UFC 139 Results: Questions Answered and Lessons Learned

UFC 139 is over and done with. Dan Henderson barely edged Mauricio "Shogun" Rua in an epic duel and Wanderlei Silva proved his critics wrong and knocked out Cung Le.

There were other fights throughout the night that had important implications in MMA; that answered questions and taught important lessons.

What were these fights and what did they demonstrate? Read and find out!

Danny Castillo Has Showed a Marked Improvement

Danny Castillo showed a marked improvement over his last fight, mainly in his wrestling.

In his last fight against Jacob Volkmann, Castillo was dominated in the wrestling department.

However, against Shamar Bailey, Castillo's wrestling enabled him to dominate. He scored three big takedowns en route to a (T)KO finish with ground and pound.

Miguel Torres Is Back but Not in Force

Miguel Torres beat Nick Pace at UFC 139 but he didn't look like the dominant champion he once was.

He's "back," but he's definitely not back in force...yet.

Chris Weidman Is the Future at Middleweight

Chris Weidman has outclassed his first three opponents in the UFC, proving that he is one of the middleweight fighters to watch; he will definitely be a contender in the future and may even be champion!

Ryan Bader Is Back

After losing to Tito Ortiz, many were beginning to question Ryan Bader's abilities. Was he ever as good as the UFC said?

Even though Jason Brilz isn't exactly a top-echelon fighter, Bader made short work of him and proved that he does belong in the UFC; he is officially "back."

Stephan Bonnar Has Evolved

Stephan Bonnar is most famous for his epic brawl on the season finale of The Ultimate Fighter reality series against Forrest Griffin—the fight that helped to put the UFC on the map.

The "brawler" stereotype has since dogged Bonnar throughout his career; people always thought that was his fighting style because of that fight.

However, he disproved that notion by controlling Kyle Kingsbury with superior grappling throughout the duration of the fight.

Stephan Bonnar has evolved; he's not just a brawler anymore, but a true mixed martial artist.

Martin Kampmann Was Underrated or Rick Story Was Overrated

Rick Story was once being touted as welterweight royalty, one of the elite in the division. Then Charlie Brenneman happened.

His fight against Martin Kampmann (who himself had dropped two straight leading up to the fight with Story) was supposed to be where he made his return to the top-echelon of the division. The key word being supposed.

Kampmann picked Story apart and even took the wrestler down on several occasions, winning by a bloody unanimous decision.

Either Story was vastly overrated or Kampmann was underrated.

Urijah Faber Really Is One of the Best Bantamweights

After losing to Mike Brown, Jose Aldo and Dominick Cruz, there was talk that Urijah Faber may have been severely overrated by fans and MMA pundits.

Faber put that talk to rest against former WEC bantamweight champion Brain Bowles.

Faber battered Bowles with quicker, more accurate and more technical striking and eventually parlayed his striking advantage into a knockdown and a submission victory via guillotine, proving that he was one of the elite bantamweights in the world.

San Jose's Fans Needs Some MMA Education

The fans in San Jose were enthusiastic but, at times, misguided.

They couldn't handle a fight being on the ground for more than 30 seconds without booing and they erupted into laughter when Stephan Bonnar got north-south position on Kyle Kingsbury (a fault which UFC commentator Joe Rogan chastised them for during the broadcast).

San Jose's MMA fans, as well as other fans all over the world, still need to be proper students of the fight game.

Wanderlei Silva Still Has It; Cung Le Doesn't

Many expected Wanderlei Silva to get knocked out by Cung Le since the Brazilian's chin hasn't exactly been strong lately (and I was guilty of this too, I'll admit).

However, Silva proved that he still has something left to give MMA. After initially getting tagged repeatedly, Silva managed to turn the momentum of the fight around and began hurting Le, eventually earning a brutal TKO that harkened back to the Wanderlei Silva of old.

Cung Le on the other hand looked a bit doughy and displayed poor conditioning. Poor conditioning cost Le a win against Scott Smith and it likely cost him the win against Silva as well.

Dan Henderson and Mauricio "Shogun" Rua Are Legends

This wasn't a lesson learned or a question answered since everyone knew that, but what else can really be said about them after that fight?

The fight between them was one of the most amazing fights in MMA both for its excitement value as well as its meaning; it was one of the last times we'll see two greats from Pride in such form.

Both Henderson and Rua showed tremendous heart and ability to absorb punishment. They showed that, even though neither of them currently hold a title, they are true champions; legends in every sense of the word.