Dan Henderson‘s matchup with Mauricio “Shogun” Rua feels long overdue.
The two light heavyweights will meet in the main event at UFC 139 to likely determine the next challenger at 205 pounds. Henderson, who is unbeaten in his last three bouts, has a lot of confidence heading into his bout against the Brazilian.
While both Henderson and Rua are slated to meet this weekend, they never crossed paths while competing in the Japanese-based promotion.
Now, Henderson gets his opportunity to face Rua, who he thinks presents an interesting challenge to him, stylistically.
“He’s definitely accomplished a lot of things in this sport, and those type of things excite me to go up against guys like that and test myself against them,” Henderson told MMA Heat reporter Karyn Bryant.
In addition to testing his skills against Rua, Henderson gets a chance to face one of the few opponents he was unable to meet in Japan, who he believes he would have defeated under the Pride banner five years ago
“I was still dangerous back then, but I feel like I’m capable of finishing guys a lot better now. I’d probably have a better chance of finishing him now than I did five years ago ” he said. “With that being said, I still think I would have controlled the fight and still beat him back then, no problem.”
UFC 139 is scheduled for this weekend, live from the HP Pavilion in San Jose.
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