By now, you've likely seen the clip of Anderson Silva KOing Yushin Okami with an illegal upkick off his back. What you may not have seen are the two minutes and thirty seconds leading up to that kick. Whet your UFC 134 appetite with this video and breakdown of the first encounter at Rumble on the Rock 8.
0:00 Okami, in his prefight talking head, expects Silva to stay standing up. Okami and Silva met in the first round of a 175-pound tournament for Rumble on the Rock, and if you'v ever wanted to see how much ten pounds looks like, check out Okami's face.
0:20 Anderson says something in Portuguese. The translation sound like it's coming from the back of the room. "Okami, we're gonna scrap." Okami, in English responds, "Anderson, I am ready for you. Let's fight." Setting the stage!
0:32 It's a shame the UFC doesn't use the "heat map of a mountain" background for their tale of the tape rundown. Maybe in the "new" UFC? These guys both stand at 6'2" (curiously, Silva is announced at 5'11" in the cage), reminding you that they are HUGE for middleweight, which, again, makes it a near miracle that they're able to make 175 pounds. Okami, at 75", is listed with a two inch reach advantage over Silva. FightMetric's numbers have Silva, at 77.5", with a four-and-a-half inch reach advantage over Okami.
0:37 Bruce Buffer with the introductions. He's a pro, so I'm sure he'll nail this. Gets through Okami just fine. Curataba, Brazil? Curataba? OK. It's interesting to note that Silva came into this tournament with a 16-3 record. Should he get by Okami tomorrow, he'll be one away from doubling that win total.
2:08 Troy "Rude Boy" Mandaloniz, of Ultimate Fighter season 6 fame, is our referee.
2:15 Play-by-play guy address the color commentator as "Rico." It sounds like former UFC heavyweight champ Ricco Rodriguez.
(Side note: Check out this version of the fight to hear Ricco stumble through "Okami" like Frank Mir reading out of the Japanese phone book.)
2:25 Silva comes out quick, bouncing around. He throws a stiff leg kick, but reverts to feeling out the distance. We don't see a second strike, another leg kick, until the 2:50 mark.
2:51 Okami dives in for a double leg that Silva dodges and brushes aside. He does so again 15 seconds later. This time ending up on his back, eating kicks to his leg. Mandaloniz stands them up.
3:35 Anderson churns his hands like he's eagerly milking a cow, which is the Punch Out!!-like indicator that he's found the distance and is ready to unload. Silva lands a beautiful three-punch combo that sends Okami reeling into the fence.
3:45 Okami is 0-3 in his takedown attempts.
4:19 Okami dives in a fourth time. This time he grabs behind Silva's knees. Silva sprawls well, but Okami switches to a single, and Anderson more or less surrenders the takedown. He lands on his back with his right leg over Okami's left shoulder, setting up for a triangle. Okami smartly has the left leg trapped, and uses the position to attempt a pass. Fun stuff. Yushin stands up, and Silva plants an upkick in the middle of his chest.
4:50 Okami lands a few punches from inside the guard. As Ricco talks about Silva giving Okami no respect, the Brazilian cocks his right leg and unloads his heel through Okami's jaw. In the past, I believed Okami played up the effects of the kick, but looking at it now, he was hurt pretty bad if not knocked out momentarily.
5:15 Silva pleads to Mandaloniz, who you can hear respond with, "He was down." We cut back to Okami struggling to his feet. He doesn't look good.
5:50 Our play-by-play man explains that we won't be hearing a post-fight interview as neither man speaks English. The benefits of not being able to afford translators, I suppose.
6:49 Slow motion replay of the finish. Okami's bounces around like a bobblehead. Silva's precision is precise.
7:27 Our play-by-play man and Ricco wonder if this is being called a foul. They get confirmation, show another replay, and confirm both of Okami's knees on the floor. This rule needs to change.
8:40 The broadcast team get Troy Mandaloniz on the mic (headset through the cage). Mandalnoiz sounds exactly like B.J. Penn.
9:20 Bruce Buffer gives us the official decision. The crowd? Not happy.
10:20 Troy Mandaloniz explains that Rumble on the Rock allows knees on the ground, but not kicks. Well, that's just dumb.
11:00 Okami is helped to the back.
11:24 Hi Jake Shields!