The rematch to one of the greatest fights in mixed martial arts history has been made official. Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) announced yesterday that light heavyweights Dan Henderson and Mauricio “Shogun” Rua will meet in the five-round main event of UFC Fight Night 38, which takes place March 23 in Natal, Brazil. This will be a rematch of the pair’s war at UFC 139 which Dan Henderson won via controversial unanimous decision, a fight that is considered by many to be the greatest bout in UFC and MMA history. In their first fight, Henderson and Rua went back-and-forth for 25 minutes straight, leaving absolutely everything they both had in the cage that night. It was clear that Henderson won the first three rounds and Shogun easily won the fourth, but the fifth round was thought to be a 10-8 round in Shogun’s favor by most observers, which would have led to a draw. Instead, the judges scored it 10-9 for Shogun, and Henderson took home the unanimous decision by three 48-47 scorecards. Keep in mind thought that that first fight at UFC 139 took place in Henderson’s backyard of California, and this rematch will take place in Rua’s backyard of Brazil. So while the judging was definitely more in favor of Henderson the last time out, this time it’ll presumably be more in favor of Rua, which is something to keep in mind. However, unlike their first fight, I don’t think this rematch is going to go the full five rounds. Although Henderson and Rua are still easily two of the most durable light heavyweights in the UFC, both have taken a lot of punishment in their careers, especially “Hendo.” In Henderson’s last outing against Vitor Belfort at UFC Fight Night 32, he finally suffered the first knockout loss of his career. Although Henderson has been known for his iron chin, it seems to finally be fading and it’s possible that Rua — who hurt Henderson badly in their first fight — can finally put him out for good this time. Although Henderson is coming off of three-straight losses and Rua a win, I still think this fight makes a lot of sense. Neither of these fighters are going to be fighting for the UFC title at anytime soon, both wanted this rematch, and at the end of the day how could this fight possibly be boring? So I really do think it’s a perfect fit for both at the current time, even though I have seen the criticisms about the rematch being deemed ‘unnecessary’ by some. As far as the betting line goes, the last time they fought Rua was a slight favorite and Henderson the slight dog, and I expect the line to be similar this time around even though Henderson did indeed win the first fight. At this point, most people seem to be fading Henderson and while Rua hasn’t looked great in recent years by any means, he did show in his brutal knockout win over James Te Huna he still has something left in the tank and, fighting in his home country of Brazil, it is fair for him to be the favorite going into this fight. The first fight was amazing, and I think this rematch has the potential to be fantastic as well. March 23rd can’t come soon enough.
