Last weekend the UFC launched itself into the stratosphere of big name network TV. The much anticipated Fox debut pitted together two heavyweight lions at the peak of their powers and drew the largest audience in MMA history.
This weekend the UFC comes back to its pay-per-view bread and butter.
The main event, the evergreen Dan Henderson versus the mercurial Mauricio ‘Shogun’ Rua, provides more than enough intrigue to bring in the punters.
The two meet at a critical point in their careers but looking back it is surprising the two have never traded blows in the ring before. Both tore through the competition in PRIDE before coming to the UFC, and while they didn’t fade into the background neither managed to capture their former glory.
As with so many fights in the talent rich light-heavyweight division, this weekend, there will be no favourite. In most aspects the two fighters stand toe-to-toe.
On his feet Shogun has some nasty kicks and knees but Henderson’s hands have knocked out too many to be discounted. Henderson is an Olympic Greco-Roman Wrestler so one would imagine the clinch will be his home.
However, anyone who has seen Shogun’s beat down of Rampage Jackson will know duelling with Rua in such close quarters is a dangerous experience. On the ground may be Henderson’s edge but it isn’t an obvious one, Rua after all is a Ju-jitsu black belt.
Indeed, much may rely on who turns up on the day. While no one could ever say Henderson has given anything but his all, the same can’t be said for his opponent.
Will we see the Shogun who tore through the names of Jackson, Machida and most recently Griffin?
Or will the man who gassed against the 45 year old Mark Coleman and handed his title to Jon Jones earlier this year be the victim of a savage beating?
The winner, of course, will go on to face the light-heavyweight champion in early 2012 which will be an interesting match-up regardless of who it is with.
However, many would argue both would be more suited to dropping down and facing middleweight champ Anderson Silva.
Henderson is a known quantity at 185 pounds and in times gone by he wrote the blueprint Chael Sonnen used for four and half rounds before Silva caught him in a triangle choke. Henderson has also taken out the likes of Michael Bisping and Wanderli Silva at middleweight.
Shogun has been in light-heavyweight for eons but was utterly outclassed by the ever improving champ Jon Jones earlier this year and has run hot and cold throughout his UFC stint. He is no chump but there is no doubt he could drop some weight and line up for what would be an amazing muay-thai duel against The Spider. They once trained together, now they no longer speak. Who knows what kind of bad blood runs between the Brazilians.
For the loser, the path ahead remains unclear. Henderson will of course face a chorus of calls to retire if any weakness is shown, and at 41 he isn’t getting any younger. Unlike many of his peers such as Franklin, Hughes or Wanderli Silva, the telltale signs of decline have not yet set in; there are a few more fights in Hendo before he calls it a day.
Shogun is a more perplexing riddle. A loss would put him in an awkward position of decline. Sure there remains a third bout with Machida and another round with Jackson but would Dana White be willing keep him around only to tread on younger fighters heads? The light-heavyweight division has too many former champions and new talent can only be denied for so long.
Last weekend’s fights showed when two relatively even combatants line up it can end in a back and forth three round war or it can be all over in a minute. Either way, fights this evenly matched are almost always entertaining.
The UFC may be coming back down to Earth this weekend but with a main-event that has as much on the line as this one, it is as unpredictable and interesting as ever.
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