UFC 134: Anderson Silva vs. Yushin Okami and the Chael Sonnen Factor

UFC 134 is headlined by middleweight champion Anderson "The Spider" Silva (28-4 MMA, 13-0 UFC) defending against Yushin "Okami" Thunder (26-5 MMA, 10-2 UFC), who previously fought in January 2006.

Okami picked up the victory courtesy of a Silva upkick which landed while both men were fighting for position on the ground.

Nonetheless, the kick is illegal and it ultimately cost Silva the fight at Rumble on the Rock 8.

Since that fight took place, Silva has had his hand raised 14 consecutive times, 13 of which have taken place in the UFC.

Silva's undefeated since entering the UFC, but his toughest test came against Chael Sonnen, who landed 320 total strikes in dominating Silva for 23 minutes of action.

With the fight coming to a completion with Sonnen clearly ahead on the scorecards, Silva pulled off a "hail mary" submission to retain the title.

Okami has been victorious in 10 of 12 fights inside the Octagon with losses coming at the hands of current light-heavyweight Rich Franklin and middleweight contender Chael Sonnen.

While Okami was able to find some success in his fight with Franklin, he was completely unable to do so against Sonnen at UFC 104.

Sonnen's elite wrestling proved far superior and Okami was forced to return to the drawing board, which soon included his former foe.

With that being said, both Silva and Okami have faced Sonnen with each fighter taking different paths after the fights.

Anderson clearly isn't fan of Sonnen and the feeling's mutual, but Okami on the other hand decided to seek out the former U.S. Olympic wrestling team alternate in hopes of taking his game to the next level.

Since joining Sonnen at Team Quest, Okami is 3-0 with notable victories over Mark Munoz and Nate Marquardt.

By the Numbers: Anderson Silva vs. Chael Sonnen

Fight Totals:

Sig. Strikes

• Silva - 29 of 57

• Sonnen - 89 of 168

Total Strikes

• Silva - 64 of 95

• Sonnen - 320 of 434

Scorecards heading into 5th round

• Sonnen - 40-34

• Sonnen - 40-36

• Sonnen - 40-35

Method

• Silva - 5th round submission

By the Numbers: Yushin Okami vs. Chael Sonnen

Fight Totals:

Sig. Strikes

• Okami - 25 of 154

• Sonnen - 91 of 281

Total Strikes

• Okami - 29 of 158

• Sonnen - 144 of 337

Scorecards

• Sonnen - 30-27

• Sonnen - 30-27

• Sonnen - 30-27

Method

• Sonnen - Unanimous Decision

Tale of the Tape: Silva vs. Okami

Tale of the Tape:

Yushin Okami

• Height - 6'2

• Weight - 185 lbs.

• Reach - 72 inches

• Stance - Southpaw

• Age - 29

Anderson Silva

• Height - 6'2

• Weight - 185 lbs.

• Reach - 77.5

• Stance - Switch

• Age - 36

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Stats courtesy of FightMetric.