UFC 139: Shogun vs Henderson Might Be the Best Fight In the History of MMA

I apologize if I come off a little incoherent. This has been about the most amazing 25 minutes I've had with my pants on. Here are some of the thoughts I can muster. I'm typing this article with my eyes wide and a smile on my face. I'll start at the beginning of the match. Dan Henderson looked solid. He was beating Mauricio Rua to the punch, landing clean, handling himself on the ground well and bloodied up Shogun. There was less damage in the second round, but the third was aaaalllll Hendo. I scored that round 10-8 and Shogun's face made it look worse.

But then something funny happened. Dan shook his hand out at the end of that round as if he hurt it. He looked a little tired. Shockingly Shogun looked a little bit fresher. He started to come back a little bit. He hit Dan clean a couple times and at the end of the fourth round, it was Dan with his arms hanging at his sides as he sucked in huge breaths. It was Hendo and not Shogun who was showing weakness after three rounds of all Henderson! Invite the Rocky comparisons immediately, because they are well deserved. The fifth was an incredible display of determination by both men - Shogun desperately wanted to win and Dan was bound to not to get finished.

Round five is one that I really want to expand upon here. First of all, how in the WORLD was that round not a 10-8? Does a fighter have to get a kidney ripped out and somehow not get finished before someone gives a 10-8? Fight Metric has their stat report up. Please filter to round five and look at the striking and the grappling. How does someone get outstruck 79-8 and get mounted five times (I thought I counted six, but whatever) and not lose the round 10-8? I do not understand the rationale of judging this sport at all sometimes.

But I digress. It was tremendous. It showed immense courage and will from both men. They threw such huge absolute BOMBS, especially in the first four rounds. Like a single 1 of those uppercuts they exchanged would have put most people in a coma. Bisping would have been KO'd 500 times tonight. They fought like absolute gladiators going for broke. I can't write enough superlatives about this fight, and I don't think anyone else can either.

Now we need to figure out where this fight falls in the history of greatest MMA fights of all of the times. Let me correct myself. We don't need to, but where's the fun in that? So let's start off with a few other fights that immediately spring to mind. They need to have the following criteria: awesome fight, historical relevance, exemplifies the glory that is MMA.

Garcia vs Jung was an awesome fight, and the go for broke attitude of the combatants certainly highlights the drive, determination, and pushing the human body which I'm looking for in that third category, but it had no relevance to the sport as a whole. It featured a guy in Garcia who probably should be in the minor leagues of the sport against a middle-tier featherweight.

Let's try a few on for size:

Frankie Edgar vs Gray Maynard II and III
Forrest Griffin vs Stephan Bonnar
Fedor Emelianenko vs Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira I and III
Anderson Silva vs Chael Sonnen

Edgar/Maynard were absolute thrashings in round one by the challenger before the champ showed us the heart, courage and measure of greatness that drives our passion for this sport. The historical relevance is somewhat lacking, but this was for the UFC lightweight belt and quite honestly they were two of the best fights of 2011.

Griffin/Bonnar wasn't a title fight and featured two prospects, while the other examples I've given were championship matches, but the historical significance of this can't be understated. Millions of people tuned into this fight as it was happening. Not because they were fans, but because they were channel surfing and stumbled onto this glorious gold nugget. Their friends texted them and told them to flip on Spike, something amazing was happening. It was the cannon shot that thrust MMA into the American psyche for good and helped turn the UFC into one of the biggest sporting companies in the world.

The Fedor/Nog fights weren't the most thrilling of contests in terms of non-stop action, but it was the clear-cut best heavyweight against the clear-cut second best heavyweight for the biggest organization at the time. Fedor spent about 20 more minutes in Nog's guard than any person had done previously and landed some of the most disgustingly powerful ground and pound ever. Josh Gross said it sounded like shotgun blasts going off on Nog's head. Mauro said they sounded like someone hitting a buffalo with a baseball bat. This can't take the top spot in my mind because it slowed down tremendously as Fedor eased off the gas in the last round to coast to a victory as he laid in Nog's guard. Historical, glorious, and definitely exciting, but it was almost anti-climactic at the end.

Silva/Sonnen was about as one sided a beating as Nog took from Fedor, except that Silva won in the final round with a minute left. It didn't have quite as much historical significance, but this was the only time anyone had seen Anderson get beat on like this by anybody. Then Sonnen popped for testosterone injections post-fight. So it lost much of the luster that surrounded it at the time, but really, it was one of the best fights of the year and easily one of the very best comebacks ever.

Now Henderson and Rua didn't fight for a title, but fortunately it was five rounds of everything we look for in this determination. You had two legends, including one of the greatest of all time going at it for 25 minutes. It exemplified the warrior spirit from both men, and likely has propelled Dan into a title shot against either Jon Jones or Anderson.

There have been other great fights. Wanderlei Silva and Cung Le fought a dynamic and exciting fight just minutes ago. Over in Bellator, Michael Chandler knocked off perennial top5 lightweight Eddie Alvarez in a match that likely featured 10-8 rounds from both fighters before Chandler choked him out in the 4th. But neither of those had the same relevance in history that this fight had. Hendo has won titles in Rings, Pride and Strikeforce. He's a 41-year old legend who's held titles in multiple weight classes. Shogun is another multiple title winner. Former Pride middleweight champion and UFC light heavyweight champion. Hendo beat Yvel, Big Nog and a prime Babalu in one night to win Rings. He's beaten Wanderlei, Belfort, Bustamante, Franklin and Fedor. Rua beat Rampage, Lil Nog, Overeem and Arona in succession, the last two in the same night. LEGENDS. Two of the greatest this sport has seen in its young history duking it out until the final bell.

via Facebook.Two of the finest human combatants in the world. Thank you.