would be defending his UFC Middleweight Championship against Yushin Okami at UFC Rio in August,

So in keeping with the theme for the week I decided to play fantasy matchmaker once again and draw up an 11 bout card for the UFC’s historic return to Brazil. Most of these match-ups are legitimate possibilities and because it takes place in Brazil I made sure to include a Brazilian born fighter in each bout.

Anderson Silva vs. Yushin Okami- UFC Middleweight Championship

This in fact is the only fight that has been confirmed thus far. Silva will be looking to put a beating on Okami as his last loss came against the Japanese fighter back in January of 2006 for the Rumble on the Rock organization.

There are also rumors running around that should Silva defeat Okami he will move up to the light heavyweight division permanently. The Brazilian fans won’t be disappointed here and Silva will use his dazzling array of strikes to overwhelm Okami and exact revenge.

This would mark the ninth straight title defense for The Spider. An incredible feat that no other mixed martial artist could even dream about approaching at this time. The UFC wouldn’t have to worry about Silva toying around against Okami as he wouldn’t want to embarrass his fellow countrymen.

Mauricio “Shogun” Rua vs. Quinton “Rampage” Jackson

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MONTREAL- MAY 8: Mauricio 'Shogun' Rua (L) looks at Lyoto Machida in their light heavyweight bout at UFC 113 at Bell Centre on May 8, 2010 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. (Photo by Richard Wolowicz/Getty Images)

These two men also met once before back in 2005 in Japan. Rua destroyed Jackson at Total Elimination 2005 with his superb Muay Thai striking that Jackson may still give Jackson nightmares to this day.

Rua is coming off a devastating loss to Jon Jones that saw him get thrown around and lose his UFC Light Heavyweight Championship. Jackson is set to face Matt Hammil at UFC 130 next month; Jackson narrowly defeated Lyoto Machida at UFC 123 by split decision in November.

Jackson already paid one Brazilian back for a loss back in the Pride days when he knocked Wanderlei Silva out cold at UFC 92 in December of 2008. This time around it won’t be that easy, but it will damn sure be entertaining.

Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira vs. Frank Mir

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NEW YORK - MARCH 24: Frank Mir of Las Vegas, Nevada speaks at a press conference for UFC 111 at Radio City Music Hall on March 24, 2010 in New York City. Mir will face Shane Carwin of Denver, Colorado in the INterim heavyweight title bout. (Photo by Je

Three bouts in and we are on our third rematch. Maybe we should call this card UFC: revenge as opposed to UFC: Rio. Mir and Nogueira squared off as coaches on the eight season of The Ultimate Fighter and had agreed to meet at UFC 92 for the UFC Interim Heavyweight Championship.

The winner would then go on to face newly crowned heavyweight champ Brock Lesnar who had taken the title off of Randy Couture just one month earlier at UFC 91. Not too many people were giving Mir much of a chance against Nogueira. Both men were two of the best BJJ practitioners in the world and many wondered just how Mir could beat the former Pride Heavyweight Champion.

Ultimately Mir dominated Nogueira, knocking him down twice in the first round with pinpoint striking and finished him off at 1:57 of the second round. Not only did he become the heavyweight champion again, he became the first man to finish Nogueira.

Shortly after the bout reports surfaced that Big Nog had suffered a knee injury and a severe case of staph infection that had him hospitalized in the weeks leading up to the bout.

The rematch was originally scheduled for UFC 119, but once again Nogueira was hurt and pulled out. Brazilian fans would love nothing more than to see the legend pay Mir back and settle the score.

Lyoto Machida vs. Forrest Griffin

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LOS ANGELES, CA - OCTOBER 24: UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Lyoto Machida celebrates his victory over UFC Light Heavyweight challenger Mauricio Rua (not pictured) in their title fight at UFC 104 at Staples Center on October 24, 2009 in Los Angeles, Cali

While these two men haven’t met they were scheduled to before Griffin had to pull out with an injury back in April of 2007 at UFC 70. Griffin expressed little to no desire to fight Machida and was probably relieved that he got injured!

Two former champions fighting one another is always an interesting scenario. Machida is very elusive and with Griffin not being all that quick, the only chance he would have to win would be for him to take Machida down and try and control him.

Otherwise Machida would pick him apart from the outside just as he has done so often against his past opponents. A win here would be a big victory for either fighter and help them gain some traction in a deep light heavyweight division.

Vitor Belfort vs. Michael Bisping

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LAS VEGAS, NV - DECEMBER 01: Mixed martial artist Vitor Belfort holds his daughter Kyara Belfort as he poses with his wife, model Joana Prado, and son Davi Belfort and daughter Vitoria Belfort as they arrive at the third annual Fighters Only World Mixed

Pure and simple Michael Bisping is hated all around the world. When he was knocked out cold by Dan Henderson at UFC 100 in July of 2009, fans of mixed martial arts rejoiced everywhere. That is unless you are British and happen to like Bisping.

Belfort is just the man to put Bisping to sleep once again. He has devastating knockout power and is also faster than Bisping. “The Count” could try and take Belfort down and avoid taking any serious punishment, but it would only be a matter of time before “The Phenom” caught Bisping with a vicious left hook.

How awesome would that sight be? A victorious Belfort standing over a knocked out Bisping in the middle of the UFC Octagon in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The fans would be screaming in the arena and at home. The hated of Bisping unites fans from all walks of life.

Thiago Alves vs. Diego Sanchez

Sanchez and Alves were supposed to face one another at UFC 90 in November of 2009, but Sanchez got injured and Alves went on to defeat Josh Koscheck via unanimous decision.

Sanchez wouldn’t return to the welterweight division for another two years. He would go on to win two bouts in the lightweight division and earn a title shot against BJ Penn at UFC 107. The beating he took from Penn sent him packing back to the welterweight division where he has gone 2-1 since he returned.

Alves  would go on to defeat Matt Hughes after the Koscheck bout and then take on UFC welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre at the historic UFC 100 event in July of 2009. He would lose to GSP and sat out the next 11 months due to injury. He lost to Jon Fitch during his return at UFC 117 after missing weight.

Now both men are coming off of solid wins as Alves defeated John Howard and Sanchez decisioned both Paulo Thiago and Martin Kampmann. Whoever wins this bout will climb an all important ladder in the UFC’s welterweight division. These two will go toe to toe and thrill the Brazilian fans for as long as the bout lasts.

BJ Penn vs. Josh Koscheck

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SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA - FEBRUARY 27: BJ Penn of the USA watches the big screen after his drawn fight against Jon Fitch of the USA during their welterweight bout part of UFC 127 at Acer Arena on February 27, 2011 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Mark Kolbe/G

It is my firm belief that any card the UFC holds in Brazil must include BJ Penn. “The Prodigy was the first American to win a BJJ championship when he took home the gold at the 2000 World Jiu-Jitsu Championship in Brazil. Finding a suitable opponent for Penn isn’t that easy.

Penn was scheduled to face Fitch once again at UFC 132 in July, but Fitch injured his shoulder and who knows if he would be ready by the time August rolls around. Besides I highly doubt fans would be clamoring for another bout with Fitch in the first place.

So in steps Koscheck who has been out of action since December when he had his eye punched over and over for 25 minutes against UFC Welterweight Champion GSP. With his ability to talk and get his opponents riled up it wouldn’t be hard to see a bout between Koscheck and Penn.

I would expect Koscheck to keep the fight standing a lot more than his teammate Fitch did. Penn could employ a similar game plan and try to keep Koscheck uncomfortable and on his back. This would be a huge win for both men, especially for Koscheck who could really use a rebound win after being dominated by GSP.

Jose Aldo vs. Kenny Florian- UFC Featherweight Championship

Aldo was offered an opportunity to fight Florian at 155lbs back in December but neither he nor his manager felt it was the right time. Aldo was fresh off of a very convincing knockout victory over Manny Gamburyan in September.

Now with Florian moving down to the 145lb division this fight could become a reality. Aldo will face Mark Hominick at UFC 129 at the end of this month and Florian will make his featherweight debut against Diego Nunes at UFC 131 in June.

This would be a very interesting match-up as Florian is a very good offensive and defensive striker. Fans may get an opportunity to get a look at the ground game of Aldo which has been rumored to be superb. Ken-Flo has excellent grappling and submission skills and would assuredly try and test Aldo on the canvas.

Demian Maia vs. Alan Belcher

Belcher has been out of action due a serious eye injury since May of 2010. He last faced Patrick Cote at UFC 113 defeating him by submission in the second round. He and Maia were supposed to main event a UFC Fight Night in September, but was forced to undergo emergency eye surgery that threatened his career.

Maia has won two in a row since losing to Anderson Silva at UFC 112 last April during the UFC’s first ever foray into the Middle East. He rebounded from the Silva loss with a unanimous decision win over Mario Miranda at UFC 118 and followed that up with the same result against Kendall Grove at The Ultimate Fighter 12 Finale.

Belcher has far better stand-up than Maia and is no slouch on the ground. He has six career submission victories along with eight knockout wins. Maia on the other hand is just an absolute wizard on the ground, but Belcher may be able to keep the fight standing long enough to eek out a decision.

Antonio Rogerio Nogueira vs. Rich Franklin

It would fun to see both Nogueira Brothers fighting on the same card, especially in front of a hometown crowd. The days of either fighter being considered a contender are long gone, but given the right opponents they can still put on a good show. Franklin is the ultimate company man and will fight anyone, anywhere at any weight.

“Lil Nog” is the stronger of the two and has better boxing, but Franklin mixes in leg and body kicks better than Nogueira. Franklin wouldn’t be afraid to take Nogueira down if he had to. “Ace” has always had a very underrated ground game and has never been submitted. I am sure these two stalwarts could put on quite a show for the fans. Maybe Franklin could earn some solace if he were to beat one of Anderson Silva’s teammates!

Royce Gracie vs, Matt Serra

Gracie has long been rumored to be fighting on this card. The last time he graced the Octagon he was getting pummeled by then UFC Welterweight Champion Matt Hughes at UFC 60 in May of 2006. It was easy to see time had passed him by and the younger fighters were too much for him to handle.

Serra has a special relationship with the Gracie’s. He is the first American born person to be awarded a black belt by a Gracie. Renzo Gracie promoted Serra on May 23, 2000 and has continued that relationship to this day.

Serra would be 37 going into this bout and would be considered that favorite because he has much better stand-up and is the younger, stronger fighter. It would be something to see if these two decided to hold a grappling clinic and contested this fight on the canvas the whole time.