UFC 134 Fight Card: The 25 Ways Anderson Silva Could Finish Yushin Okami in Rio

"The last time Anderson Silva fought Yushin Okami..."

How many times have you seen this sentence lately?

The fight history between Silva and Okami has had people talking on and on about a potential rematch between undisputed UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson "The Spider" Silva and the last man to defeat him in the last five years, Yushin "Thunder" Okami.

Only after Silva's shocking UFC 126 knockout of Vitor Belfort—when a prodigious kick sent Belfort crumpling to the tarp—did we learn that Silva-Okami "Round II" would be a reality.

Now, UFC 134 in Rio will be the stage on which Silva-Okami II—the originally planned main event for UFC 90 before Okami pulled out with a hand injury—will finally happen.

To quickly bring you up to speed, the last time Okami and Silva fought, it was at Rumble on The Rock 8 in the opening round of the ROTR Welterweight Tournament.

As many of you know, the controversy surrounding the bout is due to the upkick that Silva landed on Okami while Okami was on his knees and inside Silva's guard.

Now while the kick was illegal, some people believe Okami saved himself from an inevitable slaughter by choosing to not fight on after Silva illegally checked his chin, and some others felt that the disqualification call was absolutely justified.

It's the expectation of many that when Silva keeps the fight standing next weekend, he will knock Okami out—perhaps with something unexpected, as has been the norm for Anderson as of late. It would be the first KO loss of Okami's career, and the first time Okami has lost by a form of KO since 2003.

What exactly will Anderson pull out "when" he knocks out Okami?

He's got some options, and it's our hope that you bear with us, because it's a long list of options.

25. The Bear Slap

First of all, yes, I'm serious.

I am one of the most openly biased Anderson Silva fans on B/R, despite my occasional doubts.

Considering nobody has forgotten UFC 112 yet, I'm also forced to not rule out the possibility that Silva clowns Okami for almost twenty minutes and forces him to gas out while failing to pull the trigger.

Okami would have to manage to be out on his feet and staggering heavily in order for Silva to pull this off, but then again, what if a healthy Silva were to take the bear slap to the back and even to the side of the head until Okami eventually got dropped?

It would not get a KO of The Year nod, not even from me, but you can't tell me that it wouldn't be hilarious.

If you honestly think it'd be ridiculous and terrible for modern MMA to have something like this occurs, I have three words and a possessive pronoun for you:

Dennis Hallman's speedos.

There you go, MMA World.

Does Okami going out by way of a Bear Slap sound so ridiculous now?

Exactly. It doesn't at all.

24. The Forrest Touch

UFC "People's Champion" Forrest Griffin isn't that good, but there isn't a person at 205 that he won't try to fight when they're standing across the cage from him.

Looking back, taking the straight-right Anderson Silva landed on Forrest's jaw while Forrest tried coming forward.

Maybe that was a sign that Forrest should've tried to make his fight with Silva a tad more boring.

Then again—that's not Forrest's style.

This is one of the first potential options for KO on this list, because Okami isn't likely to walk into a crippling Silva punch.

Unless Okami rocks Silva and takes a hard uppercut that turns Okami inside out before applying inner side outer, Okami is not going to go down at will.

Prepare yourself, kiddos, because what follows this slide are the various positions Silva could be in during this fight, and the multiple ways Okami would have his clock cleaned by Silva, regardless of where the fight went.

23. Inside Uppercuts

Remember this lovely sight?

You should. It only happened last month.

Chris Leben did knock a Silva out, and it was the second time he knocked a Silva out.

However, it was Wanderlei, not Anderson, that he knocked out with these uppercuts.

A less-likely thing to happen is this if it happens when the two clinch, but Silva definitely could hurt Okami if he lands an uppercut or two...or four...from the clinch..

Even if it's Okami's clinch, it'll lead to Silva's win—at the expense of Okami's chin.

22. The Body Kick

Yes, Anderson is channeling his inner Bruce Lee in the video above.

For a better idea of the kick I actually had in mind, watch the video below, or if the video does not show up below, click here

Now, the subsequent kick in the head probably is not likely to follow, there will be no ten count, and realistically speaking, you can watch a few fights of Dennis Siver's early career to get a good idea of how it would go.

But let's be honest:

If Silva pulled it off, would you see it coming?

I would only anticipate it because I'm saying it's possible now, but I'm like a judge that gave a title fight to a dude that clearly lost—I'm completely on my own in thinking Silva could pull it out and pull it off.

After all, does a knockout HAVE to connect with the chin or the head for it to be considered a real knockout?

21. The Body Punch

Consider Anderson Silva's boxing for a second.

While it's not of the same caliber as a BJ Penn or Chris Lytle, and while Silva doesn't turn up the intensity like Nick Diaz, Silva is capable of effectively implementing offense with his hands, and 99% of the time, it is effective.

Silva's hands do as much damage to people's faces as his knees do, and that's why he still has people that support him as well as his style of fighting.

Okami has also shown good striking recently, but he was most effective against Nate Marquardt and Mark Munoz by employing superior takedowns.

By no means is he a superior striker to Silva, and as soon as Silva asserts himself as the "alpha striker" in this equation, it may turn ugly, to where even Okami knows clinching is not his strong suit against Silva.

Should Okami protect his head well enough, thus exposing his own midsection (remember "The Fighter"? Head-body-head-body; tap 'em to the head, dig into the body.") he'll be inviting Silva to split him right down the middle with a gut-busting shot that forces Okami to suffer an impromptu stomachache during the fight.

What should happen if the body shot lands on Okami and lands hard enough to where he can't get up?

This time, Silva really wouldn't owe anyone an apology for what he did.

Hey, a guy has to get a convincing win along with entertaining the crowd, right?

Besides, body shots can cause quite the excitement, believe it or not.

Just ask Micky Ward.

20. Leg Kicks

Suppose for a second that Silva takes a more technical approach to his fight with Okami and tries breaking him down, legs first, with his own thrashing leg kicks.

At first glance, one might think the leg kicks would be a way to open up Silva's opportunities to strike while shutting out Okami's intelligent defenses, but what if Silva lands one leg kick that drops Okami?

Silva would definitely not be the first Brazilian to either land or prevail by leg kicks in a fight, but he has not finished a single fight by leg kick in his whole career, and let's not forget that sometimes the leg kicks he does throw are weird sidestepping kicks to the lower leg.

Okami's first knockout loss in eight years is certain to come in any form if it does come, and although some might not think it, it could come in the form of Okami's legs being severed by the surgeon's blades that are the thrashing leg kicks of the UFC Middleweight Champion.

19. A Good Old-Fashioned Beatdown...Literally

Sometimes, Silva can get the job done by delivering some great ground-and-pound from inside someone's guard. Once he gets going with that, the only way to stop him is to call the fight.

Mind you, Okami's more likely to test Silva's bottom game more than his ground-and-pound, but Silva is strong enough on the ground where he may be able to sweep Okami from the bottom and work his way toward a finish.

He's done it before, and it may be tough to do it again against a competent wrestler like Okami, but Silva could very well find a way to do it again.

18. The Golden Boy Head Kick

Not that Anderson is known for pulling off Badr Hari-esque strikes, but the last time he was in the cage against someone who threatened him in the stand-up (on paper, anyway), a kick checked that gentleman's chin.

The impact delivered by this type of kick leaves an opponent seeing stars. You'd think that the Kickboxing expert Okami would be more likely to pull this one out than Silva.

However, the point here (if you have not gotten it by now) is that Anderson pulls off stuff that nobody is expected to pull off in the sport.

Backpedaling punches and Front Kicks to the face are not supposed to do what they've done in Silva's fights, and the spinning heel kick is supposed to be a swing, miss, and an opening for Okami to finish Silva.

All the more motivation Silva could have to actually go through with it.

17. The Left Hook-Knee Combination

Anderson Silva is one of only two guys to have ever knocked Chris Leben out.

For all the buzz he catches when it comes to his Muay Thai knees and his kicks, his hands often get overlooked.

It was a left-handed punch from Silva that ended a couple of fights in the UFC, and if you don't trust it for a second, ask Leben if he thinks Yushin Okami should watch out for the left hand of Anderson.

Actually...nah, Okami shouldn't be worried about that left of Silva's.

He should be terrified of that left and those knees.

16. The Superman Punch

Interestingly enough, I cannot recall the superman punch—the Muay Thai leaping cross that's also referred to at times in Muay Thai circles as "The Cobra Punch"—ever being used by The Spider.

Georges St-Pierre has used it, Travis Browne knocked Stefan Struve out with it earlier this year at UFC 130, but Anderson's never been able to drop anyone with it.

Then again, who had been able to drop of the guys Anderson's dropped by way of the various ways Anderson's dropped his opponents in the past?

There's a first time for everything, and unless Okami gets off first with the striking—never a good idea to put into action without missing weight for the fight or doing TRT before anyone learns you actually need it, both of which we all know Okami won't do—I would call it a good idea to not rule this one out.

15. The Curitiba 300, AKA, the Front Kick to the Face, AKA the Spartan Curbstomp

You deserve a UFC Hall of Fame wing to your name if you honestly called this.

NOT Anderson SIlva knocking Vitor Belfort out—most of the MMA World thought Silva was more of the favorite than some others wanted themselves to want themselves to believe—but you would deserve your own UFC HOF wing if you called what happened after Anderson took Vitor's left hand without collapsing.

Even if you called it, nobody else did--and that's why some called it the top candidate for KO of The Year before Cheick Kongo knocked Pat Barry out.

Don't believe it?

Check out the video on Youtube (it's still there) and then honestly tell me you saw that kick coming.

Although some of you might've called a head kick ending the fight, I don't think y'all quite had this in mind.

14. The Cro-Cop Special (The Head Kick, Original Recipe)

Think Anderson Silva can't end a fight with a head kick?

Think again.

While this lovely Cro-Cop didn't land on the temple of Patrick Cote, it was responsible for what happened in his fourth career bout—a fight against Brazilian local boy Jose Barreto in which Barreto felt one of Silva's head kicks after a very entertaining exchange.

Now nobody in the UFC Middleweight division has so far been able to hit Okami hard enough to drop him or knock him out, but none of the guys Okami's faced recently have been Anderson Silva.

If anyone can knock Okami out against all odds, it's Silva, and for Okami to do anything to the contrary, he going to need some scary striking defense.

Unfortunately for Okami, everyone has needed it, and only a few guys have gotten past the striking of Silva, but that doesn't mean he can't win.

Silva looks for openings, and whether you like him or not, you can't pretend that if your name isn't Demian Maia, he won't take advantage of any openings.

13. Sweet Chin Music

I could've pulled out any clip from the Youtube archives of WWE Hall of Famer Shawn Michaels in order to make you guys think it could be done in MMA, and by Anderson Silva, no less.

Instead, I have finally managed to locate evidence that the superkick, AKA The Sweet Chin Music, AKA the crescent "thrust: kick, can be effective in MMA.

I don't know where this kick got the thought into his head to pull off this superkick, but there's only one other guy I know of that would dare attempt to try to do something this worthy of a "WTF was THAT?!" Award.

The only question, though, would be whether or not Silva had the flexibility to pull it off, and he probably couldn't...

...but what if he could?

12. Chokehold Knockout

Let the record show that Yours Truly made it clear here first:

Any victory obtained by a choke hold that caused the opponent to pass out or black out should count as a knockout by way of choke hold.

As far as its likelihood of happening, this could be one of the more foreseeable forms of KO (yes, I did say KO—again).

Regardless of a who a person is, if they're caught in a choke that is actually locked in tight and sunken in deep, there's no escape other than passing out or tapping out, unless the choke is being performed on a Transformer or some sort of robotic body.

I would expect that Okami will make an effort to break out of the choke hold, but he will be forced to pass out—not because Silva is that strong, but because Okami will have put so much energy into trying to break the hold that he will eventually have no choice but to go out.

No shame in tapping out to the UFC Middleweight Champion, now is there?

11. The Spiderman Elbow

Legendary is the "uppercut elbow" as some have called Silva's KO win by elbow over Tony Fryklund, and if anyone associates Silva's career with one epic MMA moment, there's a high probability that they'll associate it with this knockout.

Even if Okami stands in front of Anderson and/or moves around the cage, trying to pick his spot and strike, Anderson not one for "all hype and no show" when it comes to the knockouts he delivers.

When people say "Anderson can hit you from anywhere with anything", they're not just saying that because Dana White or any "Zuffa puppeteer" tells the fans he can.

When people say "Anderson can hit you from anywhere with anything", they're saying that because Anderson Silva is creative enough to where you can't always tell if he's going to end the bout with a flying knee or a left uppercut or even a full Muay Thai assault complete with kicks, knees, elbows, and swift strikes.

We're talking about a guy who landed a backpedaling right hand on a former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion and stood in front of Vitor Belfort before landing a "300" style front kick to the jaw of the former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion.

If Anderson drops his hands in Rio, it's Okami who should be worried, not Silva.

Anderson dropping his hands leads to someone staring at the lights, and unless my brain deceives me, it has yet to be Anderson that stares at the lights from the floor after dropping his hands.

10. The Ito Slam/The Rampage Bomb

Actually, I really think if Silva pulls a slam off, it'll be something along the lines of Rampage's Powerbomb, but I thought Kazuhiro Ito's slam was pretty cool, too.

Now this would be a rather curious case in which a knockout would occur for Silva in that it might involve Okami getting Silva trapped in a precarious position.

I don't know if Silva could counter an Inverted Triangle with a slam like Ito's anyway, so let's just say Okami somehow gets to the ground and Silva is trapped either in Okami's guard or an attempt at a conventional Triangle Choke attempt.

Silva, if one of his key focuses has been strength for this camp, could conceivably have enough energy to lift Okami off the ground and drop him down with such force that Okami cannot get up from it.

Any Knockout by way of a slam has been something of an every-once-in-a-while thing, but when it happens, somebody gets messed up pretty badly.

9. The Brazilian Jawbreaker (Capoeira Kick)

Anderson Silva, like Marcos Aurelio in this video, is renowned for his extensive knowledge of Brazilian Dance-Fighting, better known as Capoeira.

Silva has shown that he at least knows the stance, but what would be even cooler is if he pulls off one of the kicks from that discipline and does so in a way that puts Okami's lights out.

Hey, he's a yellow rope in Capoeira, and he's been accused of dancing during fights on more than one occasion, so why not at least do something to show that even a guy that dances during fights can still knock you the f*** out?

8. The Cartwheel Kick

Is Silva crazy enough to try this kick out?

We've never seen him roll around when he's struck opponents, but maybe he was saving all that fancy stuff for a fight like this.

Maybe he wanted to wait until he faced an opponent he could actually frustrate to try and show off his flashiest moves.

And as far as kicks, few are as flashy as the Cartwheel kick.

Now, we would know if Brian Ebersole trained with any member of Black House up until this fight, so right now, it seems unlikely that this ends up happening.

If it does, Silva would really have to hurt Okami in order to make this work.

But Silva has made strange things work before.

7. The Upkick

When Silva and Okami clashed at ROTR 8, the fight ended when Okami was unable to continue after Silva landed an up-kick while Okami was on the ground, specifically inside Silva's guard.

Now, imagine if Okami stands up and decides to deliver some GNP from there, but then BOOM! goes the upkick and down goes Okami...

Almost deja vu, except the upkick lands with Okami only going to his knees due to the impact of the up-kick.

If there's a better way for Silva to knock out Okami and get some full redemption out of it, I can't think of it.

It would definitely be fitting, but then again there is always...

6. The Pimp-Slap of the MMA World, the Spinning Back Fist

Anyone who watched M-1 Global's most recent event featuring Arthur Guseinov's epic spinning backfist probably saw this one coming, and for two good reasons:

1. The spinning backfist is an awesome way to win, especailly for someone who is a a Muay Thai fighter or a Kickboxer

2. Guseinov's backfist probably outdid Silva's Spartan curb stomp on Vitor Belfort's face as a candidate for Knockout of The Year.

What better way to reassert himself once more as the most insane striker in MMA than by crashing the whirlybird sandwich somewhere dead-on on Okami's facial structure—preferably on his jaw?

5. The Showtime Kick (AKA, the "Matrix Roundhouse" Head Kick)

Remember where you were when this kick landed?

Yes, Anthony Pettis made history at WEC 53, so much so in fact that I predicted Junior Dos Santos to pull the move off and knock Shane Carwin out with it at UFC 131.

Sad to say, Junior didn't go for it at UFC 131, and now, it's up to Anderson Silva to pull it off if he wants to shut Okami down and leave no doubt that he beat him.

What would Uncle Chael say if he was in Rio to see that happen?

4. The Spinning Elbow

Take note of this spinning back elbow, and then think a little bit ahead to right now in the MMA World.

We've seen Jon Jones make this work, and the only reason why Jones didn't get the finish with his is because Stephan Bonnar is one tough SOB.

One could say the same for Yushin Okami, and maybe if this landed, Okami might not feel much of it, but it puts you at a distinct disadvantage in trying to continue to fight while shaking off the effects of the elbow—if it connects.

It doesn't matter how long it's been since Okami's been stopped by TKO or KO in a fight; if Silva drops him with the elbow, he's not getting up on his own accord.

He'll live to fight again, but if a spinning elbow spells doom for Okami, he's going to pray that a third fight never happens.

3. The Flying Knee

Flying Knees--they're as sharp as samurai swords and they land like sledgehammers.

Nobody knows about that more than Carlos Newton--and rightfully so.

How rightfully so does "The Ronin" know?

Well enough to where he'll remember Anderson Silva's knee, which knocked him out in PRIDE.

What happened was the following:

1. Newton took Silva down (big surprise, someone takes Anderson down) and lands a few shot shots from the top.

2. The ref feels that Newton isn't doing much from the top, nor is Silva from the bottom, so he stands them up.

3. After a few shots miss from both Newton and Silva, Newton tries to drop down to avoid the knee (if you watch the video, it looks a little bit more like he fell on his a** while trying to go for a takedown)

4. Silva, his left knee, and his right hand make Newton pay for it.

Not quite sure it seems like the best plan ever to try a takedown on Silva, even if the champ's takedown defense leaves a little to be desired.

That is of course unless Okami likes fighting knee-to-face style.

2. The Muay Thai Clinch

Nasty nose breaks happen every now and then in MMA, and of course, Ryan McGillivary had a nasty break himself (see Cage Potato for more), but few nose breaks in MMA looked quite like Rich Franklin's after Anderson Silva's Muay Thai demolition of the former Middleweight Champion at UFC 64.

Compared to some noses, the break might at first seem like a nick or a small cut on the bridge of the nose, but take a look closer.

Rich's nose is clearly rearranged and the nose looked like it was slightly separating right at the bridge—almost like someone attempted to rip the nose off.

That should give you a good image towards the sharpness, lethality, and honest power behind the Muay Thai Knees of The Spider—everybody knows that when he's trapped someone in that clinch, he does critical damage to the face.

It's been said that Okami can do damage in the clinch himself, but while he's billed as being the strongest Middleweight in the division, he's not superior to Anderson if the fight goes in the clinch.

Okami better be thankful if the worst that happens after getting into the clinch with Silva is a few drops of sweat and some minor swelling.

Anderson can make just about anyone wonder what they're doing in the UFC once he clinches with them and it's not a feat in itself to figure out why.

When all else fails, this is it—this is what brought him to the throne in the first place.

1. The One We Cannot Call

My top choice for the shot that knocks Okami out?

Well, that's the one Silva knows, but it's also a strike that we don't know.

It's definitely a strike that has not made this list—it could be anything from an overhand punch to a Lyoto Machida-style straight left punch, or it might be some for of the kick, knee, or elbow that has not been covered.

The Muay Thai Guru he is, Silva could pull out a technique that has never been pulled off in combat sports, for all we know, or he simply just pie-face Okami and score a knockout.

I know a lot of these seem rather ridiculous, and some of these are too crazy to be taken seriously in any discussion, but Silva's whole career in the MMA World has been exactly that--pulling off insane, unfathomable strikes that nobody believed could be pulled off.

There are and have been no honorable mentions or "Hall of Fame" additions to this list for a pefectly good reason, as this is no career retrospective for Silva, nor is it a power ranking of his career wins by TKO/KO.

"Which will be the strike or maneuver that knocks Yushin Okami out if he gets knocked out?"

That's for you to decide—that's why there is no clear #1 strike or maneuver, unless you believe an entry on this list can do the trick.

You are a vocal MMA community. You don't need me to define one strike as "the one that will knock Okami out", as a number of MMA strikes could be the strike to do in Okami.

You can tell me if there's a strike or maneuver that isn't on this list that Silva can use to finish Okami.

For all we know, The Fighting Pride of Curitiba cold knock Okami out by waving the Brazilian flag.

We won't know until August 27th when Anderson Silva and Yushin Okami face off in Rio at UFC 134, and regardless of what happens, one thing is for certain:

I'm not alone when I say that I cannot wait to see it finally go down!

BONUS: What Is Dale's Pick for an Anderson Silva Win If It Comes by Submission?

Some of you guys asked for it when I contributed to the UFC 133 Predictions earlier this month, so if Silva submits Okami and doesn't make his familiar foe pass out, I've decided that it will happen, but it won't happen the conventional way.

As a matter of fact, when he does lock it in—IF he locks this in—it will look like a rear naked choke attempt.

As the video shows, I'm sticking with the Gogoplata as my Submission prediction for Silva's bout with Okami, as Silva's Jiu-Jitsu game is as likely to play a sort of factor as striking does in the Kickboxing circuit, but note the back mount.

To put "The Spiderplata: Full Sequence" into perspective, I'll be the one to tell you how this goes.

First of all, yes, Okami does take Silva down, but as we expect, his ground and pound does little to convince anyone that Silva is in real danger of being stopped.

Anderson eventually will catch wind of Okami's ground-and-pound offensive and he'll either catch Okami's left or his right, and control the captured wrist to help himself to transition to the back mount.

As stated before, Silva will not go for this version of the Gogoplata right off the bat; instead, he will attack Okami's face as much as he can to position himself for a rear naked choke.

Unfortunately for Silva, he will not find the rear naked, but he will find a chance to isolate an arm—probably the same arm he controlled to assist him in the transition and he'll hold the isolated arm behind his back before showing phenomenal flexibility in keeping one hook in and bringing the leg of his choice to the back of Okami's neck.

As is the standard for a conventional Gogoplata, Silva's free arm will wrap around Okami's neck, although it will wrap around the front of the neck to complete the choke, and although it's possible that Kenny Florian will probably mistake the hold for something else, Silva will lock it in tight enough to make Okami tap out.

Improbable?

Absolutely--nobody's pulled off this kind of Gogoplata ever in the sport, and nobody has pulled the Gogoplata of in MMA since The Aokiplata, so yes, it is improbable and a couple thousand miles beyond the line of ridiculousness.

Yes to "improbable", but "impossible"?

It's MMA—nothing is impossible.