UFC 139: Dan Henderson's Return to UFC Won't Have a Happy Ending

Dan Henderson’s career is defined by what he did in PRIDE, but it was in UFC where he became a household name to most American mixed martial arts fans. Now, after a successful stint in Strikeforce that saw him win the light heavyweight title and knock out Fedor Emelianenko, Hendo is back at UFC 139.

Unfortunately, Henderson has to return against one of the best 205-pound fighters in the world, and fellow PRIDE veteran, Mauricio “Shogun” Rua.

As Dann Stupp and John Morgan of MMAJunkie.com wrote, the battle between Rua and Henderson has been brewing for years.

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When Henderson added the PRIDE middleweight (205-pound) championship to his trophy case in 2007, Rua figured he'd get first crack at the two-division champ. But PRIDE collapsed months later, and Rua and Henderson went on separate paths once they were brought into the UFC.

Rua has waited nearly five years for the long-awaited fight, but in the headliner of Saturday's UFC 139 pay-per-view event at San Jose, Calif.' HP Pavilion, it finally comes to fruition.

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Henderson and Rua were two of the best fighters in the now-defunct mixed martial arts organization and were always on a path to fight each other. Now that time and circumstances have changed for both fighters, they can finally determine who the best is.

This is going to be a great fight because of the styles that both Rua and Henderson implore. They like to stand and trade, using a combination of head movement and precise striking to wear down their opponents.

The biggest difference in the fight will be age and stamina. Henderson is 12 years older than Rua, and even though Henderson has not had any problems with younger fighters recently, he hasn’t gone up against another fighter the caliber of Rua in years.

This fight is going to go to the judges’ scorecards because Henderson doesn’t ever get knocked out, literally. Rua will withstand Henderson’s initial onslaught and wear him down over the final rounds to take the decision.