A card which features six former champions competing against one another, UFC 139 is one of the top to bottom best cards of 2011. Along with the main event, UFC 139 also includes Wanderlei Silva (33-11-1-1NC) vs. Cung Le (7-1) and Urijah Faber (25-5) vs. Brian Bowles (10-1).
The main event is a five round war, as MMA legend and former Strikeforce and PRIDE Champion Dan Henderson (28-8) takes on former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Mauricio “Shogun” Rua (20-5), in a fight which has been six years in the making.
These two were scheduled to face each other on multiple occasions during the PRIDE days, but never competed due to various obstacles. The first time they were scheduled to fight was back in 2005 during the PRIDE Middleweight Grand Prix, as both were in the same bracket and would fight one another should both win their opening round contests. Shogun won his fight against Quinton “Rampage” Jackson advancing to the second round and eventually won the entire tournament but Henderson ended up getting submitted by Antonio Rogerio Nogueira in the first round via armbar. The second time a fight between them was cancelled was after Dan Henderson knocked out Wanderlei Silva to win the PRIDE Middleweight Championship. Shogun was the number one contender to face Henderson but PRIDE ended up going out of business and was bought by the UFC, so the fight once again never took place.
A Henderson vs. Shogun fight is a fight fans have wanted to see forever and now almost six years after they were supposed to originally fight, the contest is finally taking place. Just as interesting if not more than it would have been back in 2005, the Henderson vs. Shogun fight has all the makings of a classic and is more than deserving of being the main event.
Dan Henderson is a legend in MMA. Holding championships in every organization he had ever competed in, the UFC title is the only belt which has eluded him during his storied career. The first and only fighter to ever hold two belts simultaneously in MMA history when he was the PRIDE Welterweight and Middleweight Champion, Dan Henderson has accomplished all there is to accomplish during his 15 year MMA career except hold UFC gold.
Despite getting clipped and knocked down early in the fight, Henderson was able to secure a single leg which allowed him to escape out the backdoor and caught Fedor with a punch from behind which Fedor did not see coming and connected perfectly on the chin knocking Fedor out.
Besides Fedor, Henderson has beaten a who's who of fighters such as Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Vitor Belfort, Wanderlei Silva, Rich Franklin, Renato “Babalu” Sobral twice, Rafael Cavalcante, and Michael Bisping.
The fight against Michael Bisping was Henderson's last fight in the UFC back in July 2009 and not only earned Henderson Knockout of the Night but Knockout of the Year as well and arguably the most vicious knockout in UFC history. Unable to reach a contract agreement with the UFC after this fight, Henderson departed to Strikeforce where he has been fighting ever since.
Shogun Rua is a legend in his own right in MMA and has done something Dan Henderson has never done, win a UFC Championship.
The first man to ever beat Lyoto Machida, Shogun did so in impressive fashion, knocking Machida out to take the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship in May 2010.
Despite losing his championship to Jon Jones in March of this year, Shogun last fought back in August when the UFC returned to Brazil and redeemed himself with a first round knockout over Forrest Griffin.
This fight will mostly come down to which fighter has the better striking on Saturday night, but I give the edge to Henderson because of his wrestling. Henderson is an Olympic Greco-Roman level wrestler who represented the United States in the Summer Olympics. To say Henderson has some of the best wrestling in all of MMA is an understatement, but Henderson also packs one of the most powerful right hands in all of MMA as well.
Labeled the “H-Bomb” by Murilo Ranalli, one punch from Henderson will end any person's night and is one of the most dangerous and most feared weapons in the entire sport, always giving Henderson an advantage.
The co-main event, is a very exciting Middleweight contest between two of the most exciting fighters to ever compete in MMA.
Cung Le is a former Strikeforce Middleweight Champion who is making his UFC debut this Saturday night. Calling San Jose is home, Le possesses the best and most amazing kicks in all of MMA, using his feet just as much as his hands.
Wanderlei Silva is one of the most beloved fighters of all time who took on all challengers at all weights at anytime. A legend in PRIDE, Silva was the Middleweight Champion from 2001 until 2007 racking up an incredible 18 fight unbeaten streak during that time.
A vicious striker, 23 of Silva's 33 wins have come by way of knockout. Never competing in a single boring fight, as soon as the bell rings Silva comes charging out throwing punches with everything he has looking to put on exciting fights for the fans.
This is the reason why fans of MMA love Silva. Silva competes for the fans and always wants to put on a show which is why he throws wild heavy haymakers.
This fight is sure to be fireworks and more then likely will not make it past the first round. Both fighters are looking to score a knockout and it will all come down to Wanderlei Silva finding the correct range and being disciplined.
Le has a very unique style which is unlike any other fighter in MMA. Throwing a bunch of different kicks which come from different angles, Silva needs to fight either very close or far away to avoid the kicks cause if he stands in the middle, Le will knock him out.
Le has never been to a decision in his MMA career, and every win he has is either by TKO or KO. While Silva wants to test Le's chin and go for the knockout, Silva's best strategy would be to take this fight to the ground where he holds a significant advantage.
There comes a point in every fighters life, where their bodies can not take any more punishment and a punch which would never even phase them before begins to knock them out. This seems to be happening to Silva, his reckless style while the most exciting in MMA seems to be catching up to him.
Early in his career, Silva trained at the esteemed Chute Boxe Academy in Brazil which has long had the reputation of being the most brutal fighting camp in the world. The fighters at Chute Boxe used to have full contact, high level sparring everyday and while it prepared them for combat, all the cumulative damage Silva has undergone over his career appears to have caught up to him, and if he happens to get knocked out again, retirement is a real possibility.
The other high profile match at UFC 139 is a Bantamweight title eliminator pitting former Featherweight Champion Urijah Faber against former Bantamweight Champion Brian Bowles.
Faber is coming off a close unanimous decision loss this July to Champion Dominick Cruz and needs a victory over Bowles to set up a trilogy fight with the champion.
A very creative fighter who is quick and explosive, Faber has all the tools needed to be a champion in the UFC, but first needs to get through Bowles who is as tough as they come in the Bantamweight devision.
Currently ranked as the fifth best Bantamweight in the world, Bowles is looking to regain the title he never truly lost and the only way to get that chance is to defeat Faber.
UFC 139 is a fantastic card which I have been looking forward to since it was announced. Six former champions all looking to get their championship belts back, UFC 139 guarantees to be an exciting fight card and it all takes place this Saturday November 19th.
Predictions:
Dan Henderson defeats Mauricio “Shogun” Rua via 4th Round TKO
Wanderlei Silva defeats Cung Le via 2nd Round Submission
Brian Bowles defeats Urijah Faber via Unanimous Decision
Martin Kampmann defeats Rick Story via Unanimous Decision
Stephan Bonnar defeats Kyle Kingsbury via Unanimous Decision
x Adam "S" Paccione x
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