The MMA world stood by for it and it has finally arrived; news broke today that one-time UFC middleweight title challenger and now former Strikeforce light heavyweight champion, Dan Henderson [28-8-0], will make his return to the octagon November 19, at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, California, where he will meet former UFC 205lbs champion, Mauricio "Shogun" Rua [20-5-0] at UFC 139.
After capturing the Strikeforce light heavyweight title with an impressive third round knockout over Rafael Cavalcante, Henderson set his sights on heavyweight great Fedor Emelianenko this past July when the two PRIDE FC legends put on one of the more exciting first rounds of the calendar year. Contested at heavyweight, Henderson went into the bout with a 20lbs weight deficit, but that never seems to matter for Team Quest founder as he toppled "The Last Emperor" with a devastating right uppercut that ended the Russian's night in the final minute of the first round. With a three-fight winning streak on hand, rumors of a UFC return immediately hit the press and those rumors were validated on Monday afternoon.
"Shogun" Rua last competed at UFC 134 - Silva vs. Okami which marked the promotion's long awaited return to the former light heavyweight champion's home country of Brazil. Meeting another former champion in Forrest Griffin, their second bout would go nothing like the first as Rua rolled over Griffin with a violent first round knockout in just under two minutes of action; looking to earn a rematch against the man who dethroned him in March of this year, Jon "Bones" Jones, a win over Henderson would be a bigger statement still as their are few men more decorated in the history of the sport.
Other confirmed bouts for UFC 139 include:
Vitor Belfort (No. 10 MW) vs. Cung Le
Urijah Faber (No. 3 BW) vs. Brian Bowles (No. 4 BW)
Rick Story vs. Martin Kampmann
Chris Weidman vs. Tom Lawlor
Gleison Tibau vs. Rafael dos Anjos
No comments:
Post a Comment