Filed under: UFCWanderlei Silva will make his return to the Octagon on November 19 in San Jose, when he takes on former Strikeforce middleweight champion Cung Le at UFC 139.
UFC President Dana White announced today that Vitor Belfort had to pull out o…
UFC President Dana White announced today that Vitor Belfort had to pull out of his fight with Le because of an injury, and as a result Silva will step in and take it.
Although the fight was only booked because of Belfort’s injury, Silva vs. Le is actually a better fight all around than Belfort vs. Le. It should be a better draw for the UFC because Silva is such a fan favorite, and it should be a more competitive fight because, frankly, Belfort was probably going to put Le to sleep. Silva has a chance to do that, too, but he also has a chance of being put to sleep himself.
No matter who gets knocked out, Silva and Le promise to put on a highly entertaining fight. They’re too of the most exciting strikers in the middleweight division, and two guys who rarely if ever put on a sub-par performance: Win or lose, Silva and Le both deliver.
UFC 139 will be headlined by the return of Dan Henderson, who will fight Shogun Rua, and will also feature Brian Bowles vs. Urijah Faber, Jason Brilz vs. Ryan Bader, Kyle Kingsbury vs. Stephan Bonnar and Martin Kampmann vs. Rick Story.
Filed under: UFC, NewsUFC 139 was once scheduled to host the UFC heavyweight championship, but after that bout was moved up a week to the UFC on FOX headliner, the search began for a replacement fight.
Now, it’s set. Dan Henderson has re-signed with t…
UFC 139 was once scheduled to host the UFC heavyweight championship, but after that bout was moved up a week to the UFC on FOX headliner, the search began for a replacement fight.
Now, it’s set. Dan Henderson has re-signed with the promotion and will take on Mauricio “Shogun” Rua at the event to be held at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, California.
UFC president Dana White confirmed both Henderson’s signing and the fight’s booking to 5thRound.com after Tuesday’s UFC on FOX press conference in Hollywood, California.
The bout was originally reported by MMA Weekly on Monday, but at the time, multiple sources told MMA Fighting that the deal was not yet done, though it was the intended direction of the promotion.
Signing with Strikeforce, Henderson (28-8) becomes the third organizational champion since the Zuffa-Strikeforce merger to vacate his belt, following welterweight Nick Diaz and heavyweight Alistair Overeem.
Henderson went 3-1 during his Strikeforce run, losing his debut bout to Jake Shields in a decision before scoring consecutive knockout wins over Renato “Babalu” Sobral, Rafael Cavalcante and Fedor Emelianenko.
The 41-year-old will be in his third go-round with the UFC. He won two matches in the organization in 1997, then spent several years fighting overseas in Japanese organizations before returning to the UFC in 2007, going 3-2 along the way.
Rua (20-5) is fresh off an August 27 first-round knockout win over Forrest Griffin at UFC Rio. It was Rua’s first fight back since losing the light-heavyweight championship to Jon Jones.
UFC 139 also features former Strikeforce star Cung Le making his UFC debut against Vitor Belfort, and Brian Bowles facing Urijah Faber in a key bantamweight bout.
The bout between epic strikers Cung Le and Vitor Belfort has been set for UFC 139. Even though the event is still about two months away, the matchup between the two men is so intriguing that a breakdown simply needs to be done now.Who has the better st…
The bout between epic strikers Cung Le and Vitor Belfort has been set for UFC 139. Even though the event is still about two months away, the matchup between the two men is so intriguing that a breakdown simply needs to be done now.
Who has the better striking of the two striking legends? Is there a chance that one will bring the other to the ground? Who will have the upper hand in their struggle at UFC 139?
These questions and more will be answered in this early head-to-toe breakdown of Cung Le vs. Vitor Belfort.
Dan “Hendo” Henderson brings his Strikeforce light heavyweight championship and explosive right hand back to the UFC when he faces the resurgent Mauricio “Shogun” Rua on November 19 at UFC 139.At the young age of 41 years old, “Hendo” is coming off his…
Dan “Hendo” Henderson brings his Strikeforce light heavyweight championship and explosive right hand back to the UFC when he faces the resurgent Mauricio “Shogun” Rua on November 19 at UFC 139.
At the young age of 41 years old, “Hendo” is coming off his biggest victory to date with a Round One knockout of the immortal Fedor Emelianenko in July.
Riding a current three-fight win streak with six victories in his last seven matchups, Henderson has a tremendous amount of momentum coming into this bout with Shogun.
After losing his UFC light heavyweight championship to Jon Jones in March, Rua destroyed fan-favorite Forrest Griffin at UFC 134 in front of his home country of Brazil.
Quieting the skeptics, including this writer, regarding his recent rash of knee injuries, Shogun’s abilities inside the Octagon, like Henderson, seem to be at an all-time high.
Both fighters are well-known and their skill-sets have been dissected thoroughly over the years.
Rua’s talents are grounded in his kick-boxing prowess and aggressiveness inside the cage. Outside of an injury, Shogun has always been relentless and vicious during his matchups.
Incorporating a variety of leg kicks and damage with vicious knees from the clinch, Shogun has defeated some of the greatest mixed martial artists in the world.
Equally aggressive, Henderson is known for his ability to take a solid punch and is more known for his lethal right hand which has knocked out 13 opponents during his hall-of-fame career.
Not one to throw leg kicks or mix in a variety of knees, Henderson clinches his opponents to wear them down by utilizing his dirty boxing techniques that he and Randy Couture have made so famous over the years.
A world-class grappler, “Hendo” can also change levels and take the fight to the ground where he delivers brutal ground-and-pound inside his opponent’s guard.
Taking Shogun to the ground may be a mistake for Henderson considering that Rua is a black belt in jiu-jitsu training out of the illustrious Chute Boxe Academy in Brazil.
On paper, the winner of this matchup will be the fighter who can impose their will.
Simplification aside, Shogun’s keys to victory will be to maximize his distance during the stand-up affair and deliver damaging strikes while minimizing any punishment by Henderson’s counters.
Attacking with all weapons from a wide variety of striking angles will provide Rua the opportunity to pick apart Henderson who is more of a pocket striker who limits his movement inside the Octagon.
Conversely, “Hendo” is definitely more of a stalker inside the cage. He waits for the moment to explode with that dynamite right hand and deliver a knockout punch.
If Shogun stands and trades in the center of the Octagon with Henderson without keeping a distance from that lethal right hand, Rua’s fate will be equal to that of Emelianenko.
Additionally, driving Shogun up against the cage fence and wearing the Brazilian down with tight punches and strikes from the inside will serve Henderson well in slowing down Rua during the stand-up exchanges.
Hands down, this battle between Shogun and Henderson will be an electrically charged striking exchange between two competitors at the top of their respective games.
Stay tuned to Bleacher Report for further analysis and predictions regarding this main event matchup on November 19.
This fight can’t come soon enough!
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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…
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 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.
When it was learned that Dan Henderson re-signed with the UFC to face Mauricio “Shogun” Rua at UFC 139, there was a nostalgic feeling among fans, who were left intrigued and satisfied at finally watching two former PRIDE veterans square off. Hende…
When it was learned that Dan Henderson re-signed with the UFC to face Mauricio “Shogun” Rua at UFC 139, there was a nostalgic feeling among fans, who were left intrigued and satisfied at finally watching two former PRIDE veterans square off.
Henderson and Rua will now headline the main card—one that was left without a marketable main event after a heavyweight title bout featuring Cain Velasquez and Junior dos Santos was removed and rescheduled for UFC on Fox.
While Henderson’s trainer Daniel Woirin prepares him for the upcoming bout, he predicts it will be a tough bout for both competitors.
“It’s a great matchup, everyone wants to see it,” Woirin told TATAME.com. “It’ll be an aggressive fight.”
Woirin had got a glimpse of the Brazilian while he was in the corner of Forrest Griffin at UFC 134. Rua would go onto knockout the former champion just less than two minutes in the opening round.
Woirin said he didn’t have much time to analyze Rua’s skill while witnessing the bout, but he said Henderson will return with much more recognition than his previous tenure in the UFC.
“Shogun is excellent at Muay Thai, he has strong kicks…He’s a dangerous fighter and there’re reasons why he was champion in Pride and in UFC,” he said. “He’ll fight Dan Henderson on his return to UFC being really recognized and believing in himself a lot after knocking out Fedor (Emelianenko).”
Wanderlei Silva will make his return to the Octagon on November 19 in San Jose, when he takes on former Strikeforce middleweight champion Cung Le at UFC 139.
UFC 139 was once scheduled to host the 
Dan “Hendo” Henderson brings his Strikeforce light heavyweight championship and explosive right hand back to the UFC when he faces the resurgent Mauricio “Shogun” Rua on November 19 at