UFC 134 Results: Dana White Calls Rio the Greatest Crowd in UFC History

Like a proud Papa, UFC President Dana White smiled ear-to-ear tonight during a post-event interview with Ariel Helwani following one of the biggest events in the organization’s history, UFC 134.

The card, which took place in Rio Di Janeiro, Brazil, marked the first time that the UFC had visited the country since 1998. The sport has grown by leaps and bounds in the 13 years since that event, though, and so has the crowd in attendance.

Fans in attendance tonight were vocal before, during and after the fights as they cheered on their home-country heroes while giving an equally harsh storm of boos to anyone else. Unlike many UFC events in which the fans are noticeably uneducated and sometimes seem bored, the fans tonight in Rio were unbelievable.

“There were some impressive crowds and I’ve been to some pretty amazing events, but this one topped them all. I’ve never seen anything like this,” White told MMA Fighting. “Rio exceeded our expectations before we even got to the show.”

The fights themselves were obviously amazing as well and were capped off by an impressive performance from UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva, who knocked out the last man to have defeated him, Yushin Okami.

“This guy is the pound-for-pound best fighter in the world and in my opinion the best fighter ever,” the UFC President asserted.

An amazing night for the UFC and its fans made for a happy Dana White once again, as the sport continues to grow exponentially in 2011.