Dan Henderson def. Mauricio Rua via Decision (Unanimous), Rd 5
What Happened: A fight many thought would end in a knockout turned into perhaps the greatest 5 round war in recent memory. Rua survived scare after scare at the behest of Henderson's lethal right hand and kept pushing forward. It nearly paid off in the final two rounds, especially in the 5th where Rua mounted Henderson 5 times and utterly dominated him; but it was too little, too late. Henderson took the fight 48-47 on all 3 scorecards.
Thoughts: First off, I'll say that it looks like the curse of Fedor has been lifted. Everyone who has beaten or performed well against Fedor has gone on to lose immediately following. Second, I scored this fight a draw, and I think it's the best example of a draw since Edgar vs Maynard 2. Hendo performed great in the first 3 rounds and had Rua in serious trouble on a few occasions, but Rua always put out enough offense to ward off a 10-8, even wobbling Henderson a few times. Rua definitely took the last 2 rounds, but round 5 was a definite 10-8, and I found it odd that none of the judges saw constantly mounting and completely dominating your opponent, even causing the referee to threaten to stop the fight, anything but a 10-8 round. This scoring was echoed by most MMA news outlets, and I felt a draw was the most fitting end to the fight, even if it does throw things out of whack in the division. What really bugged me was not that the judges gave the fight to Henderson, but that not one of them scored the final round a 10-8. Ridiculous.
I felt the fight could have gone much differently if Rua respected Henderson's power early and decided to focus on slowing him down instead of rushing into the pocket to exchange. It looked to be another case of Rua following a great performance with a terrible one, but he came back to show why he has one of the best chins in the sport, and that he can dig deep and not only come back from the brink of defeat but come back and bring the fight to his opponent. In the end both men should get a ton of respect for their performances.
Next for Henderson: Henderson is in the interesting position of now being considered a contender in both the middleweight and light heavyweight divisions. As of my latest findings, he seems to be leaning towards 205 lb king Jon Jones (should he get past Lyoto Machida), which I think might be a good choice, considering how drawn out he is cutting 20 lbs at 41 years of age.
Next for Rua: This was a tough loss for Rua, but he really shouldn't feel too badly about it because he showed the heart of a champion and let us all know why he is still considered a top 205er. The only fight that makes sense for him at this point is a rematch against Quinton Jackson, who is coming off a loss of his own. It's unlikely the fight could be booked for the Japan show, but that would be perfect.
Wanderlei Silva def. Cung Le via TKO (Knees and Punches), Rd 2
What Happened: Le started off as many expected: winging flashy kicks and seemingly baffling Silva. Le scored with several kicks, and even dropped Silva with a a spinning backfist, but his flashy offense took a toll as the fight wore on. Noticeably slower in the second stanza, Le became a much less mobile target and vintage Silva emerged, rushing him with wild flurries. After dropping Le with a straight right, Silva furiously swarmed Le with punches and vicious knees that absolutely destroyed Le's nose. The stoppage came soon after.
Thoughts: As a huge fan, I absolutely love that Silva won this fight. It took some of the sting out of the Rua loss (of whom I am also a huge fan). I've said for a long time that Le's style will give him problems against more legitimate competition that can survive his kicks. He throws too many energy sapping kicks, and if he can't put his opponent away he slows down, which is dangerous against someone like Silva, who had a lot of trouble with Le in the first round, but fought smart in deciding to swarm late in the 2nd after Le had slowed down. Still, Silva's performance wasn't one that should convince anyone that he's back in a big way; it was a great win, but Le isn't the hardest hitter and I've considered him a overrated ever since his fight with Frank Shamrock. While I thought Le could walk away with a victory, I didn't think he had what it took to knock Silva out. I thought he'd kick his way to a decision.
Next for Silva: I would be ecstatic if Silva decided to call it a career and go out on a dominant win that hearkened back to his days as an unstoppable Pride champion, but I know that won't happen. Sherdog suggested he get the winner of Anthony Johnson vs Vitor Belfort, which I think is utterly ridiculous. Le isn't even top 20, and Belfort is likely a couple wins away from a title shot. If Johnson beats Vitor, he's gotta be in the mix. Silva is not. They seem to have some obsession with Silva being fed to Vitor and I get it (because they have beef), but it's not smart matchmaking. Silva should get the winner of Jarred Hamman vs Constantinos Phillipou.
Next for Le: He might consider retirement too. Le will never be able to compete at a high level so long as he's more concerned with making movies than he is with training and growing as a fighter. If he fights again it should be against Jorge Rivera or Alessio Sakara, which would prove whether or not he really belongs.
Urijah Faber def. Brian Bowles via Submission (Guillotine), Rd 2
What Happened: Bowles really didn't have any answer for Faber's speed, athleticism, and skill. After being slammed and outstruck in the first round, Faber fired an uppercut right up the middle that sent Bowles stumbling back into the cage. Faber swarmed, landing heavy punches and knees while Bowles worked to scramble, ultimately leading to Faber snagging a guillotine choke for the tap.
Thoughts: Great performance by Faber. I said it the moment Faber moved down to 135 and I'll say it again: I don't really see anyone beating him there but Cruz. Bowles also displayed what I've said about him for a while: he's slow...for a bantamweight. I really get surprised by the amount of people that said he'd get by Faber and possibly had what it took to beat Cruz the second time around. In his first fight he looked very slow compared to Cruz and had absolutely nothing for him. He's showed me nothing to indicate that has at all changed, and this fight proved it further. Bowles is very good, but I think he'll be that guy who's stuck in the top 5 but never makes it back to the top.
Next for Faber: He's got the next crack at Cruz. It seems like their last fight just happened, but everyone likes a good rubber match. Faber put up a valiant losing effort against Cruz the first time and is constantly improving. Let's see if he can capture the tie-breaker.
Next for Bowles: Demetrious Johnson makes a lot of sense. Bowles and Johnson are pretty much in the same positions as Rua and Jackson, respectively. They should battle it out to determine who belongs in the mix.
Martin Kampmann def. Rick Story via Decision (Split), Rd 3
What Happened: One finally went Kampmann's way. He used his stout kickboxing, defensive wrestling, and surprisingly his offensive wrestling to take a hard fought decision over a tough Story.
Thoughts: First of all, this should have been a unanimous decision. Of course a minimum of one judge has to be smoking crack instead of watching the fight. I think Kampmann allowed the fight to devolve into a brawl in the first round, which played to Story's strenghts and conceivably gave him the round. However, in the next two rounds Kampmann took a more measured approach and found his range, tagging him repeatedly with right hands and displaying solid wrestling both offensively and defensively. Kampmann finished the fight strong, ending the round on Story's back with a body triangle locked in threatening with a rear-naked choke. The judges finally made the right call where Kampmann is concerned.
Next for Kampmann: I like the idea of Kampmann getting the winner of Jon Fitch vs Johny Hendricks, or maybe even Mike Pierce.
Next for Story: A tough loss for Story, who finds himself in the midst of a 2 fight skid after flirting with contendership. I actually think a rematch with Charlie Brenneman (with a proper training camp for both) wouldn't be a terrible idea. However, I think Chris Cope is a more viable choice.
Stephan Bonnar def. Kyle Kingsbury via Decision (Unanimous), Rd 3
What Happened: After banging it out early in the fight, Bonnar unexpectedly chose to utilize his ground game to secure a dominant decision win over Kingsbury (I scored it 30-25), who simply had no answer for Bonnar's top game.
Thoughts: This was the upset of the night for me. Kingsbury is a beast of a light heavyweight and I thought he'd muscle Bonnar around the cage; but up until the weigh-ins I had forgotten that Bonnar is a huge 205er himself. When I saw them stand next to each other, Kingsbury didn't look so huge. This fight showed how much that size and power advantage matters to Kingsbury. Once was dragged to the ground, he didn't have the strength to power his way back up, and lacked the skills to mount much offense or do much but survive. Very impressive win for Bonnar.
Next for Bonnar: Bonnar has quietly pieced together 3 straight wins following a 3 fight skid (which should be a 2 fight and one no contest skid). Bonnar showed he's still solid, and might do well to get the winner of the upcoming Vladimir Matyshenko vs Alexander Gustafsson fight or Anthony Perosh.
Next for Kingsbury: Kingsbury showed that the really has some work to do on his ground game. If they prefer not to test him there at this point, he should get Cyrille Diabate or Igor Pokrajac. If they do, Matt Lucas or Eliot Marshall (if he's still around).
Prelim Quick(er) Hits
- Ryan Bader knocked out Jason Brilz with a right hand behind the ear a little more than a minute into the fight. Brilz has been KO'd quickly in his last two fights, and will likely be looking at a pink slip. Bader snaps a two-fight losing streak, and this win should give him a good confidence boost.
- Michael McDonald absolutely crushed Alex Soto just under minute into the fight. After dropping him hard with a stiff overhand right to the jaw, Soto somehow survived the onslaught and retreated, only to be dropped along the fence and removed from consciousness with follow up right hands. He looks to have landed awkwardly on his left knee during that last knockdown as well. After a couple of close decisions in his first UFC fights, McDonald finally looked like the top prospect he's touted as.
- Chris Weidman snagged a brilliant first round Brabo Choke victory over Tom Lawlor that left him unconscious, and garnered a little controversy as the referee appeared to step in late. Weidman felt Lawlor go limp, and when he told the referee he just asked aloud if Lawlor was limp and decided to stand and stare at the two combatants instead of checking Lawlor's clearly exposed hand to make sure. Every event has to have one I guess.
- Gleison Tibau vs Rafael dos Anjos was very even for much of the 15 minute affair, but it was a flurry and near finish from Tibau in the second round that ultimately secured the fight for him. Both fighters looked solid, and seemed to cancel each other out a bit.
- Miguel Torres cruised to a decision over and overweight Nick Pace. Torres fought slightly more aggressively than he has been recently, but still favored a patient approach to the fight. He landed some good shots on Pace, but never had him in any serious trouble. Pace, who has lost 2 straight and came in 6 lbs overweight, may be on his way out. Torres should fight Renan Barao next to determine the next contender.
- Seth Baczynski took advantage of Matt Brown's impatience to score a second round guillotine choke. Getting too eager and rushing right into submissions has always been Brown's Achilles heel, and it looks like that hasn't changed.
- Danny Castillo put on a dominant performance against Shamar Bailey, picking him up and slamming him at will, and exercising smothering top control and excellent ground and pound en route to a late first round stoppage. Castillo's ground and pound looked pretty nasty from the guard, and he couldn't have hoped for a better performance to bounce back from his loss to Jacob Volkmann. Bailey is in the same boat as Pace, having lost 2 straight and missing weight for this fight. I'd like to see Castillo take on Even Dunham next.
