UFC 134: The 5 Best Bouts on the Card

This Saturday night, the Ultimate Fighting Championship returns to Brazil for the first time in 13 years with UFC 134.

The HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro sold out quickly as we see one of the most anticipated cards of the year.

There will be plenty of hometown fighters to cheer for as 14 Brazilian fighters will be participating in the event, some of the best mixed martial artists in the world.

On the card, we will see two much anticipated rematches between Mauricio "Shogun" Rua and Forrest Griffin, as well as Yushin Okami and Anderson Silva.

Rua's introduction into the UFC was spoiled by Griffin and the Chute Boxe alumnus plans on showing his hometown that the first fight between these two was just a fluke.

Okami, the "best Japanese fighter ever," according to UFC President Dana White, was technically the last man to defeat in five years (Silva was disqualified due to an illegal up kick) and will look to prove that he is the most dominant middleweight not only in Japan, but in the world.

These aren't the only exciting fights on this weekend's card, as the event is filled top to bottom with skilled veterans and impressive youngsters.

Let's take a look at the five most intriguing matchups in Rio.

Welterweight: Paulo Thiago v. David Mitchell

When Paulo Thiago was first introduced into the UFC, matchmaker Joe Silva had no plans of making it easy for the Brazilian, as his first fight was against title contender Josh Koscheck.

Thiago shocked the world when he came in and not only beat Koscheck, but he did so in dominant fashion, knocking the Pennsylvania native out cold.

After that night, Thiago's future was bright in the UFC.  With a couple more wins, he was on his way to a title shot.

However, since that fight, Thiago has only won two of his last five fights and is currently on a two-fight losing streak. 

After losing his next fight to Jon Fitch at UFC 100, Thiago won back-to-back against welterweights outside of the top ten in Jacob Volkmann and Mike Swick. 

After defeating Swick with an impressive D'Arce choke, the UFC again gave him more challenging opponents.

Unfortunately for Thiago, the result would be the same as he was dominated by both Martin Kampmann and Diego Sanchez in unanimous decisions.

Many thought this was the end of the line for Thiago, but after his second loss, he was re-signed by the UFC. Now Thiago will look to prove that he is still a force in the welterweight division and will look to do so in his home country.

Thiago will face newcomer David Mitchell, filling in for Johny Hendricks, who was forced off the card with elbow injury.

Mitchell came into the UFC undefeated with an 11-0 record back in September 2010, but lost his first fight to TJ Waldburger.  After that, the American was originally set to face Mike Swick in January at UFC Fight Night, but both fighters had to pull out due to injury.

Now Mitchell gets a stern test in Thiago and it will be interesting if he can add yet another loss to Thiago's record.

If Mitchell can pull the upset, Thiago will have the dreaded three-fight losing streak, where many fighters see the end of the line in the UFC.

Middleweight: Rousimar Palhares v. Dan Miller

Dan Miller has proven time and time again that he is willing to face anybody, at any place and any time.

Whenever the middleweight fight hits a roadblock with a fighter injury, Miller is always there if UFC President Dana White needed a replacement.

His opponent in Rio, Rousimar Palhares, was originally set to face Alexandre Ferreira, but Ferreira was forced out of the fight because of injury.

The UFC once again called on Miller and he quickly accepted.

This will be the second fight in a row that Miller has been given on short notice, as he stepped in for Yoshihiro Akiyama to fight former UFC middleweight Nate Marquardt after Akiyama was forced to return to Japan after the devastating earthquake and tsunami.

Miller fought hard, but lost a unanimous decision to Marquardt.

In his time in the UFC, Miller has shown impressive submission skills, earning three of his five UFC wins via submission.

However, Miller has not fared well when put up against top talent, as he has lost all four fights against top ten middleweights (Marquardt, Michael Bisping, Demian Maia, and Chael Sonnen).

Miller's dependability may be the one of the only reasons the New Jersey native was not cut after his three-fight losing streak.

When given another opportunity, Miller bounced back with back-to-back victories against John Salter and Joe Doerkson before losing to Marquardt.

Now, Miller steps in to face Palhares, who is yet another tough opponent.

Both Miller and Palhares have great jiu jitsu, so if the fight goes to the ground, someone is most likely getting submitted.

Regardless of who wins the fight, the winner will most likely get an upgrade in competition.

Heavyweight: Brendan Schaub v. Minotauro Nogueira

Ever since Ultimate Fighter runner-up Brendan Schaub was knocked out by Roy Nelson, the "Hybrid" has been on a tear in the heavyweight division.

Not only has he won four straight fights, but he has done so in dominant fashion, knocking out all but one opponent.

As Schaub slowly makes his way up to contender status, his competition has intensified, but that hasn't stopped him from reaching his goal of being in the top ranks of heavyweight.

Schaub has shown that his stand-up game is one of the best in the division and after his latest victory over Mirko Cro Cop, he asked for a step up in competition.

At UFC 134, Schaub will face his toughest test to date in Minotauro Nogueira, one of the top crossovers from Pride.

Nogueira's jiu jitsu is some of the best in the business, as shown through his 32-6 record, with 20 of those wins from submission.

Nogueira has been out of the fight game for over a year now after his last fight—a devastating knockout loss to current champion Cain Velasquez.

He was once known as one of the hardest fighters to knock out, let alone knock down, but now he has suffered a knockout or technical knockout in two of his last three fights.

It's clear that Nogueira's best days are behind him, but he is determined to show that he still has something left in the tank.

The big question is if the 35-year-old will be affected by ring rust? In the past four years, Minotauro has only fought four times, while his opponent in Rio has fought that many times in just two years.

The former UFC Interim Heavyweight champ has had to deal with nagging injuries for the past few years and instead of continue to ignore them, he elected to have hip surgery as well as surgeries on his knee.

With the injuries behind him, will Nogueira return to form and make one more run at the title, or will he just be another victim of the Hybrid?

Light Heavyweight: Mauricio "Shogun" Rua v. Forrest Griffin

The first rematch that will take place in Rio will be between former light heavyweight champions in Mauricio "Shogun" Rua and Forrest Griffin.

The two first met at UFC 76 in Anaheim, California. It was Rua's first fight in the UFC after he had made the switch over from Pride.

Rua was predicted to come in and dominate the Ultimate Fighter winner and quickly take hold as the top light heavyweight.

However, things did not go Rua's way, as he gassed in the middle rounds and Griffin took control. With only 15 seconds left in the final round, Griffin sunk in a rear naked choke and forced the Brazilian to tap.

Rua had been dealing with a knee injury prior to the fight that required surgery soon after.

Both fighters have held and lost the belt since then, with Rua most recently losing the belt to Jon Jones. The loss was one of the most one-sided title fights in UFC history.

With the loss behind him, Rua is focused on Griffin and has plenty of motivation for the fight. Not only is he looking for revenge as well as fighting in front of his fellow countrymen, but he is also in line for another title shot, according to Dana White.

Rua claims that unlike his first fight with Griffin, he is 100 percent fit, healthy, and ready to go against Griffin and he'll need it, as Griffin has some of the best stamina in the game.

Griffin is currently on a two-fight win streak and is finally healthy after he required surgery of his own after defeating Tito Ortiz.

Now that both fighters are healthy, there are no excuses. Can Shogun prove that the first fight was a fluke or will fight fans be witnessing the start of another title run for Griffin?

Middleweight Title: Yushin Okami v. Anderson Silva

The other rematch of the night is between middleweight champion Anderson Silva and Yushin Okami.

When the two met at Rumble on the Rock 8 back in 2006, Silva landed an upkick while on the ground that rocked Okami.

Unfortunately for Silva, the upkick was illegal and he was disqualified, giving Okami the victory. Although only a victory in the record books, Okami is the only fighter in the past five years to say that he beat Silva.

Silva went on to dominate the UFC, winning the middleweight title in only his second fight in the organization. The Spider has cleaned out the middleweight division, with only a select few yet to challenge for his belt.

Okami came in shortly after Silva and has won 10 of his 12 UFC fights, only losing to Rich Franklin and Chael Sonnen, the man who has the honor of saying he was the closest to beating Silva, but fell just short.

Okami has finally earned his shot at the title and is ready to show that he can beat Silva again and earn the respect that he deserves.

However, Okami will have to change up his game if he wants to defeat Silva. Okami is a counter-striker and waits for his opponents to make mistakes. He frustrates his opponent and picks him apart with his outstanding stand-up.

The problem with that strategy is that Silva rarely makes mistakes, just look at his fight against Demain Maia.

Silva turned Maia's strategy against him and taunted him, trying to make the jiu jitsu specialist the aggressor.

Okami also has impressive takedown defense and lays on his opponent, both frustrating them and tiring them out. This is one reason Silva will look to keep the fight standing, where he has a five-inch reach advantage against the Japanese fighter.

If Okami was smart, he would study Sonnen's game plan against Silva, which was to be the aggressor and go right at him.

If Okami confuses the champ early on in the fight, he could get out to an early lead. If he waits for Silva to make a mistake, then he may be praying for another illegal upkick, which was one of the last mistakes Silva made.