Yahoo! Sports and Heavy present Fight Day before UFC 134

The UFC's only official pre-fight show, Fight Day, returns before UFC 134 from Rio de Janeiro, on Saturday, Aug. 27. Hosts Dave Farra and Megan Olivi will guide you through the latest news of the week, including all the details of the landmark Fox/UFC television deal. We'll have an interview with UFC CEO Lorenzo Fertitta, who discusses the finer workings of the UFC's business philosophy and much more. UFC heavyweight Junior dos Santos and bantamweight Joseph Benavidez will join us live on the set in Rio to discuss their futures, and MMA Junkie's John Morgan, MMA Fighting's Ben Fowlkes and Heavy.com's Matt Brown will discuss all of the latest hot-button issues in our media roundtable.

Join us Saturday at 5 p.m. ET for all Fight Day.

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UFC 134 picks, Vegas style: Okami is a huge underdog

The UFC stocked its Rio de Janeiro card with lots of Brazilian fighters, but according to the sports books and bettors that doesn't mean there's a ton of tight match ups at the top of card.

Yushin Okami is in the main event against Anderson Silva. He's got a 2006 win via disqualification over Silva, but he's still a massive underdog against the UFC middleweight champ.

This is also a big swing fight amongst sports books in Las Vegas and off-shore. Make sure you shop the odds. Some books have Silva as high as minus-625 and others have him at minus-450.

Okami is certainly intriguing as an underdog. The question is whether the Japanese grappling specialist can get the fight to the ground. Larry Pepe (ProMMARadio.com) and Damon Martin (MMAWeekly.com) on RawVegas.tv don't have a ton of confidence in the challenger.

UFC 134 betting odds (Courtesy Palazzo Sports Book Las Vegas):

Yushin Okami (+375) vs. Anderson Silva (-550) - UFC middleweight title

Forrest Griffin (+180) vs. Mauricio "Shogun" Rua (-220) - Light heavyweight

Antonio "Rodrigo" Nogueira (+190) vs. Brendan Schaub (-240) - Heavyweight

Ross Pearson (+220) vs. Edson Barboza (-300) - Lightweight

Stanislav Nedkov (+170) vs. Luiz Cane (-200) - Light heavyweight

Spencer Fisher (+170) vs. Thiago Tavares (-200) - Lightweight

Dan Miller (+200) vs. Rousimar Palhares (-250) - Middleweight

David Mitchell (+300) vs. Paulo Thiago (-400) - Welterweight

Luis Ramos (+220) vs. Erick Silva (-300) - Welterweight

Yves Jabouin (+150) vs. Ian Loveland (-180) -Bantamweight

Felipe Arantes (+300) vs. Yuri Alcantara (-400) - Featherweight

Johnny Eduardo (+140)  vs. Raphael Assuncao (-170) - Featherweight

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MotoGP: Lap Record Falls During Qualifying for Indy GP

Lapping under perhaps the best conditions Indianapolis has to offer in late-August, MotoGP took to The Brickyard for the 2011 Red Bull Indianapolis GP. Though Indy’s newly paved track failed to impress riders with its first impression, as more rubber was put down on the racing line during the weekend’s sessions, the pavement increased its grip, making for some impressive lap times in the later practice sessions. With Casey Stoner breaking Indy’s outright best lap ...

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With Win, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira Staves Off Retirement Talk...for Now

Filed under:

Antonio Rodrigo NogueiraRIO DE JANEIRO -- Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira wanted to fight in front of his countrymen so badly, he admitted to rushing a complex rehab process just to be ready in time for the Rio fight card.

But as he made his way to the cage to take on Brendan Schaub at UFC 134, even the veteran of 40 professional fights was a little overwhelmed by the frenzied reaction from the Brazilian crowd.

"When I was walking to the ring I was super nervous," he admitted with a sheepish smile at the post-fight press conference. "I couldn't really look up to the crowd."

A little over three minutes after the fight had started, when Nogueira's bigger, younger American opponent was lying face first on the mat, that's when the MMA legend finally took a moment to let it all sink in.

"It was only after I had finished the fight that I looked up to the crowd and saw how much noise was being made," he said through an interpreter at the post-fight press conference.

Of course, as he looked up, he might have also seen the celebratory beers flying in from the overjoyed audience members, who apparently loved seeing Nogueira win more than they enjoyed finishing their drinks.

UFC president Dana White said UFC officals "get a little freaked out" when fans start throwing nearly full drinks into the cage, but he also said that the stakes may have been higher on Saturday than even Nogueira fully realized.

"I talked to Nogueira after his last fight and was talking to him about retiring," White said. "And, you know, he was pretty pissed off about that. That's why when I came out and I was talking about Tito [Ortiz] and Tito won that fight, Nogueira was one of the guys who jumped on his side saying, listen, you don't make those [expletive] decisions -- we do. That's not really true, I do make those decisions."

Nogueira might not have wanted to hear it, but after he get knocked out by Cain Velasquez in the first round at UFC 110, White had started to consider whether it might be time for him to hang up the gloves.

But, to his credit, Nogueira went through three surgeries on his hips and knees, built himself back up through an ardous rehab, and came back in surprisingly good condition to out-strike Schaub in front of his home crowd.

It was a long road to get there, and a rocky one at times, according to his wrestling coach, Eric Albarracin.

"I see him in the gym," Albarracin said before the fight. "We have to stretch him a lot before and after. He's got a physical therapist who's always there. She's on call 24/7."

It paid off on Saturday, as Nogueira -- one of the few Brazilian underdogs on the card -- scored a shocking knockout in the opening frame. When asked how far the win might have put him from being in title contention, and how many fights he'd have to win to get back in that conversation, White said it wasn't simply how many, "it's who" Nogueira beats.

Regardless of what he says in his own defense, White insisted, he's not about to sit around and watch Nogueira, or any other fighter, go on too long and risk his own health.

"I'm not going to let this thing be boxing," said White. "When a guy is done, we know he's done. I don't want to make one dollar of that kind of money. "

 

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?Cowboy? Cerrone shows striking prowess at UFC on Versus 5

MILWAUKEE -- Donald Cerrone showed off his kickboxing prowess in a TKO over Charles Oliveira on Sunday night at the UFC on Versus 5 card.

Cerrone controlled most of the fight, stalking down Oliveira with leg kicks and punches. He knocked Oliveira down with a knee, and then backed away for a second before finishing up with a flurry of punches. It was stopped at 3:01 in the first round.

"My game plan was to let it go man. I finally got to go out there and get it started.  Looking forward, I would like a rematch with Ben Henderson.  I train with the best every day, and this is what you get," Cerrone said after the win.

This win puts Cerrone on a five-fight win streak, extending back to his stint in the WEC. Oliveira is a young, rising prospect, but has hit a rough patch as his last three fights were two losses and a no contest.

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UFC on Fox: You want cross-promotion? We?ve got cross-promotion

The UFC announced its seven-year deal with FOX on Thursday, promising plenty of cross-promotion between existing FOX entities and the UFC. To help out the network and the promotion, Cagewriter has a few ideas:

A "Glee"/"The Ultimate Fighter" crossover episode -- The fighters have to put together a song and dance to get New Directions to regionals. Rachel Berry and Quinn Fabray finally solve their difference in the Octagon. Dana White and Mr. Schu smile and nod a ton. How could this go wrong?

Put the "American Idol" spin on "The Ultimate Fighter" -- Televise the tryouts, and have a panel either over-praise or break the hearts of every contestant.

"The Family Guy" goes to a UFC show -- Peter Griffin and his buddies head to catch some fights with some buddies in Quahog, only to find out that Brian has his UFC debut, with Stewie as his cornerman. Roy Nelson has a cameo.

Feed a fighter challenge on "Hell's Kitchen" -- The chefs have to create a post weigh-in dinner for Anderson Silva. It has to take into account his nutritional needs and love for fast food. Can they handle it, or will the chefs turn on each other? (Hint: It's reality TV. They're going to turn on each other.)

"So You Think You Can Dance: UFC edition" -- Fighters sure like to show off their moves on their way to the Octagon or after fights. Is it too much to ask for a UFC dance-off? No. No, it is not.

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