It was a closely contested battle, and odds are that if the decision had gone the other way, no one would have argued it. As it was, UFC 161 ended with Rashad Evans having his hand raised in a split-decision victory over Dan Henderson on Saturday night.
The victory ended a two-fight losing streak for Evans and kept his hopes alive for getting another shot at the UFC light heavyweight title. The defeat was the second straight loss for Henderson and put his chances at ever getting another title shot in serious doubt.
After the fight, Evans offered the following: “I had to step it up in the last round. I got dropped in the first round, and I thought I was winning the round till then, but I won the second for sure and I knew I needed to come on more in the third. I was a man on a mission in the last round. I was not going home losing tonight. I got a lot of respect for Hendo, and I’m happy to have got the win.”
For his part, Henderson took full responsibility for the loss: “I thought I had it but I take responsibility. He didn’t hurt me at all but I should have been more active in the last round instead of slowing down. He’s a tough guy, hard to land clean on, and we had a knockdown each. I was coming off the cage, off-balance, and he’s got great speed and timing. This decision is a little less hard to swallow than the last one. Rashad came to fight.”
*Quotes obtained firsthand by Bleacher Report.
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