Anderson Silva and UFC 134 Results: Questions Answered and Lessons Learned

UFC 134, Zuffa's first venture to Brazil, is in the books. Anderson Silva effortlessly disposed of Yushin Okami and Forrest Griffin was simply outclassed by Mauricio "Shogun" Rua.

There were many other fights throughout the night, with several answering questions the MMA community had and others teaching the MMA world valuable lessons.

What fights were these and what were the implications? Read and find out!

The Brazilian Audience Is Not as "Educated" as We Think

Either the Brazilian audience is not as "educated" about MMA as we think or the American audience is more educated than we give them credit for.

Why such a harsh statement about the audience at UFC 134? A chorus of boos could be heard throughout the preliminaries, signifying that many Brazilians don't have patience for the ground game—the fact that they are from Brazilian jiu-jitsu's birthplace notwithstanding.

In fact, the Brazilian crowd was so impatient when it went to the ground that it almost sounded like an American crowd!

Thus, the Brazilians are less MMA knowledgeable than we gave them credit for or the Americans are more educated, take your pick.

Erick Silva Has Hands of Steel

Even though Erick Silva had only two wins via knockout coming into his UFC 134 bout with Luis Ramos, he proved that his hands are dangerous weapons.

Silva laid Ramos out early in the fight and quickly swarmed the battered Ramos, winning the fight in 40 seconds. Silva may well be a force in the welterweight division.

The Brazilians Love Their Fighters

Despite the boos at lackluster parts of certain fights, the Brazilians rallied behind their fighters like no others. The 15,000 or so fans in the HSBC Arena showed their fellow Brazilians much love, cheering whenever they landed a successful hit or takedown and "raising the roof" with noise when one of their countrymen was victorious.

Rousimar Palhares Lacks Fighting Instinct

Brazilian submissions ace Rousimar Palhares is a skilled, strong fighter, but he lacks one crucial aspect: fighting instincts.

For the second time in three fights, Palhares stopped fighting in the midst of the fight. Luckily for him, this time didn't cost him the victory—but it almost did. His opponent, Dan Miller, almost knocked him out!

Another title to this slide could just as easily be "don't stop fighting until the referee definitively stops the fight," since Palhares almost cost himself a win due to his brashness.

Stanislav Nedkov Is Skilled, but Still Rough Around the Edges

Stanislav Nedkov bested tough Brazilian striker Luiz Cane in their fight that opened up the pay-per-view portion of the fight card.

Despite showing very impressive striking power, Nedkov still looked as though he was a bit rough around the edges. If he rounds out his game more and improves his striking defense, it'll do wonders for him and Bulgarian MMA as a whole.

Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira Is Back!

Antontio Rodrigo Noguiera proved that he isn't over the hill just yet when he out-struck Brendan Schaub en route to a TKO victory in the first round.

While Nogueira may not be able to best the top fighters in the division, such as Cain Velasquez and Junior Dos Santos, he is still a fighter worth keeping around and will likely produce a few more memorable fights in the UFC before riding off into the sunset.

Edson Barboza Isn't Superman

Edson Barboza was victorious in his outing against Ross Pearson, but the fact of the matter is that while he looked alright, he didn't look great.

Barboza is one of the most highly touted prospects at lightweight, but at UFC 134 he didn't look like the superhero many have made him out to be. He still needs some work before he becomes "the future" at lightweight.

Is "Shogun" Really Back? Is Forrest Griffin Done?

Former Pride and UFC champion Mauricio "Shogun" Rua avenged his previous loss to former UFC champion Forrest Griffin in a convincing fashion. He was too much for Griffin and finished him via strikes in the first round.

However, is "Shogun" really back, as Kenny Florian had proclaimed? It can't be said for certain since we only saw him fight for slightly under two minutes. The MMA community will need to see Rua in another fight to better assess his status of being "back."

As for Griffin, it's unfortunate, but it's quite possible that the fan-favorite might be approaching the end of his days in MMA. According to Griffin, his fighting spirit was already beginning to wane; when this crushing loss is added to that fact, it may spell doom for his storied career in the Octagon.

Anderson Silva Is Still One of the Best in the World

UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva used his characteristic head movement and hands around his waist to drop Japanese contender Yushin "Thunder" Okami in the second round, setting up an eventual TKO at the 2:04 mark of the second round.

There isn't too much else to say about it. Anderson Silva again proved that his reaction time, power and overall MMA skill is second to none.