Just a few hours ago, MMA Weekly broke the news that current Strikeforce light heavyweight champion is making his return to the octagon at UFC 139, taking on Mauricio “Shogun” Rua.
A former UFC light heavyweight champion, Rua, like Henderson, is …
Just a few hours ago, MMA Weekly broke the news that current Strikeforce light heavyweight champion is making his return to the octagon at UFC 139, taking on Mauricio “Shogun” Rua.
A former UFC light heavyweight champion, Rua, like Henderson, is one of the biggest Pride stars of all time.
At 41-years old, remains one of the top 205-pounders in the game as he has won six of his past seven, including four stoppages.
Meanwhile, Shogun looked impressive against Forrest Griffin in August, his first fight since losing the light heavyweight belt to Jon “Bones” Jones.
Despite some inconsistencies in the past few years, Rua has avenged three of his five career losses, and owns quality wins over the likes of Alistair Overeem (twice), Mark Coleman, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson, and Lyoto Machida.
Still in his prime at 29-years old, there is no doubt that Rua is one of the most dangerous strikers in the game right now.
Nevertheless, here is five reason why Dan Henderson will beat Mauricio Rua on November 19.
When Nick Diaz came to the UFC, he didn’t get an immediate title shot. When Alistair Overeem came to the UFC, he didn’t get an immediate title shot.Dan Henderson’s coming to the UFC; why should he get an immediate title shot? He shouldn’t, even though …
When Nick Diaz came to the UFC, he didn’t get an immediate title shot. When Alistair Overeem came to the UFC, he didn’t get an immediate title shot.
Dan Henderson‘s coming to the UFC; why should he get an immediate title shot? He shouldn’t, even though he’s acted like he should, which is exactly my point.
“I think the biggest fight that the UFC would make money on and the fans would want to see, I would think, would be me against the winner of (Jon) Jones and Rampage (Jackson).”
Just because someone is the champion of another organization doesn’t mean that they should automatically earn a shot at the most prestigious championship in MMA, the UFC belt.
I’m talking to you Shinya Aoki, Gilbert Melendez, Luke Rockhold and Hector Lombard.
There’s a reason for that, though. The competition outside of the UFC is simply not up to par with the competition inside the Octagon.
Henderson has won three fights since leaving the UFC, against Renato Sobral (not that great), Rafael Cavalcante (not that good) and Fedor Emelianenko (downside of his career).
The one loss he had since leaving the UFC came to Jake Shields at middleweight.
Maybe you remember Shields, he’s lost two in a row since coming to the UFC, including a 53-second TKO on Saturday night.
People who come to the UFC from other organizations haven’t looked as impressive. They need to earn their title shots the same way as other fighters.
However, there is one other way you should look at this scenario. Not only did Dan Henderson not earn his title shot, but if he were to get an immediate title shot, what do you do with Rashad Evans?
Evans has been one of the unluckiest fighters on the UFC roster, losing his title shot at two different chances due to injuries and other circumstances. If Hendo was to get an immediate title shot, Rashad Evans would be screwed again.
The timing is much better the way things are currently arranged. Jones fights Rampage at UFC 135, then the winner faces off against Rashad Evans around January.
Henderson and Mauricio “Shogun” Rua face off at UFC 139, and the winner of that can then take on the winner of the Evans-Jones/Rampage match.
It all works out for the best this way.
Tim McTiernan is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report. For the latest news on everything MMA, follow him on Twitter @tmt2393.
Two of MMA’s most dangerous strikers will get their chance to meet in what could be a title eliminator match. According to MMA Weekly.com, Dan Henderson and Mauricio “Shogun” Rua have verbally agreed to fight at UFC 139. Henderson, St…
Two of MMA’s most dangerous strikers will get their chance to meet in what could be a title eliminator match.
According to MMA Weekly.com, Dan Henderson and Mauricio “Shogun” Rua have verbally agreed to fight at UFC 139.
Henderson, Strikeforce’s light heavyweight champion, will be making his second return to the UFC after defeating Fedor Emelianenko back in July.
A win for either man should put him in title contention.
Henderson has been in this position before. After winning both the Pride middleweight (205lbs) and welterweight (183lbs) titles, Henderson faced off against UFC champions Quinton “Rampage” Jackson and Anderson Silva to unify their titles.
Henderson came up short in both bouts, but went on to win three straight, including a memorable knockout victory over Michael Bisping at UFC 100.
Like Henderson, Rua is a former Pride champion, winning the Pride middleweight tournament in 2005.
Since entering the UFC, Rua has had his fair share of ups and downs.
Rua is 4-3 in the UFC, and has nearly traded wins and losses.
All four of Rua’s wins are by KO, including his UFC light heavyweight championship fight again Lyoto Machida.
While a win for either man should put them in the mix.
Every man Rua has defeated in the UFC is a former champion while Henderson was Strikeforce’s most recent light heavyweight champion.
With Rashad Evans in place to challenge the winner of Jon Jones vs. Rampage Jackson, the winner of Henderson vs. Rua should be next in line.
Dan Henderson is back in the UFC and will face Mauricio “Shogun” Rua Nov. 19 at UFC 139.That’s according to a report tonight from MMAWeekly.com.Henderson, 41, is the only fighter in MMA history to simultaneously hold titles in two different weight clas…
Dan Henderson is back in the UFC and will face Mauricio “Shogun” Rua Nov. 19 at UFC 139.
That’s according to a report tonight from MMAWeekly.com.
Henderson, 41, is the only fighter in MMA history to simultaneously hold titles in two different weight classes in a major promotion. He is coming off a resounding first-round TKO of former pound-for-pound king Fedor Emelinaneko, which was his fourth fight under the Strikeforce banner.
In returning to the UFC, Henderson is following in the footsteps of other former Strikeforce luminaries like Nick Diaz, Alistair Overeem and Cung Le. One other thing those footsteps have in common: they’re close together and appear to be moving as quickly away from Strikeforce as humanly possible.
So what does this latest defection mean for Strikeforce? I’m not a mergers-and-acquisitions expert, but all signs point to “not good.”
In the past six months, Strikeforcewhich was purchased in March by UFC parent company Zuffa—has seen its talent stocks positively gutted. The promotion lost its welterweight champion in Diaz, its heavyweight champion in Overeem and now its light heavyweight champion in Henderson. Only lightweight title holder Gilbert Melendez and newly crowned middleweight champ Luke Rockhold remain.
Remember also that Emelianenko, once thought to be Strikeforce’s meal ticket, was a ghost of his former self during his run there and now finds himself out of the promotion.
And if that wasn’t enough, keep in mind that former marquee names like Jake Shields and Jason “Mayhem” Miller have also left the promotion recently.
At the time of the purchase, UFC President Dana White said Strikeforce would “continue to run business as usual.” It seemed that continuation had a limited shelf life.
Because make no mistake: as of Hendo’s departure, the vultures are officially circling. The inevitable absorption might be good for Strikeforce fighters and front office types, including CEO Scott Coker, who appears to have a good relationship with White.
But for fans of Strikeforce, and of diversity in the world of MMA promotions, this could be a dark day.
Mauricio “Shogun” Rua vs. Dan Henderson verbally on tap for UFC 139. UFC 135 headliners, Jon “Bones” Jones and Quinton “Rampage” Jackson will appear live tonight at Midnight on Jimmy Kimmel Live on ABC. Quinton.
Mauricio “Shogun” Rua vs. Dan Hendersonverbally on tap for UFC 139.
UFC 135 headliners, Jon “Bones” Jones and Quinton “Rampage” Jackson will appear live tonight at Midnight on Jimmy Kimmel Live on ABC.
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It looks like Dan Henderson is now “the former” Strikeforce light heavyweight champion.The Team Quest product has since re-signed with the UFC and will now be taking on fellow PRIDE veteran Mauricio “Shogun” Rua upon his return.MMAWeekly.com confirmed …
It looks like Dan Henderson is now “the former” Strikeforce light heavyweight champion.
The Team Quest product has since re-signed with the UFC and will now be taking on fellow PRIDE veteran Mauricio “Shogun” Rua upon his return.
MMAWeekly.com confirmed the bout with sources close to the match, which takes place at UFC 139 in San Jose, California on November 19 at the famed HP Pavilion.
Henderson has had a long drawn out history with the Las Vegas based organization. He twice challenged for titles within the promotion, coming up short against then champ Quinton “Rampage” Jackson and current middleweight kingpin Anderson Silva, though the Californian had his moments.
He later signed a deal with Strikeforce, eventually earning the promotion’s 205-pound title after defeating Black House fighter Rafael “Feijao” with a third-round TKO. In his last outing, Henderson defeated former PRIDE champion Fedor Emelianenko in a heavyweight affair this July, starching “The Last Emperor” in a little over four-minutes.
As for Rua, he too is enjoying some success as of late. Last month in front of his fellow countryman in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, “Shogun” blitzed former champ Forrest Griffin in less than two-minutes, inside of the opening round, avenging a 2007 loss to The Ultimate Fighter season one winner. The victory helped ease the pain of a third-round TKO loss to Jon Jones (this past March, UFC 128), who now resides as the organization’s belt holder.
The winner of this PRIDE-esque throwback will likely serve as the next top contender to the light heavyweight title, which will be contested this Saturday as Jones meets the aforementioned Jackson at UFC 135 in Denver, Colorado.
When Nick Diaz came to the UFC, he didn’t get an immediate title shot. When Alistair Overeem came to the UFC, he didn’t get an immediate title shot.