UFC 139 results: Dan Henderson edges 'Shogun' in five-round instant classic
by Dann Stupp and John Morgan on Nov 19, 2011 at 11:40 pm ET

SAN JOSE, Calif. – If anyone ever wonders why UFC officials opted to make non-title headliners five rounds instead of the customary three, they can always point to Dan Henderson vs. Mauricio "Shogun" Rua

In what easily was one of the greatest fights in recent MMA history, Dan Henderson outlasted Mauricio "Shogun" Rua in a thrilling, bloody, action-packed and unforgettable affair to earn a unanimous-decision victory.

The fight headlined UFC 139's pay-per-view main card from HP Pavilion in San Jose, Calif., following prelims on Facebook and Spike TV.

The fight, which was the UFC's second non-title headliner booked as a five-rounder, featured 25 minutes of nonstop action. Before the fight was even over, it was clear it had earned a unique spot in MMA history, and few superlatives can do it justice.

Henderson popped Rua early in the light-heavyweight affair, worked a guillotine choke, gave it up, and then popped "Shogun" with a series of heavy punches that badly blooded him. Rua remained alert and continued pressing forward, but a quick uppercut dropped him again. Not wanting to go to the ground, Henderson waited for him to stand. Late in the round, Rua unloaded a right hand and scored his own knockdown. Henderson fought his way back to his feet, and the back-and-forth action continued for the remainder of the round.

Henderson landed the first power shots of the second round, and an uppercut landed especially flush. Rua, though, returned fire, and both fighters took heavy punishment. Both the final two minutes of the round was spent mostly in the clinch, where both sluggers caught a breather before a heavy-handed firefight closed it out.

The slugfest picked up immediately in the third, and both continued winging power shots. But Henderson soon dropped Rua with a straight right, followed him to the mat, and unloaded dozens of punches and elbows as the ref considered whether to jump in. Rua somehow survived and grabbed a leg. He couldn't get the submission, but he did get back to his feet, where Rua simply gushed blood from multiple lacerations while tied up in the clinch. They then traded more punches and elbows while against the cage.

In the fourth round – with both veterans fighting through fatigue and doused in blood – Henderson and Rua both scored takedowns. Once back up, though, Rua landed a pair of heavy punches that forced a wobbly Henderson to retreat and regroup. He then closed the distance, but Rua took him down, moved to mount, took Henderson's back but slipped off and allowed found himself on his back. Henderson was too exhausted to do anything but grab a breather before the round ended.

With one round to go, the fight appeared up for grabs. And Rua capitalized.

In the fifth round, after getting the fight to the ground, "Shogun" quickly moved to the mount and rained down punches. Henderson briefly stopped the assault by pulling him close and reclaiming a leg to pull Rua into half guard. However, Rua moved right back to mount and rained down punches. Rua rested, rained down punches, and then did it again. He couldn't get the stoppage, but it should have earned him 10-8 consideration.

Instead, though, only 10-9 scored were issued, and Henderson ultimately took the decision with 48-47 scores.

"I thought I could finish him the first two or three rounds, but he finished strong," Henderson said. "But I knew I had those first three rounds easy. I thought I even had one of the rounds 10-8.

"He stayed in there like a former champion should and finished strong"

The buzz from the fight is likely to stick around for some time. And for two fighters who paths never crossed in PRIDE, their long-awaited meeting didn't fail to impress.

Henderson (29-8 MMA, 5-2 UFC), who vacated his Strikeforce title to return to the UFC, now has a four-fight win streak. The 41-year-old has faced a murders' row during that stretch while defeating Renato Sobral, Rafael Cavalcante, Fedor Emelianenko and now Rua, who all are former big-show titleholders.

Rua (20-6 MMA, 4-4 UFC), who hoped a victory could get him a shot to reclaim his belt from Jon Jones, falls to .500 since his move to the UFC.

Up-to-the minute UFC 139 results include:

  • Dan Henderson def. Mauricio "Shogun" Rua via unanimous decision (48-47, 48-47, 48-47)
  • Wanderlei Silva def. Cung Le via knockout (strikes) - Round 2, 4:49
  • Urijah Faber def. Brian Bowles via submission (guillotine choke) - Round 2, 1:27
  • Martin Kampmann def. Rick Story via split decision (28-29, 30-27, 29-28)
  • Stephan Bonnar def. Kyle Kingsbury via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-25, 30-27)
  • Ryan Bader def. Jason Brilz via knockout (punch) - Round 1, 1:17
  • Michael McDonald def. Alex Soto via knockout (punches) - Round 1, 0:56
  • Chris Weidman def. Tom Lawlor via technical submission (D'arce choke) - Round 1, 2:07
  • Gleison Tibau def. Rafael dos Anjos via split decision (28-29, 29-28, 30-27)
  • Miguel Torres def. Nick Pace via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
  • Seth Baczynski def. Matt Brown via submission (guillotine choke) - Round 2, 0:42
  • Danny Castillo def. Shamar Bailey via TKO (punches) - Round 1, 4:52