It's been a few weeks since the epic fight that some have deemed "the greatest MMA fight of all-time" and opinions on who should have won are still varied. Some think Shogun should have taken the victory over Hendo, whereas others even think the fight was a draw.
After my first viewing I thought Hendo deserved the victory (I also though both fighters deserved a beer and a foot rub, stat!). Going into the fight my feeling on Mauricio Rua was that his career was maybe coming to a close. He had looked slow and uninterested in his last few fights. Granted he knocked out Lyoto Machida and gained his revenge against Forrest Griffin but those seemed like blips after lacklustre performances against the likes of Mark Coleman and the first Machida fight and a complete and utter domination at the hands of Jon Jones.
Clearly Shogun isn't finished just yet. A fighter with anything less than ultimate drive and determination would have quit long before the final bell against the pummelling Dan Henderson was dishing out. For the first three rounds Hendo battered and bloodied Shogun, trying to force him to stop fighting back. Rua didn't just not quit, he battled back and laid a beating of his own on Hendo. And because of that we witnessed a fight that was, cue Kanye, one of the greatest of all time (of all time!). But did Shogun deserve a better result at the end of the fight? Let's find out.
Round 1
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The best kind of "feeling out" round you could hope for. Both guys were somewhat tentative trying to gauge the other yet they engaged when the opportunities were there. As always Dan Henderson's bazooka of a right hand was loaded, lazer scoped onto Shogun's chin, just waiting for the right time to fire.
Henderson landed the first big shot, dropping Shogun with a crisp bazooka blast and then pounced on him trying to secure a guillotine. Rua escaped the submission attempt but was trapped against the cage as Henderson shell shocked him with mortar blast after mortar blast. Rua's defenses held true though and he survived, albeit with a bloody cut over his left eye. Henderson continued to stalk Rua, controlling the Octagon, looking for an opening for the bazooka. Later in the round, Shogun would catch Hendo with a behind the ear punch that gave Henderson the droopy legs. Rua tried some ground and pound hammer punches but Hendo turtled up and eventually escaped using a single leg. The round ended with Shogun coming forward, trying to land uppercuts and head kicks.
A fantastic opening round and one that sets the stage for an incredible battle going into round two. Shogun had an issue of standing right in front of Henderson, allowing Dan to load up and connect with strikes. When under fire Rua moved straight back, rather than trying to slip away to the side, which further gave Henderson a target. Henderson was also able to avoid Shogun's takedown attempts and only got hit with one really good strike.
Though Shogun did land that hard punch which dropped Hendo and was coming forward toward the end of the round, I have to give this one to Henderson for better Octagon control, aggressiveness, landing cleaner shots and doing more damage.
Round 2
In between rounds Shogun's corner tells him something to the extent of, "You have to avoid his punches." Hey, thanks guys. That's like asking your hockey coach how you should defend against the other team and he says, "Don't let them score goals."
This wasn't as exciting a round as the first was and you could tell that fatigue was starting to creep in already. Shogun continued to stand right in front on Henderson and Dan made him pay by landing two bazooka blasts; a cross and an uppercut, in succession. Shogun landed a few nice punches of his own but Hendo definitely did more damage this round. At one point Hendo had Shogun trapped up against the cage and the crowd started booing. I like to call that ironic foreshadowing.
Both fighters landed some decent strikes but Hendo's were harder and did more damage. Hendo takes this round.
Round 3
Three rounds to go. The ref made a mistake and called out that this was the last but Hendo, ever the gentleman, corrected him with a face that said, "I've got 15 more minutes to punch this other guy in the head."
In between rounds Dan's corner told him about Shogun, "He's dead." There it is again, ironic foreshadowing.
Shogun started the round being the aggressor, narrowly missing a number of good strikes and landing one hard body kick. Henderson, looking more and more tired as the fight goes on, then landed the dreaded leg kick-BAZOOKA combo! Shogun dropped faster than a choir boy's balls in a private meeting with the priest and Henderson got right on top of him looking to finish with grenade-like ground and pound. Somehow Shogun survived the onslaught and defended himself enough to keep the ref from granting him mercy. Rua managed to turn Dan around into a potential heel hook and looked for a submission, mere seconds after being thumped as if his head was the play area of an arcade's Whack-A-Mole game. He couldn't get the hold but it gave him the room to stand back up. And once up Shogun faded and could hardly keep going. Just kidding! Shogun fucking came right back at Henderson, landed some punches and got a takedown of his own! If you could measure the size of heart a fighter has from 1 to 10, with 1 being Ping Pong Ball and 10 being Elephant Testicles, Shogun's clearly lands in the realm of pachyderm genitalia.
On my first viewing of this fight I thought for sure that was a 10-8 round for Dan Henderson, but watching it now I don't think I can go that far. Yes, Henderson landed that big shot and clobbered Rua on the ground but Shogun defended, fought back, almost got a submission, got a takedown himself and gave Dan a taste of his own knuckley medicine. Henderson landed the better shot and did more damage so he still takes the round but I'm going against the general opinion and not giving him a 10-8.
Round 4
In between rounds Shogun's corner asked him his name to make sure he wasn't completely out of it. "My name is Mauricio and I'm on planet Pluto and I'm married to Megan Fox." If only the ref were there to hear that. Pluto isn't even a planet, this fight would have been stopped.
Just like last round Shogun started this one strong landing some strikes and getting a takedown on Hendo. Unfortunately for Rua, Henderson turned that takedown around to his own advantage, securing, if only briefly, a crucifix and the mount position. Shogun showed good defense getting out of both but it was his aggression that lead to those bad areas. Not a good sign. Upon standing back up Shogun continued to press Henderson but got taken down again and almost guillotined. Henderson tried for more ground and pound but the space created between them due to that effort allowed Shogun to stand up once again. What a fight!
From here the round is Shogun's as even after being taken down and smashed he gets up and keeps coming forward! He lands a hard uppercut that wobbles Hendo! Rua keeps moving straigh ahead, landing strikes on a visibly exhausted Dan Henderson and scores a takedown! Full mount! Guillotine attempt by Shogun! Henderson spins out and finds himself on top! Holy fucking shit! And the round ends!
Henderson was clearly exhausted in this round and considering how in shape he looked one must assume it was his 41 years catching up to him.
I watched this round three times to figure out how to score it and I could only come up with one conclusion. Hendo started the round great, getting on top and landing some good shots but around the 2:30 mark Rua turned things around, until right near the end when Hendo spun out of a submission attempt into full mount. This is a draw round if I've ever seen one.
Round 5
In between rounds Hendo's corner tells him not to exchange with Shogun but to clinch with him. Clearly this will allow the crowd to chant "USA! USA!" more, ensuring the victory.
American sports fans are fucking stupid sometimes.
This round saw Shogun secure a takedown within the first 30 seconds and get the mount before the first minute was over. Rua would maintain the mount position for virtually the entirety of the round, raining down punches on an incredibly tired Dan Henderson. Shogun was way too tired himself to finish the fight but if he had this position against an exhausted Henderson in the first or second round he would have destructo'd Dan's face. At any rate, Shogun easily takes the round.
Final Score: 48-47 Dan Henderson
All three judges at ringside scored the fight exactly the same as I have.
Wow. An absolutely epic battle that is not only one of the greatest MMA fights of all time, but one of the greatest fights in combat sports history. This stands right up there with the likes of such legendary boxing matches like Ward vs. Gatti and Hearns vs. Leonard. I'm completely satisfied with the score I came up with and I'm left feeling really happy knowing the judges at the fight got this one right.
Now, as for the greatest MMA fights of all time there is a lot of competition. Frye vs. Takayama. Big Nog vs. Herring (brutally underrated in my opinion). Little Nog vs. Shogun... I know that right now I can't say with certainty if this was the greatest fight in MMA history, maybe after a few years history and perspective will help determine that, but I think I can say that is the greatest fight in UFC history. I think.
Coming up next on Superman Punch! will be a review of the UFC 140 main event; Jon Jones vs. Lyoto Machida for the Light Heavyweight Title. My prediction right now is Jones takes this fight in the 4th round by TKO.
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