Mauricio Rua engaged fellow Pride vet Dan Henderson in a memorable battle last night at the HP Pavilion in San Jose.Coming off of an impressive first round knockout victory over former champion Forrest Griffin, Rua would likely reenter title contention…
Mauricio Rua engaged fellow Pride vet Dan Henderson in a memorable battle last night at the HP Pavilion in San Jose.
Coming off of an impressive first round knockout victory over former champion Forrest Griffin, Rua would likely reenter title contention with another impressive outing against Henderson, though the Brazilian ultimately came up short in a close and contentious bout.
Though he was declared the loser, Rua has gained a lot of steam following the legendary battle with Henderson and the Chute Boxe product can capitalize on that momentum by making his way back to the Octagon sooner rather than later.
On Saturday night, Dan Henderson proved that he still has gas in the tank—at least as far as his career is concerned—as he defeated Mauricio “Shogun” Rua by unanimous decision.Hendo showed that age is only a number, and at 41 years of age, …
On Saturday night, Dan Henderson proved that he still has gas in the tank—at least as far as his career is concerned—as he defeated Mauricio “Shogun” Rua by unanimous decision.
Hendo showed that age is only a number, and at 41 years of age, Henderson defeated a 29-year-old who should be at his physical peak.
Henderson has now basically earned any fight he wants, as he can get a title shot at middleweight Anderson Silva or a shot at light heavyweight Jon Jones.
For now, let’s just take a look at how the division is shaping up after this major fight.
UFC 139 proved once again that UFC Pay-Per Views are becoming can’t miss.In a PPV that was minimized in exposure because of the UFC on Fox and stacked cards in December, the UFC had arguably it’s best PPV of the year, if not all time.I&rsqu…
UFC 139 proved once again that UFC Pay-Per Views are becoming can’t miss.
In a PPV that was minimized in exposure because of the UFC on Fox and stacked cards in December, the UFC had arguably it’s best PPV of the year, if not all time.
I’m not ready to commit on this PPV being the greatest of all time because of all the great PPVs we’ve seen over the years, but this was an instant classic.
From Urijah Faber’s improved stand-up to the action Cung Le and Wanderlei Silva provided all the way to an absolute war for the ages between Mauricio “Shogun” Rua and Dan Henderson, UFC 139 was unbelievable.
I knew once I saw the card that I’d be purchasing it and that my wallet would once again suffer. Because of the fact that most of my friends don’t enjoy the sport, I end up having to pay $55 for the PPV more than often, but this was money well spent.
From top to bottom, this card had great finishes and exciting fights, but it wasn’t until the Faber fight that it went from good to great. Rather than out-wrestling Brian Bowles, he went in there and stood toe-to-toe and got the best of Bowles. That was all surprising and exciting to me at the same time, and the fact that he called out Dominick Cruz to set up the rubber match made it even better.
After that fight the co main event ensued, and this was what we expected. Le and Silva went to war with one another, and Silva revived his career with a brilliant second round stoppage. You can’t help but be happy for Silva, and I’m happy to say following UFC 139 that the legend that is “The Axe Murderer” lives on.
And then the main event happened. If I had to describe this fight to you, I’d say it was like watching a car wreck happen before your eyes. You want to turn your head at all the carnage, but you can’t help but watch how this thing plays out.
It was a ballet of violence, and both fighters showed that warrior PRIDE.
It was undoubtedly one of the best fights I’ve ever seen on one of the best PPVs in UFC history. See, that’s just the thing about MMA. It gets better and better every year and almost every PPV that it tops what fans would consider their previous bests or favorites.
It’s the main ingredient that is attracting more and more fans to the sport.
I mean, how many times this year have we said “oh my God, I’ve never seen that before” or “that just might be the best fight I’ve ever seen?”
It’s what landed them the deal on network television and made them so successful with PPV buys. The UFC might be producing more and more shows every year, but they can count me in for buying. These cards are at the point of can’t miss.
Everyone knew that the UFC 139 headliner between Dan Henderson and Mauricio Rua would be a great fight, but nobody could have predicted that these two men would engage in one of the single greatest fights in mixed martial arts history.It seems like a l…
Everyone knew that the UFC 139 headliner between Dan Henderson and Mauricio Rua would be a great fight, but nobody could have predicted that these two men would engage in one of the single greatest fights in mixed martial arts history.
It seems like a lofty statement to make, but it’s apt and just.
In the early goings of the bout, both Henderson and “Shogun” displayed the kind of power the two men wield in their punches as they were both dropped to the canvas with hard right hooks.
However, Henderson eventually was able to regain his senses and took over the bout there on, muscling Rua to the canvas on several occasions thanks to his Olympic level background as an amateur wrestler.
The difference, though, was the crippling power of Henderson, which Rua’s face bore the brunt of the blows, becoming bruised and battered early on in the bout.
Eventually, Henderson dropped the Brazilian once again to the canvas in the third round with another bungalow right hand. The Team Quest product swarmed all over Rua with devastating ground-and-pound punches and elbows in succession.
Rua seemed all but done before he rallied back with a submission attempt soon after, though it only proved as a means to an end in attempting to survive the early assault.
However, the Chute Boxe product would later reassert himself in the bout when he had just a little bit more gusto than the 41-year-old, taking down the Olympian on several occasions, mounting him and threatening with several submission attempts.
In the end, Henderson’s early work was the deciding factor, despite Rua having perhaps the most dominant of all rounds in the fifth and final stanza, when the jiu-jitsu black belt rode top position over Henderson for the nearly the entire five minutes.
It was the kind of bout that everybody wants to see but one that no one really expects, which made it all the more memorable.
Be sure to stay tuned to Bleacher Report for all things UFC 139. B/R is your home for complete coverage of the November 19 fight card, including results and post-fight analysis.
Former WEC Bantamweight king, Miguel Angel Torres showed us a different style of fighting than what we are used to seeing from his days ruling the division in WEC.Speaking of his title days, it’s sort of funny that the UFC chose the “six former champio…
Former WEC Bantamweight king, Miguel Angel Torres showed us a different style of fighting than what we are used to seeing from his days ruling the division in WEC.
Speaking of his title days, it’s sort of funny that the UFC chose the “six former champions, six quests to regain gold” moniker but chose to exclude Miguel Torres.
Let’s see, Dan Henderson won two belts in Pride and another in Strikeforce, Mauricio “Shogun” Rua held a belt in the UFC, Wanderlei Silva won a belt in Pride (along with many other accomplishments), Urijah Faber won a belt in WEC, Brian Bowles briefly held a belt in WEC (Ironically with a knockout win over Miguel Torres), and Cung Le held a belt in Strikeforce.
If my math is correct, that totals six former champions. So why did they choose to exclude Torres?
Perhaps it’s because he wasn’t facing another former champion as the others were, I can understand that. Or maybe it was because he wasn’t on the main card, I can understand that also. But to not even mention it when you mention everybody else’s titles no matter how brief they were?
That wasn’t the coolest thing they’ve done.
However, in spite of the lack of recognition, Miguel Torres took care of business against Nick Pace in a tactical display of striking and octagon control. Long gone are the brawling days of Miguel Torres from East Chicago. Welcome the new George St. Pierre’-esque days of cerebral game plans to pick apart his opponent.
Torres actually trained with Firas Zihabi in preparation for this fight, so he got some of the same viewpoints that GSP gets for his fights.
The new style isn’t as exciting as the previous style, but it doesn’t put Miguel in the same positions he often found himself when brawling. Torres will look to ride this new style into a potential title shot in the near future.
Be sure to stay tuned to Bleacher Report for all things UFC 139. B/R is your home for complete coverage of the November 19 fight card, including results and post-fight analysis.
‘Secure a win, and ask for a title shot.’ It’s something we see from top contenders–and even not-quite top contenders–every event. But last night Urijah Faber seemed intent on finishing his opponent and letting his performance demand the title bout for him. He did. It did.
Faber came out aggressively, throwing powerful combinations that kept Brian Bowles moving backwards. He also found a home for a score of uppercuts, one of which would spell the beginning of the end for the former WEC Bantamweight champion. With a second round ‘submission of the night’ victory, Faber emphatically punched his ticket to a rubbermatch with UFC Bantamweight kingpin Dominick Cruz.
‘Secure a win, and ask for a title shot.’ It’s something we see from top contenders–and even not-quite top contenders–every event. But last night Urijah Faber seemed intent on finishing his opponent and letting his performance demand the title bout for him. He did. It did.
Faber came out aggressively, throwing powerful combinations that kept Brian Bowles moving backwards. He also found a home for a score of uppercuts, one of which would spell the beginning of the end for the former WEC Bantamweight champion. With a second round ‘submission of the night’ victory, Faber emphatically punched his ticket to a rubbermatch with UFC Bantamweight kingpin Dominick Cruz.
Though not officially signed, the hype for the trilogy started in the Octagon last night with Faber’s post fight interview:
“Dominick, you can run but you can’t hide, homeboy. Throw some gel in that widow’s peak. Let’s do some work. Let’s do battle.”
Awww, dayum! Calling the champ out is one thing, Urijah, but calling him out on his hair is a serious faux pas.
A chance to relive their show stopping performance at UFC 132 is just too good for Zuffa to pass up, and it may prove too good to contain in a simple pay-per-view. Though White wouldn’t commit, his quiet grin conveyed that he’s giving serious thought to the pair serving as coaches on The Ultimate Fighter. White remarked that the two could hypothetically start filming their season in March for the live revisioning of the reality television franchise.
AntwynJackson on Twitter