The UFC's 5 most memorable moments in Brazil

#1 Anderson comes home – UFC 134

Anderson Silva knocked out Yushin Okami in his homecoming fight in 2011

The UFC’s first visit to Brazil since 1998, August 2011’s UFC 134 was always going to be a momentous event, and throughout an epic card – which was chock-full of incredible submissions and knockouts and stands as one of the best shows the promotion has ever put on – things seemed to be building to a crescendo to mark the return to the country of arguably its biggest ever MMA superstar – Anderson Silva.

The reigning UFC Middleweight champion, Silva had held the title since October 2006, had defended it successfully on 8 occasions, and was widely recognized as the best pound-for-pound fighter on the planet, as well as one of the sport’s biggest drawing cards. He also hadn’t fought in Brazil since December 2003 – years before his UFC debut, let alone his rise to true stardom.

Silva was faced with top contender Yushin Okami, the last man to hand him a loss in MMA – albeit a questionable one; ‘The Spider’ had been disqualified for knocking out the Japanese fighter with illegal up-kicks. But ‘Thunder’ was much-improved from that fight, and had put together an impressive 10-2 record in the UFC, winning his last three bouts.

Nobody really expected an upset to happen, but stranger things had happened and you could’ve forgiven Silva if he’d come in looking overconfident. But of course, he didn’t, and instead, he delivered a virtuoso performance up there with the best of his career.

The crowd were deafening from the moment his theme song Ain’t No Sunshine hit, treating him like a conquering hero, and Okami appeared to be simply swallowed by the spotlight. He had no chance against Silva’s pinpoint accuracy on the feet, and the champion put him down twice before finally finishing things off midway through the second round.

The UFC had seen plenty of perfect endings to their shows before, but this was definitely up there with the best; Brazilian heroes like Mauricio ‘Shogun’ Rua and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira also picked up big wins at UFC 134, but the fans in Rio had really paid to see Anderson Silva – and their hero delivered in every possible way, giving the promotion an unforgettable moment for their first trip to the country in over a decade.