(George Galanis is an MMA fan, journalism student and regular contributor to BPL.)

UFC middleweight champion Anderson 'The Spider' Silva proved at UFC 134 why he is the best Mixed Martial Artist on the planet. Silva made contender Yushin Okami look like an amateur fighter, before finishing the bout with a TKO victory in the second round.

Silva's performance can best be described as Anderson Silva being Anderson Silva.

He took his time in the first round, as he often does, gauging Okami and getting his timing down. When Okami clinched with Silva against the cage, Okami was battered with knees to the body that caused his ribs to bruise a shade of pink. 

Silva took his time, perhaps savouring the moment of having an arena full of Brazilians cheer and sing for him. It felt much like a soccer match. The first round ended with him almost finishing the fight with a head kick.

In the second, we saw what makes the 'Spider' the best fighter of all time. His ability to slip punches is stuff of legend and his head movement kept Okami at a distance. 

When Anderson Silva smells blood, he plays his game. With his hands beside his waist, head movement and a little dancing - that was enough to make Yushin Okami look lost. Okami tried to respond with strikes, but none of them landed clearly. It was Silva who delivered a laser-sharp jab that knocked down his opponent. 

Silva didn't go for the finish because he needed to give the crowd at the HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro the show they paid for. Anderson Silva continued to toy with Okami before finishing the fight with a knockdown jab, then battering him with punches, knees and elbows to the body.

Referee Herb Dean was forced to stop the fight for the sake of fighter safety at 2:04 minutes into the second round.

There's not much else to say really. Anderson is the most successful UFC fighter in the history of the organisation. He's undefeated in the promotion with a record of 14-0, he has an overall fight record is 31-4 and he's defended the middleweight belt nine times. 

In the semi-main event, Mauricio 'Shogun' Rua — in his first fight since losing the light heavyweight title — showed that he's still a force inside the Octagon, knocking out Forrest Griffin in the first round. 

Shogun looked just a step faster than Griffin did; connecting with combinations while his opponent's punches were empty. A right hand dropped Forrest and Shogun looked for the finish. 

In what has now become a theme in all of Forrest Griffin's fights, his inability to take punches off his back ultimately led to his downfall. Shogun rained down heavy shots and the dazed Griffin could do nothing but flail in his attempts to block Rua's punches.

As Rua began to land hammer fists Griffin couldn't do anything, and the referee eventually stepped in to stop the fight after it was clear Griffin was out of it. 

Although Rua was brutalised by Jon 'Bones' Jones at UFC 128 in March, no one should take that result as evidence that Rua is done. He improved his professional record to 20-5 and showed against Griffin that he has plenty of fight left in him. If he can stay healthy, he can challenge for the light heavyweight belt with another win.

Griffin, who fell to 18-7, will always be one of the UFC's most popular fighters, and he'll have a lot more big fights ahead of him. However, this fight showed that while Rua is among the truly elite fighters in the light heavyweight division, Griffin is not.