AFTER THE NON-STOP action of recent weeks, the UFC has opted for a well-deserved rest, leaving us with the perfect opportunity to take stock of recent goings on.
Henderson pips Shogun in epic thriller
Dan Henderson produced arguably the best performance of his career during UFC 139 to see off a resolute Maurício “Shogun” Rua in a fight that will probably go down as one of the very best in MMA history.
The bout wildly exceeded all pre-fight expectations and evolved into a tense war of attrition, with Henderson dominating the opening rounds before visibly tiring and handing the initiative to his opponent.
“Hendo” looked to his oldest and most trusted weapon in the early exchanges and, although he was well prepared for it, Rua looked powerless to stop that marauding club of a right hand.
The Brazilian was dropped in round one and survived a near-catastrophic onslaught in the third, when the American sent him crashing to the canvas for the second time before unleashing a flurry of hammer-fisted blows to the head.
Though battered and bloody, Rua emerged reinvigorated for the fourth round, by which point it had become obvious that Henderson was slowing down.
Spurred on by the sight of his flailing opponent, Rua dug deep to finish strongest and even succeeded in mounting the former Olympic wrestler. Unable to close the fight, he subsequently lost in a unanimous decision, with all three judges scoring it 48-47 in favour of Henderson.
Afterwards, UFC President Dana White said he believed it was one of the top three fights in UFC history.
Silva back on track
Elsewhere, Wanderlei Silva proved he has still something to offer the UFC with an exciting second-round stoppage of Cung Le.
Le had looked to be gaining the upper hand in the opening exchanges before “The Axe Murderer” found his range and connected with a couple of strong combinations in the closing seconds of the first round.
From that point on, it was one way traffic, a final punch bringing proceedings to a premature close minutes later.
The Brazilian posted this emotional thank you to his fans on Twitter.
Fighting on the same card, Urijah Faber impressed with a convincing win over Brian Bowles. A third matchup against champ Dominick Cruz looks the likely outcome.
There were also wins for Martin Kampmann, Stephan Bonnar and Ryan Bader on what proved a hugely entertaining night for fans.
MMA for the masses
UFC made its mainstream television debut on Fox last week and marked the occasion by broadcasting Junior dos Santos’ 64-second demolition of the previously undefeated Cain Velasquez. It was later reported that the fight reached nearly 5.7million viewers.
Some have argued that because the fight was so short, those new to the sport didn’t get to see all MMA has to offer.
It has also been pointed out that the organisation was a little unlucky with timing; the Henderson-Rua fight would arguably have cast the sport in a more favourable light.
Quibbles aside, the event was greeted as a success. With several other mainstream TV events in the pipeline, the UFC could be about to punch its way into the big-time.
