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UFC 139 is like that ugly step-child that nobody really pays attention to. For the last month, the MMA world has been focused on UFC on FOX and the UFC heavyweight title. That fight has passed and now all eyes turn to San Jose, California, and UFC 139, where Dan Henderson makes his return to the UFC and will face Mauricio "Shogun" Rua in a light heavyweight title eliminator fight.
UFC 139 features one of the most stacked pay-per-view cards that the UFC has put on this year. The headliner features the return of Dan Henderson to the UFC, where he fought in 1998 and again from 2007-2009. He fought for the middleweight title against Anderson Silva in 2008.
Henderson has had his last four fights in Strikeforce where he won the light heavyweight title, and most recently beat Fedor Emelianenko in a heavyweight bout.
Henderson, 41, has been everywhere in the MMA community. He has competed in three weight divisions, fought all around the world, and has held championships in multiple promotions. Henderson wrestled for Arizona State University during the 1992-1993 season where he competed in the 1993 NCAA Championships. He also wrestled in the 1992 and 1996 Summer Olympics for the United States.
Henderson faces the former UFC light heavyweight champion Shogun Rua. Rua is coming off a win against Forrest Griffin at UFC 134 and the winner of Henderson vs. Rua will inch closer to UFC tItle contention.
The co-main event features a middleweight fight between Wanderlei Silva and UFC newcomer Cung Le. Silva has lost three of his last four fights, his last coming against Chris Leben at UFC 132. Le comes to the UFC after an impressive Strikeforce career where he was middleweight champion in 2008. Le has a 7-1 record in MMA, Silva comes into the fight with a record of 33-11-1 with one no-contest.
Also on the card, the "California Kid", Urijah Faber, takes on Brian Bowles in a bantamweight title eliminator. Faber is coming off a loss against UFC bantamweight champion Dominik Cruz at UFC 132, Bowles has won two in a row since his loss to Miguel Torres in 2009. The two will battle for the right to fight for the UFC bantamweight title.
Rounding out the pay-per-view portion of the card is Rick Story vs. Martin Kampmann in a welterweight fight and Stephan Bonnar vs. Kyle Kingsbury in a light heavyweight scrap.
Arizona's own Ryan Bader looks to get back into the win column at UFC 139. Bader had won 12 in a row before losing in February to eventual UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones. Bader was submitted by Tito Ortiz in his last fight at UFC 132.
Bader's takes on Jason Brilz on the preliminary card at UFC 139. Bader's fight will air live and free on Spike TV at 6 p.m. Arizona time. Bader wrestled at Arizona State and trains in Arizona.
UFC 139 fight card:
Main card (Pay-per-view):
Light Heavyweight: Mauricio Rua vs. Dan Henderson
Middleweight: Wanderlei Silva vs. Cung Le
Bantamweight: Urijah Faber vs. Brian Bowles
Welterweight: Martin Kampmann vs. Rick Story
Light Heavyweight: Stephan Bonnar vs. Kyle Kingsbury
Preliminary card (Spike TV):
Light Heavyweight: Ryan Bader vs. Jason Brilz
Middleweight: Tom Lawlor vs. Chris Weidman
Preliminary card:
Bantamweight: Miguel Torres vs. Nick Pace
Lightweight: Gleison Tibau vs. Rafael dos Anjos
Bantamweight: Michael McDonald vs. Alex Soto
Welterweight: Matt Brown vs. Seth Baczynski
Lightweight: Shamar Bailey vs. Danny Castillo