UFC 134 Fight Card: Top 5 Brazilian vs. Japanese Fights of All Time

The main event of this evenings UFC 134 in Rio will feature top Brazilian fighter Anderson Silva against top Japanese fighter Yushin Okami for the middleweight title.

This is an epic battle between two undisputed No. 1 fighters in each respective country and can't help but conjure up memories of some of the best Brazilian vs. Japanese fights of all time.

These two countries are equal and somewhat unified in spreading the understanding and values of mixed martial arts throughout the rest of the world, but they have also been involved in some very heated rivalries through history as well.

Considering combatant relevance, historical importance and the actual fight itself;

Here are my top five Brazilian vs. Japanese fights of all time.

5. Rickson Gracie vs. Nobuhiko Takada I (Pride 1, 1997)

Many years after the historic battle in 1951 between Helio Gracie and Masahiko Kimura in which Kimura broke Helio's shoulder with the lock that has since taken his name, Rickson Gracie was sent to Japan to gain some high-profile revenge for the family.

Helio's son faced Japanese professional wrestler Nobuhiko Takada in Pride 1 in front of nearly 48,000 spectators in what would be the promotion's first event and Takada's MMA debut.

Rickson defeated Takada at 4.47 of the first round with an armbar, and his victory earned him instant credibility with his family as well as the Japanese fight fans who had already labelled him the respect of the samurai spirit.

4. Takanori Gomi vs. Jean Silva (Pride Bushido 8, 2005)

Takanori Gomi had a famous running feud with the fighters of The Chute Box Academy of Brazil and his fight with Jean Silva at Pride Bushido 8 was right in the crux of it.

After convincing wins over Jadson Costa earlier and Luiz Azaredo at Pride Bushido 7 in 2005, it seemed Gomi had Chute Box's number.

The Azaredo fight was followed by an infamous in-the-ring altercation triggered when Gomi would not stop trying to get at Luis to inflict damage well after the halt of the bout. Bad blood boiled.

Revenge was on their minds when Chute Box threw Cage Rage champion Jean Silva at Gomi at Pride Bushido 8.

Silva looked bigger and stronger than Gomi heading in, but Gomi won the fight by unanimous decision and secured an armbar in the dying seconds of the fight to seal the win and continue his domination over Chute Box.

3. Wanderlei Silva vs. Kazushi Sakuraba I

Wanderlei Silva fought Kazushi Sakuraba three times in his career under the Pride organization, and he whooped the Japanese legend every time. It was the first fight that makes this list mostly due to the hype surrounding this matchup at the time.

Silva was in the beginning stages of one of the most dominant reigns in Pride history when the first bout took place in 2001 at Pride 13: Collision Course, and Sakuraba was already Japan's Randy Couture-type hero on the back of his famous clashes with the Gracie's.

The anticipation and anxiety for this fight with "The Axe Murderer" was extremely high for the Japanese fans as many saw their hero in great danger against this young killer Silva.

The anxiety turned out to be warranted as Silva came out and stopped Sakuraba quickly and brutally with knees and a soccer kick at 1:38 of the first round.

2. Masahiko Kimura vs. Helio Gracie (Brazil, 1951)

A reported 20,,000 spectators were in attendance in Brazil in 1951 when the now infamous submission judo fight between Helio Gracie and Masahiko Kimura took place.

Among the spectators was the President of Brazil. He witnessed Kimura throw Helio around repeatedly throughout the fight with various judo throws.

Kimura claimed that Helio had made the ground extremely soft and padded, and he was unable to knock Helio out because of it.

Due to his inability to finish with throws, the fight went to the ground where Masahiko continued to use his strength to dominate Gracie with various locks and positions.

At roughly the 13-minute mark of the fight, Kimura positioned himself to finish with a shoulder and elbow lock then known as the reverse ude-garami, to which Gracie refused to tap.

The hold dislocated his elbow and broke some bones in his shoulder at the same time.

As a tribute to the fighter who used the move the lock for a victory then became known as the Kimura lock or simply the Kimura in Brazilian jiu-jitsu, and more recently, mixed martial arts.

1. Royce Gracie vs. Kazushi Sakuraba I (Pride Grand Prix 2000 Finals)

The first of two meetings between Royce Gracie and Kazushi Sakuraba took place in the Pride 2000 Grand Prix Finals which saw modified rules stating unlimited rounds and no ref stoppages allowed.

Due to these rules, the fight went on for an hour-and-a-half, both fighters nearly ended it early with submissions but soon the unlimited time limit began to work against the Brazilian as Sakuraba had excellent cardio and punished Gracie with leg kicks and strikes.

After 90 minutes of this grueling battle and his corner seeing him wilt from the damage on his legs, the Gracie corner threw in the towel giving Sakuraba an epic victory and his second of four he would get over the Gracie family in his career.

Dwight Wakabayashi is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report MMA (also a correspondent for MMACanada.net).

Catch him on Twitter @wakafightermma.