UFC 139 Conference Call: Dan Henderson and Shogun Rua expect a war in San Jose
Posted on November 16, 2011, 02:17 PM by Joey Santosus
Legendary veterans and former title holders Mauricio "Shogun" Rua and Dan Henderson will go head to head in the UFC 139 headliner, set to take place Saturday night from the HP Pavilion in San Jose, California. In the co-main event, "The Axe Murderer" Wanderlei Silva will welcome former Strikeforce champ Cung Le to the octagon, while top Bantamweight contenders Urijah Faber and Brian Bowles will square off in a number-one contender bout to determine the next man to challenge for the division title. Also featured will be a Welterweight clash pitting Martin Kampmann against Rick Story and a Light Heavyweight showdown between Stephan Bonnar and Kyle Kingsbury.
Below are highlights from today's UFC 139 Media Conference Call which included headliners Maurico Rua and Dan Henderson, as well as Wanderlei Silva and Cung Le (via MMAMania.com):
Mauricio "Shogun" Rua
• I think I'm 100 percent recovered from my injuries. As a fighter, I like to stay active, stay busy, fight often and keep a rhythm. Thank God I'm recovered from my injuries and hopefully I can keep this going.
• I think certainly this is a marquee fight for me, a very important fight. Dan Henderson is a legend in MMA. He was a champion in Pride and a champion in the USA. My focus is not on the title right now, just all on Dan Henderson.
• Certainly that was a great fight between my brother and Dan Henderson. I watched it a number of times and it was a very competitive fight. My brother helped me prepare for Dan Henderson and hopefully it will be a great fight. I have really good memories of it.
Dan Henderson
• I feel like I've got a lot of fight left in me. I'm excited about Shogun and this is something the fans have been looking forward to for a long time. He's a tough opponent and definitely a huge challenge for me to get past.
• Just like anyone, I have set goals for myself and one of those goals is to obtain a UFC belt. That's definitely on my list but in order to do that, I need to get past Shogun and have a good performance.
• I remember it was a tough fight (against Ninja Rua). It was a war and I expect the same thing from his brother.
Wanderlei Silva
• I never give up. I fight for 10 years of my life. I'm healthy and I passed all the tests with my doctor. I'm feeling good and I'll prove that on Saturday.
• What happened the last fight can happen with everybody. You can't tell Cain Velasquez he has to retire now because he lasted one minute. This happens to everybody. I want to fight again and again and again.
Cung Le
• I've had a long layoff but I've stayed in shape and just training on a regular basis. As soon as I got back in February, I got right back in the gym. Fighting in the UFC is an honor and I'm excited.
• This is a great match-up between myself and Wanderlei. He comes to fight, I come to fight and we're gonna have a really good fight on Saturday. This is a really good fight to watch, the whole card is. It's gonna be a great card for all fans to watch.
Photo: Scott Hirano
Comments
Awesome card.
A great card and i would like the way MMA articles writer keep it simple nice and neat like it is.IMO
I bet my house on Cung le but i made a reservation at the homeless shelter just in case.
Or you could live at my house. I could use a ''cleaning lady''
I'd rather clean your lady instead. ty
who isn't expecting a war from the main event?
Both men have never been KO'd, both have granite chins, 2 of the best strikers to ever fight at LHW, both ex champions, both regarded as some of the best fighters of all time.
WARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR
I think I read some where that hendo doesn't even want this fight that he wants an immediate title shot. I could be mistaken tho...
wanted. since he is gonna get beat.
Hendo has looked very slow against elusive fighters in the last two years. Other than the Fedor fight which was just toe to toe, he was constantly getting beat to the punch until he was able to land the right hand. Bisbing was totally owning him but made the mistake or circlng into Dan's power.
Rua won't make that mistake and has more tools and a viscious leg kick attack that I expect will make Hendo pay dearly. I don't think this fight will even be close. Rua by 3rd round stoppage after ounishing Dan's legs and midsection just like he did Machida in thier first fight.