UFC 139 Preview
The UFC has started a pattern where they have regularly gone on strings of fights and then taken one week off until the next string. The current November string ends this weekend after four straight weekends with fights. The last fight of the string will not be as important as the last fight on Fox but it will still have some big repercussions in multiple weight divisions. The main event will feature two legends in the light heavyweight division as former UFC Champion Mauricio Rua will take on Strikeforce champion Dan Henderson. Mauricio Rua has had an interesting three years in the light heavyweight division. In 2009 Rua was at the top of the heap as he took on then champion Lyoto Machida in a close fight that many thought he had won. He took the loss and was given an immediate rematch 7 months later at UFC 113 where he got the result he wanted and won the light heavyweight belt. In his first title defence Rua faced Jon Jones who beat him and has gone on to his own title defence. With the loss Rua entered the mix of Light Heavyweight contenders and took one step back towards a rematch in Brazil when he beat Forrest Griffin. Meanwhile Dan Henderson last fought in the UFC 100 card when he knocked out Michael Bisping in a vicious KO. When Henderson landed his big punch Bisping went down and was clearly out but Henderson jumped on top of him anyway and landed another unnecessary punch that had many fans angry. After the fight Henderson left the UFC and moved to Strikeforce. While at Strikeforce Henderson became the constant challenger for the Middleweight title. His first fight was a loss to Jake Shields in a title fight but he then proceeded to get back to the top with a title win and then a Light Heavyweight fight against Fedor Emelianenko. With his success Henderson has decided to come back to the UFC and make a run at the Light Heavyweight Title. They will try to take another step toward Jon Jones this weekend as they face off at UFC 139. Both men are known for their Knockout power with Henderson earning a KO in his last three fights and Rua earning a KO in 4 of his last 6 fights. Henderson has a bit of an advantage on the ground as a very good wrestling and can be a dominating force in the top position. Rua is no slouch in the ground game with BJJ training and a very underrated submission game. There is no doubt that Rua would rather not wrestle with extremely fast hands and a great motor. He will have to be careful though as Henderson has KO power and can repeat the performance of Jon Jones, who caught Rua coming forward to win the title. Both fighters will try to get the win and take a step towards the title shot as the Light Heavyweight title will be up for grabs in Toronto in December. With the win both of these fighters will enter a short line for the title after Lyoto Machida and Jones face off. If Henderson is smart he will try to get this shot by wrestling Rua but he does have the ability to stand up. I believe that Rua will be too fast for Henderson to deal with on the feet and with every round starting on the feet Henderson might be in trouble. With Rua almost guaranteed to come forward he could get caught but the speed of his hands will give him the win in Round 2 of the main event bout.
In the main card there will be something a little more at stake than just a title fight as two fighters will face off for the future of their careers. Wanderlei Silva and Cung Le are two fighters seemingly at the same point in their careers but for different reasons. Silva is a legend in the MMA world as a dominant Pride fighter and champion who has made a less than stellar impression in the UFC. Since entering the UFC in 2007 Silva has gone 2-4 and looked like a fighter on his way out. This was especially true after his last fight against Chris Leben where he was knocked out in the first round. Silva has meant so much to the MMA world but the pure striker seems to have lost his chin. Meanwhile Cung Le is a 39-year old fighter, far from Randy Couture, who seems to be less than focused on his fighting career. After an almost year-long layoff from the octagon to focus on his acting career Le will make his debut in the UFC after reaching a 7-1 record in Strikeforce. Le seems like he is just fighting to get into the UFC to say that he made the top of the MMA world and with this type of attitude he will not last long. With a loss by either fighter it could spell the end of their careers. If Silva loses he could be cut by the UFC or at least pushed into retirement even though he would like to continue fighting. If Le loses he might be cut by the UFC who are looking for some young middleweight talent to challenge Silva and not really looking for a 39-year old fighter making his debut in the UFC. If Le is cut he may never fight again instead moving to a budding acting career. Both fighters will be looking for the win in order to continue their careers as even the old guys can put on great fights as shown by Randy Couture. Either way that this fight goes one of these fighters will most likely never be seen again in a UFC octagon.
Full fight Card:
Main Event:
Mauricio “Shogun” Rua vs. Dan “Hendo” Henderson (PPV)
Main Card:
Wanderlei “The Axe Murderer” Silva vs. Cung Le (PPV)
“The California Kid” Urijah Faber vs. Brian Bowles (PPV)
Martin “The Hitman” Kampmann vs. Rick “The Horror” Story (PPV)
Stephan “American Psycho” Bonnar vs. Kyle “Kingsbu” Kingbury (PPV)
Undercard:
Ryan “Darth” Bader vs. Jason “Hitman” Brilz (Sportsnet)
Michael “Mayday” McDonald vs. Alex “Extremo” Soto (Sportsnet)
Tom “Filthy” Lawlor vs. Chris “All-American” Weideman (Facebook)
Gleison Tibau vs. Rafael dos Anjos (Facebook)
Miguel Angel Torres vs. Nick Pace (Facebook)
Matt “The Immortal” Brown vs. Seth “Polish Pistola” Baczynski (Facebook)
Shamar Bailey vs. Danny “Last Call” Castillo (Facebook)
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