The legends of MMA deliver at UFC 139
At times, Dan Henderson was on top. At times, Mauricio Rua had the best of Henderson. It was one heck of a fight. UFC/Ultimate Fighting Championships
On Saturday, November 19, at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, CA, the MMA fans got one heck of a show. One bout after another, one warrior after another, they never failed to entertain the gung-ho crowd.
Dan Henderson of Team Quest in Temecula, CA.
In the main event, former Strikeforce light heavyweight champion Dan Henderson won an incredibly hard-fought, unanimous decision victory over former UFC 205-pound champ Mauricio “Shogun” Rua.
Asked later for his opinion about the bout, Dana White the President of the UFC stated, “It was one of the top three bouts in MMA history and for your information, I scored the bout a draw.”
It was one of those memorable fights that stay with you long after the lights are turned off. The message on the shirt worn by Henderson as he walked out to the octagon foretold of the effort he felt was needed to win. It read, “Hearts and minds overcome all.”
For the first three rounds, Henderson was the dominate fighter. In the later two, the 41 year-old had to use every bit of his heart to withstand the punishment being dealt out by Rua.
Was it worth it? Henderson did extend his win streak to four matches. He did earn an additional $70,000 in bonus money and then in a few months he’ll likely get another opportunity to repeat this nightmare.
The other half of the Henderson fight duo deserves just as much credit. He withstood punches that have knocked out Fedor Emelianenko, Rafael Cavalcante, and Michael Bisping. With his face badly bruised and bloody, Rua fell just a few punches shy of engineering a major comeback.
Wanderlei Silva of Wand Fight Team in Las Vegas
In the co-main event Wanderlei Silva showed his mettle, especially after withstanding all those kicks from Cung Le in the opening frame. Not to take anything away from Le, but Silva finished that first round strong. He continued to build momentum throughout the second round, until finishing Lee off with a flurry of knees, elbows and punches with just eleven seconds left in the round.
This was Silva’s first KO victory in three and a half years and despite losing six of his last eight fights, Silva has repeatedly brushed aside any talk of retiring. His body has taken a lot of punishment lately and if you add that to the punishment that’s already been inflicted over the past 15 years, it’s a wonder he can walk at all.
Urijah Faber, the California Kid is from Sacramento, CA.
With Urijah Faber’s victory over Brian Bowles, the former WEC featherweight champ is once again the UFC’s top bantamweight contender. Earlier this year, he lost a close decision to UFC Bantamweight Champ Dominick Cruz who calls the Alliance Training Center in Chula Vista home.
Faber beat Cruz back when the two were in the WEC, so the upcoming second UFC title fight will also serve as a rubber match between the two fighters.
The PPV started off with upset decision victories for Stephan “The American Psycho” Bonnar and Martin “The Hitman” Kampmann. Kyle “Kingsbu” Kingsbury and Rick “The Horror” Story were on the wrong end of those respective decisions.
The two fights that aired live on Spike TV both ended with quick knockouts. Ryan “Darth” Bader laid early leather on UFC newcomer Jason “Hitman” Brilz.
Michael McDonald is from Oakdale MMA in Modesto, CA.
Then Michael McDonald had another memorable win with a knockout of Alex Soto. By doing so McDonald earned a $70,000 bonus for the Knockout of the Night. That’s a record of 14-1 for McDonald and he’s still not old enough to legally sit down and have a brew with the boys.
How UFC 139 will look in the record books:
Dan Henderson (29-8) won by UD over Mauricio Rua (20-6) [25:00] – 5 Rounds – (48-47 all)
Wanderlei Silva (34-11) won by TKO over Cung Le (7-2) [9:49] – 4:49 Round 2 – knees and punches
[Bantamweight No. 1 Contender Bout]
Urijah Faber (26-5) won by SUB over Brian Bowles (10-2) [6:27] – 1:27 Round 2 – guillotine choke
Martin Kampmann (18-5) won by SD over Rick Story (13-5) [15:00] – 3 Rounds – (30-27, 29-28, 28-29)
Stephan Bonnar (14-7) won by UD over Kyle Kingsbury (11-3) [15:00] – 3 Rounds – (30-25, 30-27, 30-27)
Ryan Bader (13-2) won by KO over Jason Brilz (18-5) [1:17] – Round 1 – punch to the face
Michael McDonald (14-1) won by KO over Alex Soto (6-1) [0:56] – Round 1 – combination of punches
Chris Weidman (7-0) won by Submission over Tom Lawlor (7-4) [2:07] – Round 1 – brabo choke (technical knockout victory)
Gleison Tibau (24-7) won by Split decision over Rafael Dos Anjos (15-6) [15:00] – 3 Rounds – (29-28, 29-28, 28-29)
Miguel Torres (40-4) won by an unanimous decision over Nick Pace (6-3) [15:00] – 3 Rounds – (30-27 all)
Seth Baczynski (15-6) won by SUB over Matt Brown (12-11) [5:42] – 0:42 Round 2 by guillotine choke
Danny Castillo (12-4) won by TKO over Shamar Bailey (12-5) [4:52] – Round 1 – punches
Fight of the night award money went to four gentlemen: the Dan Henderson versus Shogun Rua fight, plus the Wanderlei Silva over Cung Le fight.
Submission of the night: Urijah Faber for his win over Brian Bowles
Quickest win: Michael McDonald for his win over Alex Soto in 56 seconds
Biggest upset according to Vegas: Wanderlei Silva (+180) over Cung Le
