Sherdog’s Top 10: Five-Round Fights

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2. Dan Henderson vs. Mauricio Rua
UFC 139
Nov. 19, 2011 | San Jose, Calif.
There must have been something in the air on Nov. 19, 2011, the night on which Eddie Alvarez and Michael Chandler went to war for the Bellator lightweight crown in one of the best fights of the year. On that same night, Henderson and Rua faced off in the second five-round, non-title main event in Ultimate Fighting Championship history, and the fight demonstrated precisely why elite MMA deserves a full 25 minutes.

Rua, one of the sport’s original youthful phenoms, came back from a series of devastating knee injuries to knock out Lyoto Machida and claim the UFC light heavyweight title. He ran into a next-generation up-and-comer in the form of future great Jon Jones, who beat him like a drum to take the belt in March 2011. “Shogun” rebounded with a devastating knockout win over Forrest Griffin to set up a fight with Henderson, who returned from a legendary run in Strikeforce that included wins over Renato Sobral, Rafael Cavalcante and all-time great Fedor Emelianenko. The bout profiled as a slobberknocker of epic proportions, and it did not disappoint.

Henderson came out strong in the first round, measuring the distance for only a little while before capitalizing on a scramble with a front choke attempt. When Rua stood back up against the fence, Henderson dropped a 14-strike flurry that bloodied and bruised the former champion and set the tone for the entire bout. The rest of the round went back and forth, shot for shot, until Rua blasted Henderson with a right hand behind the ear that buckled the venerable American. Henderson came right back, however, and clearly took round one.

All of that happened in the opening frame. The second was closer, but Henderson landed the harder and cleaner shots throughout, including a brutal uppercut that snapped Rua’s head back and nearly sent it flying into the rafters. The third opened with more 50-50 exchanges, until Henderson slammed home a flush right hand that sent Rua tumbling to the canvas and the Brazilian nearly went out. Somehow, he survived and came roaring back, tying up Henderson in the clinch before taking him down and landing a series of hard shots.

Both men were clearly exhausted when they came out for the fourth round. It went back and forth, but Rua succeeded in taking down Henderson three times and passing to dominant positions. In the fifth, the American had absolutely nothing left in the tank. “Shogun” took him down and stayed on top for the entire round, blasting him with hard shots from half guard and the mount, but Henderson managed to survive to the final bell and pull out a decision.

Was it the cleanest, most technical fight in history? Absolutely not. It was, however, an incredible display of heart, will and sheer toughness from two fighters who were clearly left diminished from the brutality of it. Few fights of any length have ever been able to match it, but it was the last two rounds that made it a true classic. Long live the five-round fight.

Number 1 » Edgar vs. Maynard