UFC 139 Recap: Dan Henderson and Mauricio Rua deliver a Fight for the Ages
Posted on November 20, 2011, 01:40 AM by Trent ReinsmithThere are times when MMA fans get caught up in the moment and declare a fight “one of the greatest fights of all-time.” The main event at UFC 139, a battle between Mauricio “Shogun” Rua and Dan Henderson, two legends of the sport, had many making that declaration. The five round performance that Rua and Henderson may very well be one of those fights that stands the test of time and will go down as one of the greatest in UFC history and if not that, at least one of the most entertaining fights in UFC history.
Within seconds of the opening bell Henderson had hurt and bloodied Mauricio Rua and from there the fight just got better with both fighters having moments where they looked like they were within seconds of finishing the other. Both fighters perceived through some very tough moments. Rua surely got the worst of it, as his bloodied and swollen face showed at the end of the night.
Questions after seeing Mauricio Rua vs. Dan Henderson:
- Was there a loser in this fight? Sure the record of Rua will get a checkmark in the loss column for this fight, but really can you say he was a loser in any other aspect? Not even close, if anyone ever questioned how tough Rua is, well those questions were laid to rest after tonight.
- Was the bar set for five round non-title fights? Anyone fighting in a non-title main event, hell, anyone fighting in any main event will have a lot to live up to after this main event. Rua and Henderson will most likely become a reference point in UFC history, much like Griffin vs. Bonnar.
- What’s next for Dan Henderson? If you were Dana White, would you give Henderson the next UFC Light Heavyweight title shot or would you give it to Rashad Evans?
Notes and more questions following UFC 139:
- Will the “new” Miguel Torres earn a shot at the title? Miguel Torres once fought a reckless style that was popular with the fans. He has turned over a new leaf, fighting with a more controlled style that, while not as exciting it leaves him less damaged at fight’s end. The question is will the safer Torres ever earn a title shot or will that style leave him outside looking in because it lacks the flair that some fans may want to see.
- Should the fighters have to tell the referee that their opponent is unconscious? Chris Weidman choked Tom Lawlor unconscious during their preliminary card bout and it looked as if the referee had to be told that Lawlor was out before he investigated. Yes, Weidman did the right thing, but should he have had to?
- How high is Michael McDonald’s upside? McDonald earned a 56-second KO win and a $70,000 bonus on Saturday night. The win moved his record to 14-1 and please don’t forget that he is still only 20-years old.
- Are you looking forward to Dominick Cruz vs. Urijah Faber III? Many say that Faber is the UFC’s lighter weight golden boy, but it’s hard to deny that he doesn’t deserve the next shot at UFC Bantamweight champion Dominick Cruz.
- Should Wanderlei Silva retire? Odds are that he won’t, but really, after his victory over Cung Le, he could go out on a high note. The “Axe Murderer” has nothing left to prove and going out on a win is something he deserves.
LowKick.com UFC 139 main card awards:
- Fight of the Night: Yes, UFC president Dana White gave two Fight of the Night awards, but the one that he gave to Silva and Le was most likely out of appreciation for the two fighters and not based on it being equal to the main event, because it wasn’t. Hands down, Rua vs. Henderson gets the nod here.
- Performance of the Night: Mauricio Rua. There was more than one time in his fight against Dan Henderson where he looked as if the fight was going to end, but Rua worked through the onslaught to mount a comeback in the later rounds. At the end of the fight, Rua was bloodied and swollen, but a loser, no way.
- Finish of the Night: Wanderlei Silva. After his last few fights there were a lot of doubts about Silva and there still may be some of those doubts, but at UFC 139 it was nice to see Silva end a fight.
Further Reading: Poll: What should be next for Dan Henderson in the UFC?
Photo: Tracy Lee for Cagewriter.com
Comments
That is what you call a real fight. This is a fight I won't ever forget. Tonight both of these guys are winners.
i think (and i know theres been a lot of good ones) that was the greatest fight iv ever seen....if any fight was screaming for a rematch just for pure entertainments sake then that was it
after the stupid beating he took from Jones and Hendo and the amount of damage Ninja took from Tom Watson before getting KO'd, it's fair to say that no family makes loosing more badass than the Rua's
This fight prove that Hendo should never have left the UFC.
I'd have to agree, I love mma buts its very rare that 5 round fights actually deliver. Most big fight rare;y live up too expectation or are so one sided. Hendo dominated the first 2, the 3rd was back and fourth and the guts and determination of Rua in the last two rounds was phenominal. Faber v Cruz 2 was a great 5 rounder but this was even better
i actually hope we don't see a rematch. this is one of those fights that was so spectacular nothing these guys could do will top it. i think this fight needs to stand alone shogun and hendo should move on to new opponents because this fight will go down as historically being one of the top fights in history.
Man i was there tonight, it was a awesome card hope they come back soon it was a beautiful night of fights!!!!
i disagree! boring fight, both fighters showed lack of heart and cardio. it was like watching hunt vs rothwell all over again. and man shogun has no chin, how easy did he get dropped by hendo,,,
You are not a fan of Mixed Martial Arts. Go back to baseball.
please tell me you're a troll.....
LOL s2681043 you're a funny one
What a ****ing night!!
Shogun vs Hendo i only have one thing to say about that fight
Pain is temporary, but Pride is Forever!!!!!!!!!!
I watched this event in a bar with a friend who enjoys MMA but necessary have very much knowledge, a casual fan. He's probably seen half a dozen fight cards and might know the names of a handful of fighters.
Watching the Cung Le/Silva fight he was loving it spouting off it was the greatest fight he's ever seen - for me this wasn't true but it was sure entertaining and when Silva won the whole bar clapped.
Next the Henderon/Rua fight, again he went off about how it was the greatest fight he had ever seen multiple times and I'd have to agree. When you get two guys in there with the ability to take the punishment these two men take and with the heart it can make for something special and I won't soon forget it.
I thought it should have been a draw first 3 for hendo 4th for shogun, and a clear 10/8 for the 5th. Awesome fight anyway
great ****ing fight. i actually had it a draw with hendo winning first 3 then shogun 4 and 5 a 10-8. no real loser there but i dont think hendo should get the title shot, that performance would not cut it against jones.
I agree about Hendo not wanting any part of Jones. His style is the same always and does not have enough variance to trouble Jones. As well as the fact that Jones is like GSP and will study and devise a gameplan to counter a style which he will do with ease against Hendo.
But then again, I think most fighters will struggle against Jones. His versatility, physicality and mentality are above any other fighter in the LHW division.
EPIC. If anyone ever wondered why these guys are both legends, that bout should put all of their questions to rest. Even as gassed as Hendo was in the last round, he was still working his way out from underneath Shogun's mount. Had he still had any more juice, he would of gotten back up to his feet in my opinion. Huge props to Shogun for taking Hendo's lumps and still carrying on too. Much respect due to both men.
A thrilling, exciting main event. The both fighters kept going when their gas tanks were obviously empty and showed incredible heart.
I would stop short of calling it one if the greatest, because there have been 5 round wars were the fighters kept up the pace until the end.
Should Silva retire? Probably. Will he? No. I was impressed by how well Cung Le fought, considering he was badly out of shape. He should also think about hanging up his gloves unless he's willing to lay of the doughnuts.
AS a fan, I'd like to see Hendo and Rashad fight to decide who gets the title shot, but Hendo certainly "deserves" a crack at the belt.
I think it's too soon for Faber Cruz lll. They only fought in July, for god sake. Let Faber and Torres have a title shot eliminator.
rashad evans should not have to fight again for a shot at the title. he has already fought in two number one contender fights and won both of them. he is next in line
Each time, has been next in line, he's been hurt. He'd be fighting Jones next but his hand was injured.
he will be recovered and won't have much of a waiting period. if he takes another fight and wins jones will be ready to fight.so by fighting again he'll still be passing up because theres no way jones is gonna wait for rashad to take a break from his last fight.
i dont understand the outcome of the shogun vs henderson fight. the last round should have been 10 - 8 or 10 - 7 for shogun. there should have been an extra round, shogun won that fight in my eyes. he finished very strong, winning the last two rounds. not happy with the decision.
but the fight, the complete event was just awesome!
Awesome Fight from Both fighters. But that fight was a draw for everybody to see.I Think everybody was thinking Draw But those judges just Can´t get It Right.
I had it 47-47. Great fight though. Shogun looked very nervous before the fight and looked not good in the first round. He came back good. He took so many hard shots and kept coming forward. I think he could have finished in the 5th round by armbar or RNC, but he was looking for a TKO via strikes, but when Shogun tried to go in for the kill an left an opening Hendo hipescaped nicely. I wanna see Shogun vs Rampage and Henderson vs Rashad on Fox
If you give Shogun a 10-8 for the last round, then you'd have to give Hendo the same for the third and maybe even the second.
Rua maintained a dominant position in round 5 and had lots of scoring, but never really hurt Hendo or came that close to finishing.
In the round three, Shogun absorbed as much punishment as any fighter can without getting a stoppage. If one was, they both were.
Another fight almost on a par with Hendo/Shogun was the Bellator LW title fight. Similar in many respects to the UFC main event except with a finish but I won't say much more so as not to spoil it for anyone wanting to watch it. Well worth it as fight of the year contender until Hendo and Shogun produced what will be an eternal classic. What both fights had in common that contributed to the overall display was sloppy footwork/tactics of staying static in the pocket allowing big shots to be landed, but technical brilliance lacking, for pure heart, determination and a reasonable level of skill, Hendo/Shogun was without a doubt fight of the year. I think if Shogun wasn't so tired in the last round he'd have finished Hendo. I also think Rua has lost something from his Pride days. Whenever he had an opponent in trouble back then he swarmed them and finished with merciless brutality. He had Hendo close more than once but stepped back both times rather than jump on him. Maybe it was cardio but i think it is something else.
As good as it was, I hate to see any fighter as beat up as Rua was. I hope he gets well soon and he suffers no long term ill effects from the fight.
Hendo is yet another fighter to come over from under the Strikeforce banner and prove yet again that StrikeForce wasn't minor league in terms of talent. They would have been a decent competitor for the UFC if the "Corporate takeover" had not taken place earlier this year. But we as fans would not have been witness to several spectacular "SuperFights "as a result of the sale of Strikeforce to the UFC.
You do know Dan was already a big star in the UFC before he went to Strikeforce
Been watching Dan since he was in Pride. Just making note that StrikeForce wasn't where the washed up fighters end up. Diaz also made his return to the UFC from StrikeForce; which is further proof that the talent has been there for a while. Why else would the UFC have bought them out? So yes I guess I did Know Dan was a star in the UFC.
Shogun and Hendo just cemented their legacies even further tonight.
Definition of the word LEGENDS
this was a great fight. I'm kinda bummed out by the decision still, since i was rooting for shogun, but great fight nonetheless. The rest of the card was pretty underwhelming, with the exception of wanderlei and cung lee.
Couldn't said better, a battle for the ages, shogun is the man!
That fight was A DRAW.Please put all the weaks on me as you can.I Enjoy Them :)
sick night of fights...
Kung Lee's biggest mistake was not capatilizing when he hurt Wandy. He repeated the same mistake he did with Scott Smith, and that was letting him recover after badly injuring him. I still believe in you Kung!
Maybe the long layoff didn't help either. Kung has some talent, but he stays inactive way too long between fights. I'd like to see him do good in the UFC.
War Wand! He will always be the man!
Hendo will always be one of the best and he proved it again!