Many consider Brazil to be the birthplace of mixed martial arts. The first legendary MMA fighter, Royce Gracie, is Brazilian, and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu [BJJ] is huge part of the sport. Tonight, Aug. 27, UFC returns to Brazil for the first time since 1998 with UFC 134, live from Rio and available on Pay-Per-View and UFC.com.
In the main event, pound-for-pound the best fighter in the world, Anderson “Spider” Silva, defends his middleweight title against Yushin Okami. Silva, a native Brazilian, has never lost a UFC fight, but he was disqualified in the 2006 “Rumble on the Rock” against Okami. Look for Silva to send a message to his hometown fans in what could be one of his last fights as a middleweight. Having already cleaned out the division, he is interested in pursuing a super fight at a different weight class—if he isn’t tripped up by Okami.
The card also features a rematch between Mauricio “Shogun” Rua and Forrest Griffin. In Shogun’s last fight, he relinquished the light heavyweight title to Jon Jones, so he’s looking to bounce back with an impressive showing against Griffin, who is one of the most popular fighters in the company.
Rounding out program will be Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira taking on Brendan Schaub. A legend in MMA, Big Nog will no doubt have the full support of the Brazilian crowd, but Schaub is going for his fifth straight win.
Can’t catch the main event? UFC will stream the preliminary fights for free on their Facebook page starting at 6 p.m. EST tonight.

Photo:  bjpenn.ufc-sports.com