UFC Fight Night 38 is over and done with, and it was one of the few generally solid cards of 2014. While the night was absolutely riddled with awful refereeing, there were finishes aplenty.
Seven fights kept the judges twiddling their thumbs, but none were more impressive than the main event. MMA legends Dan Henderson and Mauricio “Shogun” Rua squared off in the night’s top fight and didn’t disappoint. Rua rocked Henderson early but couldn’t quite put him away. Then in the third round, Henderson slipped one of his devastating right hooks in to knock Rua across the canvas.
As always, we’re here right after to let you know who took the Performance of the Night bonuses. So who got what?
Performance of the Night: Godofredo Castro
Fans that tuned into the one Fight Pass bout got a bit of a treat. TUF: Brazil 1 competitor Godofredo Castro kicked the card off in style with a devastating flying knee knockout over Noad Lahat.
The quick victory likely saves Castro’s UFC career, as he miraculously survived a 1-3 stretch over his first four UFC fights. Oh, and it gives him a nice chunk of change, too. That’s always great.
It was another time when the UFC will be able to say, “No really, cool things really do happen on Fight Pass sometimes!”
Performance of the Night: Dan Henderson
As stated, Dan Henderson scored an impressive knockout over “Shogun.”
Many, including myself, were fully expecting this fight to wind up being something of a snoozer. While Rua had Hendo fans biting their nails early after rocking him in both Round 1 and Round 2, he seemed content riding out rounds rather than going for the finish.
Henderson ended that strategy abruptly with a devastating right hand that floored Rua. From there, the former Pride champ rushed in with an uppercut that shattered Rua‘s nose and finished him from there—an impressive, career-saving knockout.
Fight of the Night: Dan Henderson vs. Mauricio Rua
No real surprise here: Everyone likes a good comeback story and that’s precisely what we had.
It’s tough to recap the same fight three times in one article, but here we go.
Rua rocks Henderson! Henderson hangs on. Rua rocks Henderson again! Henderson hangs on. Henderson looks tired. Henderson lands a right! Shogun is hurt! Henderson raining on punches and it’s over!
It was a fun fight, guys! It’s hard to argue that this wasn’t the Fight of the Night.
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