Tonight’s main event on the UFC 139 fight card will feature the return of Dan Henderson (28-8) in a light heavyweight fight against Mauricio “Shogun” Rua (20-5).The last time Henderson was in a UFC fight, he beat Michael Bisping by a knockout. The knoc…
Tonight’s main event on the UFC 139 fight card will feature the return of Dan Henderson (28-8) in a light heavyweight fight against Mauricio “Shogun” Rua (20-5).
The last time Henderson was in a UFC fight, he beat Michael Bisping by a knockout. The knockout, which you can see here, was named Knockout of the Year in 2009.
After a brief stink in Strikeforce, Henderson returns tonight.
Rua made his UFC debut in September 2007. Since then, he has recorded only seven fights in the UFC.
He boasts a record of just 4-3, but all seven fights have come against top talent in the UFC.
Rua has taken on Forrest Griffin, Mark Coleman, Chuck Liddell, Lyoto Machida and Jon Jones.
He took the UFC light heavyweight title from Machida, but lost it in his following fight against current champion Jones.
Rua may not have fought often in the last few years, but when he has it’s been against the premier talent in the organization.
Never in his career has Henderson faced anybody at this level and won.
He was dominated by Quentin “Rampage” Jackson and Anderson Silva during his previous time in UFC.
Rua fought Jackson once early in his career. He ended the fight in the first round by knockout.
Tonight, Rua will simply be the more talented fighter in the ring. Since this fight is only scheduled for three rounds, it could go the distance.
No matter how it ends, it should be a clear victory for Rua.
UFC 139 is only hours away, and in the main event we will see Mauricio “Shogun” Rua knock Dan Henderson out in the first round. This is going to be a lopsided fight, with Shogun dominating for the few minutes we get to see these two fight.Shogun …
UFC 139 is only hours away, and in the main event we will see Mauricio “Shogun” Rua knock Dan Henderson out in the first round. This is going to be a lopsided fight, with Shogun dominating for the few minutes we get to see these two fight.
Shogun has a variety of ways to knock Henderson out. He has powerful punches, great knees and punishing leg kicks. Shogun knows how to finish a fight early, and he will get the chance to do so early in this fight.
Henderson has been knocked down in the first round of each of his last two fights. Feijao Cavalcante, and Fedor Emelianenko both found ways to get him down, but they couldn’t finish him. When Henderson goes down in this fight he won’t be getting back up, as Shogun knows how to finish him.
It is not a question of if Henderson will go down, the question is when. Henderson is a bulky fighter who used to wrestle. His style of fighting has become swing hard in case you hit him, and while he does have a very strong right hand, he will not be able to hit Shogun.
In his latest fight against Forest Griffin Shogun looked much quicker and more agile than he did in his loss to Jon Jones in February. Shogun came out slowly against Jones because he had had a long layoff period, but he is in better shape now.
Shogun will be quick enough to avoid Henderson’s hard punches, and when Henderson leaves himself open Shogun will be able to hit him hard enough to knock him down. That will spell the end for Henderson.
If Henderson can’t land a few hard punches early in the first round he will surely fall to Shogun in the main event. Not only will he lose, he will be embarrassed in a first round knockout.
There are several reasons to be excited for UFC 139, despite the fact that no title is being defended.As with any event, there are upsides and downsides to the matches on the fight card. For UFC 139, the good outweighs the bad.So why should you be watc…
There are several reasons to be excited for UFC 139, despite the fact that no title is being defended.
As with any event, there are upsides and downsides to the matches on the fight card. For UFC 139, the good outweighs the bad.
So why should you be watching UFC 139 tonight? And why should you be on the edge of your seat when the fight card is starting? Read and find out!
With the UFC’s experimental FOX television debut safely behind us, commercial-free MMA action returns tonight headlined by one of the most anticipated main events of the year. Former UFC light heavyweight champion Mauricio “Shogun” Rua faces off with S…
With the UFC’s experimental FOX television debut safely behind us, commercial-free MMA action returns tonight headlined by one of the most anticipated main events of the year. Former UFC light heavyweight champion Mauricio “Shogun” Rua faces off with Strikeforce light heavyweight champion Dan Henderson in a long-awaited meeting of the former PRIDE rivals.
What We Know
Mauricio Rua entered the UFC to high hopes, but his Octagon career has been an emotional roller coaster for fans. After dropping a closely contested title decision to former champion Lyoto Machida, Rua bounced back and won the belt in a rematch, only to be immediately sidelined with knee surgery.
Following a long recovery, Rua returned to defend his title only to have it summarily stripped away by Jon “Bones” Jones in a one-sided TKO loss which was not particularly competitive.
Rua’s most recent outing, a brilliant first-round knockout of Griffin which avenged that inauspicious UFC debut, showed a return to form the Brazilian must maintain to get back into contention. A dominant victory over Dan Henderson might fast-track Shogun to another title shot.
At 41 years of age, Henderson may not have time on his side but his dramatic victory over the legendary Fedor Emelianenko proved he can still get the job done against younger and more aggressive opponents.
Stung early and knocked down early by Fedor’s frenetic striking attack, the cagey veteran was able to reverse positions and deliver a blind-side uppercut that dropped Fedor and led to a first-round TKO.
Both Rua and Henderson have made names for themselves as strikers, though with markedly different styles. Rua uses speed, great boxing and devastating leg and body kicks to keep opponents on the defensive, while Henderson relies more on timing and power to land the big overhand right that has become his signature.
While Henderson’s superb ability to close the distance and connect will likely factor into Rua’s strategy entering this fight, he will probably be more focused on nullifying Henderson’s distinct advantage as a wrestler.By using superior quickness and landing the same vicious leg kicks he used to dismantle Lyoto Machida, Rua may be able to wear down the veteran wrestler and chip away at his ability to shoot.
What the Tapes Don’t Show
Superstitious fans will appreciate the fact that Tim Sylvia, Andrei Arlovski, Brett Rogers, Fabricio Werdum, and Antonio Silva each fought Fedor Emelianenko and then immediately turned in dismal follow-up performances. Though it’s improbable Henderson will fall completely flat in his return to the Octagon, turning in a strong performance against Rua will mean breaking the “Fedor Curse.”
Had he decided to retire, Henderson’s win over Emelianenko would have provided a definitive conclusion to a long and illustrious MMA career.
Rua, on the other hand, is just one fight removed from a lopsided beat-down at the hands of Jon Jones, and at 29 years old is only reaching the prime of his fighting career.
Like most fights, this one may be about unfinished business. All things being equal (or a wash, anyway) the odds usually favor the fighter who has something left to prove.
UFC 139 is about to kick off with Maurício “Shogun” Rua vs. Dan “Hendo” Henderson serving as the main event. This bout is guaranteed to be explosive—sparks will fly, but for who? Shogun (20-5) is slowly making progr…
UFC 139 is about to kick off with Maurício “Shogun” Rua vs. Dan “Hendo” Henderson serving as the main event. This bout is guaranteed to be explosive—sparks will fly, but for who?
Shogun (20-5) is slowly making progress back up the rungs of the UFC light heavyweight division ladder after losing his title to Jon “Bones” Jones at UFC 128.
He showed his intentions with an emphatic first-round blitz of Forrest Griffin at UFC 134.
On the other hand, Hendo (28-8) is making his return to the Octagon after a successful 3-1 stint at the now-defunct San Jose-based Strikeforce company—picking up the light heavyweight title along the way.
Hendo has made the jump to the UFC for two reasons—a shot at UFC gold and to end his storied career there.
This will be the first time these former Pride champions come face to face in the Octagon or anywhere else for that matter.
For some reason, their paths never crossed whilst they were tearing up Pride en-route to becoming household names.
I expect the fight to be a stand-and-bang affair, with Hendo attempting to end things early via “H-Bomb” detonation.
Shogun’s mission in this five-round bout will be to weather the early storm of the Greco-Roman style wrestler’s initial onslaught, whilst keeping him at bay with his numbing leg kicks.
Still, I expect the 41-year-old’s age and lack of cardio to become a factor if the fight goes into the latter stages.
Now, if that transpires, expect Shogun to take full advantage of the situation and go for broke.
Hendo is known for his cast iron chin, but a fatigued Hendo will wilt under the relentless assault of Shogun, and I see him losing via KO/TKO for the first time in his career.
In less than 24 hours, UFC 139 will be live from San Jose, CA. Headlining the event will be former UFC light heavyweight champ Mauricio “Shogun” Rua taking on former Pride and Strikeforce champ Dan Henderson.Henderson and Rua are perhaps th…
In less than 24 hours, UFC 139 will be live from San Jose, CA.
Headlining the event will be former UFC light heavyweight champ Mauricio “Shogun” Rua taking on former Pride and Strikeforce champ Dan Henderson.
Henderson and Rua are perhaps the last two Pride greats who have something left in the gas tank.
Despite being 41, Henderson has looked great since leaving Pride. He’s gone 6-3 with his only losses coming to Anderson Silva, Quinton “Rampage” Jackson and Jake Shields in title bouts.
Rua, on the other hand, has been hot or cold since leaving Pride.
With a UFC record of 4-3, all of Rua’s wins have come by knockout.
His losses, on the other hand, usually come after he’s been injured or on a long layoff.
The exception, of course, is his first title bout with Lyoto Machida.
On the other hand, Rua barely got past Mark Colman at UFC 93.
Rua faced the former UFC champion after being out for over a year to deal with a knee injury.
Despite picking up a TKO victory, Rua once again did not look like the Shogun from Pride.
Rua was visibly exhausted by the third round and could have easily lost to a man who was 17 years older than him, and two years removed from the sport.
Rua was in a similar situation when he faced Jon Jones earlier in the year.
Of course, that fight did not go so well for Rua.
His next bout against Forrest Giffin did though, as Rua came into the bout healthy and motivated as he was fighting in his home country of Brazil.
This is exactly how Rua will have to be if he is going to get past Dan Henderson.
Rua is one of the most dangerous fighters in MMA history.
But thus far in his UFC career he has shown that once he’s coming off of injury or a long layoff, he is a shell of his former self.
Thankfully for Rua and his fans, he is not dealing with either one. Rua should be healthy and ready to go.
And if history has taught us anything, a healthy Rua could mean a KO victory in his favor.
