It was originally rumored that Cain Velasquez would make the first defense of his title against Junior Dos Santos at UFC 139 in San Jose, California. But soon after it was announced as the main event for the UFC debut on FOX.
Many then assumed that it would be hard to fill in the event with a high caliber replacement fight, but wow were they wrong.
Mauricio “Shogun” Rua vs. Dan Henderson was announced and not only does this fight surpass the level that Velasquez/Dos Santos fight would’ve been, it may in fact be one of the biggest fights ever.The thing is, this fight should have taken place years ago.
Henderson has won three fights in a row and seven of his last 10. His last three wins have come by knockout.
Not only did he recently score the biggest win of his career, he scored arguably the biggest win in MMA history when he went up to Heavyweight and defeated Fedor Emelianenko by way of knockout.
After that fight, Henderson’s contract with Strikeforce expired and he has re-signed with the UFC.
Mauricio “Shogun” Rua is one of the most dangerous fighters in the history of the sport. His biggest downfall is the fact that he has had a big problem with injuries.
In his fight with Jon Jones, he was still not 100 percent. After the fight, he took a little time to heal and was ready for UFC Rio. He defeated Forrest Griffin in quick fashion, avenging his 2007 loss at his UFC debut.
This fight should have actually taken place years ago, but any time there was a moment in which we could see this, the stars would just never align. Well they have aligned this time.
Both men are true champions and will be going for the finish. Henderson is known for his wrestling but over the years has improved on his boxing and now possess one of the most dangerous right hands in all of MMA.
Shogun has the striking that Henderson has not faced in a long time. Henderson has never been knocked out and Shogun recently suffered his first TKO loss.
A healthy Shogun is a very dangerous Shogun. Both men will come in ready for this fight and odds are this one will not go the full 15 minutes.
Not only will the winner be one step closer to a title shot, the winner will also gain a little “Pride” by defeating a true legend of the sport.
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