Written by Scott Swerbinsky

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UFC 139 Preview

 

Tonight in San Jose, California, the Ultimate Fighting Championship has a great card in store for fight fans. UFC 139 is loaded with legends of mixed martial arts, former champions, and possibly future title holders. While the fight card has no title fights, there is a handful of guys right on the cusp of a title shot if all goes well for them this evening.

 

The main event puts two of the best fighters the sport has ever seen up against each other. Mauricio “Shogun” Rua(20-5) steps into the octagon to face Dan Henderson(28-8). Both guys are former light heavyweight champs and are very well rounded.

Shogun has the submission advantage while Henderson’s wrestling is far superior. If the fans get what they want, this match will never hit the mat and it will turn into a slug fest. Shogun has great kicks and excellent hands while Henderson has one punch knockout power in both his left and his right hand. If the fight goes to the ground I would give Shogun the upper hand because of his submissions and Jiu-Jitsu background.

I fully expect this one to turn into a street fight. Henderson has a better chin and has the better conditioning also. Shogun claims to be fully healthy and have his hunger back. The winner might be next in line for Jon Jones who is the current title holder at light heavyweight.

Henderson is my pick for this one. On paper, this one is a pick ‘em and I have a good feeling that the crowd is going to be in for a treat.

Speaking of treats, welcome to the UFC Cung Le. Widely regarded as one of the best kick boxers ever to compete in mixed martial arts, Le will be making his octagon debut against another legend, Wanderlei Silva. This fight also has standup war written all over it.

Le, who most recently competed in Strikeforce, is a brilliant knockout artist. He is one of the most dynamic strikers in the sport. A native of San Jose, Le will be fighting in front of his hometown crowd.

Wanderlei Silva is looking to give Le a very rude welcome to the UFC. A loser of four out of his last six fights, there are many fans and observers that believe Silva needs to retire. He has been through many slugfests and been brutally knocked out on several occasions. Count me among those that feel Silva has nothing else to prove. He is one of the most respected fighters of all time and has beaten the best of the best.

I don’t see this fight going to well for Wanderlei Silva. Cung Le I feel will be too strong and too powerful tonight. I wouldn’t be surprised if this one ends in the first round in vicious fashion.

One of my favorite fighters of all time is looking to get another title shot with a victory. Urijah Faber, the former title holder at 145 pounds in the WEC, has been reenergized since dropping down to 135 pounds. He steps in against a former belt holder, Brian Bowles.

Bowles held the WEC 135 pound title before losing to the current champion Dominick Cruz. Since the loss to Cruz, Bowles has won two fights in a row against top competition. He takes on Faber with the winner all but guaranteed another crack at Cruz and the belt.

Faber has a very strong wrestling base and continues to improve his striking every time we see him. His lightning quick hands could present some problems for Bowles. With knockout power in his strikes, Bowles will be no easy take for “The California Kid.”

I don’t think I have ever picked against Urijah and I won’t start now. This is another pick ‘em fight on paper and could easily go either way. Both guys have had hand problems in the past and see Faber winning the striking contest and having better conditioning. This is my pick for fight of the night.

Full fight card:

MAIN CARD (Pay-per-view)

• Dan Henderson vs. Mauricio "Shogun" Rua
• Cung Le vs. Wanderlei Silva
• Brian Bowles vs. Urijah Faber
• Martin Kampmann vs. Rick Story
• Stephan Bonnar vs. Kyle Kingsbury

PRELIMINARY CARD (Spike TV)

• Ryan Bader vs. Jason Brilz
• Michael McDonald vs. Alex Soto

PRELIMINARY CARD (Facebook)

• Tom Lawlor vs. Chris Weidman
• Nick Pace vs. Miguel Torres
• Rafael dos Anjos vs. Gleison Tibau
• Seth Baczynski vs. Matt Brown
• Shamar Bailey vs. Danny Castillo

From top to bottom, I simply love this card. The UFC has a loaded show for us and I expect highlight reel knockouts as well as very technical grappling displays. Fight fans are in for a really great night of mixed martial arts action. I highly recommend tuning in this evening.