Fans who tuned into UFC 139 on Saturday night were treated to the best card of the year. It didn't hurt that the main event will go down as one of, if not the greatest fight the sport has witnessed. The fact that people had been waiting for Dan Henderson and Shogun Rua to step into the cage (or ring back in the Pride days) added much to the atmosphere of the event, but even without the history of the two fights that never came to fruition this was always going to be a massive fight. The event also saw the debut of Cung Le, known in the world of MMA for possessing some of the most dangerous kicks in the sport.
Urijah Faber Vs Brian Bowles:
It's not often you will see Urijah Faber fighting even before the co-main event, such was the strength of the card. Although it was thought to be an even match up, Faber was in complete control from the start with his speed causing Bowles major issues, evident when Bowles threw a 1-2 that Faber ducked under to get the double and put him on his back. Bowles tried defending with a guillotine, but Faber was never in trouble.
It got even worse for Bowles in the second, when twenty five seconds in Faber connected with a mammoth uppercut. Bowles certainly felt it, and as he backed up against the cage Urijah unleashed numerous blows, landing knees and elbows. Once grounded, Bowles pretty much hands Urijah his neck, with Faber finding the guillotine, then rolling over into a mount position to eventually get the submission. The win sets up the rubber match with bantamweight champ Dominick Cruz. Does Urijah get too many title shots? Brian Bowles thinks so, but as this fight proved, the reason he will be getting another title shot is because he is the best in the division, and yes that includes Dominick Cruz.
Wanderlei Silva Vs. Cung Le:
To be honest, before this fight I thought Wanderlei Silva should retire. The Wanderlei we have witnessed in the UFC was never the one we saw in Pride. Having been knocked out in four of his previous eight fights, the most recent coming in his last fight against Chris Leben, there have been questions as to whether we would see him back. But we did. We also witnessed the debut of former Strikeforce champion Cung Le, who many MMA fans have wanted to see in the UFC for a long time.
Silva obviously wanted to stay out of the range of Le's devastating kicks, and managed to do so well. He got caught a few times, but he was never in trouble. Le caught him with a good spinning back fist. It dropped Silva, but he quickly got back to his feet. There was a chance for Le to swarm Silva and try and put some real damage on him, but it seemed he didn't want to get too close to Wanderlei.
Remember the old Wanderlei from the Pride days? Well, we found him in the second round. He dropped Le with a solid right hand and, unlike his opponent, took the opportunity to swarm and put a beating on him. In the clinch, Silva landed some devastating knees, one of which broke the nose of Cung Le. Le then shot for a single, but had taken a severe beating at this stage, and didn't go for it with any conviction. Silva began to drop hammer fists until the fight was called to a stop.
Although this was a great victory from the Axe Murderer, the point still stands. This a perfect time for him to retire. He's not at the level he used to be, and Cung Le was coming off a long lay off from MMA while he starring in films. If Silva were to come up against one of the top contenders in the division, I don't see it going as well.
Shogun Vs. Hendo:
I'm going to get straight to the point. This is the best fight I've ever seen in the UFC. When Hendo came out of the block and start blasting Shogun I thought this was going to be the Jon Jones fight all over again.
Hendo managed to get a guillotine but never seemed like he was in a position to finish the fight. What followed was a barrage of huge hits from Henderson, with Shogun pressed against the cage doing is best to cover up yet staying in the line of fire. at this point it seemed like Hendo was going to find this finish but credit to Rua, who took everything thrown at him. Toward the end of the round rua managed to drop Henderson witha right of his own, but Hendo managed to grab a single.
What followed in the second was more of the same, with both Henderson punishing Rua against the cage with some mammoth blows. Shogun covered up but Hendo landed a NASTY uppercut. Shogun already looked battered at this stage, but anyone who had seen some of his fights in Pride know how dangerous his hands are, and he only needed to connect once for it all to change.
It was the third round though were this fight was teetering on being stopped. After catching Rua with a inside leg kick, Henderson blasted Shogun with his signature right hand, and following up with some vicious strikes on the ground. But the fight continued, with Shoguns only hope being that Henderson might punch himself out. If taking a beating can be exhausting, so can dishing one out. Henderson slowed down just enough for Shogun to catch a heel hook. He was never in a position to finish the fight with it, but it gave him a break from the barrage of nasty strikes. As Henderson managed to get out of the heel hook, Rua used the opportunity to get back to his feet, and to get a takedown for good measure.
By this point Henderson was zapped of all his energy, and looked lethargic in his movement. Shogun was bloody and beaten but slightly fresher, and it helped him take the next two rounds. Shogun took Henderson down at will, and mounted him six times in the final two rounds. Shogun never looked like finishing the fight from mount, but continued to do some damage. Both men were clearly exhausted, evident in how Henderson had no answer for Shogun's ground and pound. All he had to do was hang in there. He felt he had done enough in the first three rounds to get the decision, and in truth the probably did. Shogun spent almost the entire fifth round on top of Henderson, with no energy to go for the finish.
This was a war. A fight that fans have sought for the past ten years, it seems it was worth the wait. Perhaps a draw would have been a fair result, it was a tough call for the judges. There are many arguments online right now about 10-8 rounds, but at the end of the day what we witnessed will go down in MMA history. Outside the main event, this was the best card of the year. Would this have made a better introduction to the fox viewers? Dana white says no, that they wouldn't have been ready for a fight like that. I don't think any of us were. But that's the attraction of the sport, and why it's the fastest growing sport in the world. Look at last week for example. How many of us expected a KO sixty-four seconds into the first round?
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