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UFC 139: Winner of Dan Henderson vs. Mauricio Rua Likely for Title Shot

As the UFC begins to slowly pull in talent from its sister organization Strikeforce, perhaps its biggest acquisition to date has been the re-signing of ex-light heavyweight champion Dan Henderson.The Californian recently relinquished his title in an ef…

As the UFC begins to slowly pull in talent from its sister organization Strikeforce, perhaps its biggest acquisition to date has been the re-signing of ex-light heavyweight champion Dan Henderson.

The Californian recently relinquished his title in an effort to have a successful return to the UFC, moving into a high-profile bout with fellow PRIDE veteran Mauricio “Shogun” Rua.

The two men will serve as the main event for UFC 139, in a five-round, non-title affair, taking place November 19 at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, Calif.

President Dana White recently discussed the implications that the pivotal 205-pound matchup will have on it’s division, which will likely determine the next contender in the weight class.

“It would be tough not to give the winner of that fight the next shot after Rashad [Evans],” said White to MMAJunkie.com, proceeding today’s UFC 135 pre-fight press conference.

Henderson has now re-entered the organization on the heels of a three-fight win streak, with all victories ending in a dramatic finish. In his last outing, the Team Quest product fought the legendary Fedor Emelianenko in a heavyweight affair, starching the Russian with a first-round TKO last July.

Rua, meanwhile, has also returned to contender status with a vengeance. After recently dropping his title to champion Jon Jones last March, “Shogun” met fellow former champion Forrest Griffin at UFC 134 in Rio de Janeiro, blitzing The Ultimate Fighter season one winner, finishing him with strikes in less than two minutes.

The victory avenged a 2007 defeat to Griffin, who greeted the Brazilian upon his UFC debut, submitting him in the third round with a rear-naked choke.

It’s a PRIDE-esque throwback that the fans have been asking for and now the organization has delivered in kind.

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UFC: Can Dan Henderson Legitimately Knock out Mauricio "Shogun" Rua in San Jose?

Dan Henderson is officially (and without question) in the debate for not only being the one true test left for Jon “Bones” Jones’ UFC light heavyweight crown, but also for being known as the greatest of all time—at least, some would say so, and t…

He’s fought the best, beaten the best and has not severely deterred, despite having been beaten by some of the best also. His streak of fighting the best fighters in MMA will continue as he headlines UFC 139 opposite one Mauricio “Shogun” Rua, the former UFC light heavyweight champ.

Now, anyone who has followed Shogun’s career knows his UFC patterns: He loses one after a knee surgery, wins a couple, then loses the next one, but rebounds easily.

That’s how it’s been for Shogun. The key thing about his losses so far is that they have all come either when Shogun was somewhat rusty or—in the case of his UFC 104 loss to Lyoto Machida—on account of atrocious ringside judging.

As a result, we’re forced to ask if Henderson will be added to the collection of heads that Shogun possesses.

All things considered, will Henderson’s be the next head collected by Shogun?

Ask one man and he’ll tell you that the KO will happen with Shogun on the receiving end, but he will be as healthy of a fighter as he’s ever been.

Shogun will hit Henderson with everything—including the dishwasher and the garage—in order to find the finish. But just like Rafael Cavalcante, just like Michael Bisping, just like Renato Sobral and even just like the great Fedor Emelianenko, he will not be able to obliterate the most legendary iron jaw in combat sports.

Ask another man and he’ll tell you that Henderson will somehow survive the onslaught and will lay Rua out in a more devastating fashion than he did Michael Bisping en route to facing either Jones or Rashad Evans for the first time or Quinton “Rampage” Jackson in a UFC 75 rematch.

It’s not a foregone conclusion that a healthy Shogun will be knocked out by Hendo in San Jose—anything can and always does happen in MMA—so I won’t be so quick as to say Shogun cannot escape this fight without getting knocked out.

That said, is it always possible that Henderson will knock out a healthy Shogun?

It absolutely is, whether it’s on Shogun’s best night or Henderson’s worst night.

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UFC 139: Hendo vs. Shogun, the Pride Fight That Never Happened but Should Have

It was originally rumored that Cain Velasquez would make the first defense of his title against Junior Dos Santos at UFC 139 in San Jose, California. But soon after it was announced as the main event for the UFC debut on FOX.Many then assumed that it w…

Many then assumed that it would be hard to fill in the event with a high caliber replacement fight, but wow were they wrong.

Mauricio “Shogun” Rua vs. Dan Henderson was announced and not only does this fight surpass the level that Velasquez/Dos Santos fight would’ve been, it may in fact be one of the biggest fights ever.The thing is, this fight should have taken place years ago.

Henderson has won three fights in a row and seven of his last 10. His last three wins have come by knockout.

Not only did he recently score the biggest win of his career, he scored arguably the biggest win in MMA history when he went up to Heavyweight and defeated Fedor Emelianenko by way of knockout.

After that fight, Henderson’s contract with Strikeforce expired and he has re-signed with the UFC.

Mauricio “Shogun” Rua is one of the most dangerous fighters in the history of the sport. His biggest downfall is the fact that he has had a big problem with injuries.

In his fight with Jon Jones, he was still not 100 percent. After the fight, he took a little time to heal and was ready for UFC Rio. He defeated Forrest Griffin in quick fashion, avenging his 2007 loss at his UFC debut.

This fight should have actually taken place years ago, but any time there was a moment in which we could see this, the stars would just never align. Well they have aligned this time.

Both men are true champions and will be going for the finish. Henderson is known for his wrestling but over the years has improved on his boxing and now possess one of the most dangerous right hands in all of MMA.

Shogun has the striking that Henderson has not faced in a long time. Henderson has never been knocked out and Shogun recently suffered his first TKO loss.

A healthy Shogun is a very dangerous Shogun. Both men will come in ready for this fight and odds are this one will not go the full 15 minutes.

Not only will the winner be one step closer to a title shot, the winner will also gain a little “Pride” by defeating a true legend of the sport.

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Shogun Rua vs Dan Henderson: Where Does Hendo Rank In the UFC LHW Division?

Huge UFC news broke today when it was announced that legendary light heavyweight fighters Mauricio “Shogun” Rua and Dan Henderson will fight at UFC 139 in November.This PRIDE throwback fight will be huge for the UFC light heavyweight rankin…

Huge UFC news broke today when it was announced that legendary light heavyweight fighters Mauricio “Shogun” Rua and Dan Henderson will fight at UFC 139 in November.

This PRIDE throwback fight will be huge for the UFC light heavyweight rankings as “Hendo” makes his return to the division. But where does the now-former Strikeforce light heavyweight champion currently sit in the division?

To answer that question, we need to take a closer look at what is currently happening in the Octagon at 205-pounds.

Jon Jones and Quinton “Rampage” Jackson will determine the top dog in the division this Saturday night when they do battle at UFC 135 this upcoming weekend. As awesome as these two fighters are, though, they are only two of a now unbelievably stacked light heavyweight division.

So let’s see who the Top-10 205-pound fighters in the UFC currently are!

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Dan Henderson: 5 Reasons He Will Defeat Mauricio Rua

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.

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Shogun Rua vs. Dan Henderson: Did Henderson Deserve a UFC Title Shot?

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.

Said Henderson to MMAInterviews.tv earlier this month:

“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.

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