Hometown Grudge at UFC 134

Matthew Wheeler (Staff Writer) | May 6, 2011 | 1 Reply

When the UFC returns to Rio it promises a very spectacular event with great match making and tough well thought out fights up and down the whole card. The lineup includes tough strikers like Anderson Silva, Maurico Rua, Miguel Falcao, Luiz Cane, and Edson Barbosa. Also a heavy mix of grappling aces like Forrest Griffin, Thiago Tavares, Yushin Okami, and Rousimar Palhares. Palhares now will face a former Chute Boxe Brazilian native he was originally set to fight UFC Live: Sanchez vs. Kampmann.

Palhares (12-3 MMA) is a black belt in Jiu Jitsu and has only been on the bad side of one stoppage against Nate Marquardt as he protested to the judge of “greased legs” which was later debunked. Palhares, also from Brazil, is one of the most dangerous grapplers in the Middleweight division and is on track to another chance at a contender fight. He is one of the largest middleweights in the division and his leg locks and knee bars are some of the best the UFC has ever seen.

He is set to face Alexandre Ferreira (18-7 MMA) who is coming off a recent embarrassing loss to Matyushenko where he was overwhelmed in the first round. Ferrira holds a solid ground game himself so he won’t just be leaving a leg behind for Palhares.

Chances are the majority of the fight will be contested on the ground so the key to this fight will be whoever makes the first mistake. Expect Palhares to use his wrestling strength like in the beginning of the Marquardt fight, and not letting anything distract him this time. After his first UFC performance Ferreira will need to prove to the UFC brass that his head is in the game and with a win over Palhares do that.

UFC 134: Rio happens August 27th from the HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and airs on PPV.

Tags: Alexandre Ferreira, MMA, Rousimar Palhares, UFC, UFC 134, UFC Rio

Category: MMA, UFC

About the Author (Author Profile)

A college student residing in Arizona, coming off of active duty and continuing to work for the government. I hold a black belt in Hapkido, and have high school wrestling experience paired with multiple grappling tournaments. I spent six months training Authentic Muay Thai and now I am currently enrolling in Gracie B.J.J/MMA this week. I plan on starting my amateur fighting Career sometime late this year to early next year and also plan on entering B.J.J. tournaments through the year.