Dan Henderson

Dan Henderson edged out Rich Franklin to earn the decision yesterday and Mauricio "Shogun" Rua stopped Mark Coleman in the third round after a less than stellar performance.

Henderson defeated Franklin with a split decision even though it was believed by many that a decision would go to Franklin.  Dan did well in the first two rounds catching Franklin with a few big overhand rights.  Franklin came on strong in the third round but could not finish.

Shogun earned a stoppage in his grudge match with Mark Coleman.  Coleman lasted until the third round against Rua despite looking very tired.  Both fighters looked tired at times in a bout in which Rua was expected to easily stop Coleman.  Shogun has not looked like the same dominant fighter that tore through Pride.  His last two fights have been in the UFC and he has gassed pretty heavily in both matches.

Full Fight Card Results for UFC 93

• Dan Henderson defeats Rich Franklin via split decision
• Mauricio "Shogun" Rua defeats Mark Coleman via TKO
• Rousimar Palhares defeats Jeremy Horn via unanimous decision
• Alan Belcher defeats Denis Kang via submission (guillotine choke)
• Marcus Davis defeats Chris Lytle via split decision
• John Hathway defeats Tom Egan via TKO (strikes)
• Martin Kampmann defeats Alexandre Barros via TKO (strikes)
• Eric Schafer defeats Antonio Mendes via TKO (punches)
• Thomasz Drwal defeats Ivan Serati via TKO (punches)
• Dennis Siver defeats Nate Mohr via TKO (strikes)

UFC 93 will take place in Dublin at the O2 Arena.  The main event features Rich Franklin vs. Dan Henderson in a Light Heavyweight matchup that MMA fans are drooling over.  Both have moved to the Light Heavyweight division as it is the only logical thing to do with Anderson Silva stalking the Middleweight division.

UFC 93 Predictions

I have listed the UFC 93 fight card already so now I will list my predictions for UFC 93.  I did not do so hot for my last set of predictions for UFC 92 so let's see how I fare this time around.

We will start with the main event featuring Dan Henderson vs. Rich Franklin.

I don't think Hendersons striking is on par with Rich Franklin.  Dan has a ton of power to his punches but they are very slow and tend to be easy to spot.  Hendersons main strength in striking is his ability to take a punch.  Dans strategy should be to grind out a decision with his wrestling and take downs.  His clinch is top notch and, if he can get in close, he should be able to take Franklin down.

Rich Franklin is very much still a threat on his feet against anyone.  He doesn't have a ton of power behind his strikes but they do wear on opponents.  They will probably not wear on Henderson the same way though.  Frankins game plan should be to avoid the take downs of  Henderson and try to wear Dan out on his feet by out-striking him and winning a decision on his feet.

I predict Rich Franklin via decision.

The other bout on this card drawing a lot of attention is Shogun Rua vs Mark Coleman.  The two faced off before in Pride where Coleman won  after Shogun dislocated his elbow.

Mauricio "Shogun" Rua is a very highly ranked Light Heavyweight who has defeated top-ranked opponents in the past, including ex-light heavyweight champ, Rampage Jackson.  He is a very tenacious fighter who has black belts in both muay-thai and brazilian jiu jitsu.  His game plan should be to run through Coleman very quickly and earn a quick TKO.

Coleman is at the tail end of a Hall of Fame career.  He is a pioneer of mixed martial arts but has not fared to weel recently in his bouts.  Expect Coleman to look for a something similar to his last bout with Shogun to win the fight and avoid Ruas ferocious striking.

I predict Shogun by some sort of devastating strikes in the first round.

Rich Franklin

UFC 93 Main Event

UFC 93: Franklin vs. Henderson is the UFC's next event in Dublin, Ireland at the O2 Arena.  This will be a pay-per-view event.

The main event features a highly anticipated matchup between Rich "Ace" Franklin and Dan "Hendo" Henderson.  This is an exciting bout as it is Rich's second in the Light Heavyweight division this year and Henderson's first back at 205 since his loss to Quinton Jackson.  Rich last defeated Matt Hamill at UFC 88 and Dan recently defeated Rousimar Palhares at UFC 88 also.

Both Rich Franklin and Dan Henderson are top ranked MMA fighters and should put on a great fight.  I expect Rich to do what he can to keep this fight standing and look to outstrike Henderson.  Henderson should try to use his wrestling to stay inside of Rich and get the fight to the ground.

Main Card

Dan Henderson vs. Rich Franklin
Mark Coleman vs. Mauricio "Shogun" Rua
Alan Belcher vs. Denis Kang
Jeremy Horn vs. Rousimar Palhares
Marcus Davis vs. Chris Lytle

The main card also features a rematch from pride between Mark Coleman and Mauricio "Shogun" Rua.  Coleman hasn't fought since a loss to Fedor Emelianenko in Pride in 2006.  Shogun last at fought UFC 76 and lost to Forrest Griffin.  In their first matchup, Mark Coleman beat Shogun after Shogun broke his arm during the bout.

Another fight to look out for is Marcus Davis vs. Chris Lytle.  Both are heavy hitters with fast hands.

Preliminary Card

Alexandre Barros vs. Martin Kampmann
Antonio Mendes vs. Eric Schafer
Thomasz Drwal vs. Ivan Serati
Tom Egan vs. John Hathaway
Denis Siver vs. Nate Mohr

Rich Franklin and Dan Henderson will headline UFC 93: Franklin Vs. Henderson.  This is a dream fight for UFC fans as both these fighters are very respected and trying to make a run in the extremely volatile UFC Light Heavyweight division.  Also on tap for the maincard is a Light Heavyweight rematch between the very exciting Mauricio "Shogun" Rua and the very first UFC Heavyweight Champion, Mark "The Hammer" Coleman.

The Franklin-Henderson bout is one mma fans have been itching to see for a while.  Both Franklin and Henderson have been involved in legendary matchups.  Rich Franklin has moved up to Light Heavyweight having not been able to find an answer for Anderson Silva.  He recently defeated Matt Hamill in convincing fashion.  Franklin is an excellent striker and has uncanny strength.  Dan Henderson is coming off a recent win against Rousimar Palhares and losses to Anderson Silva and Quinton Jackson, both being Title losses.  Henderson has a big right hand that he used to knockout Wanderlei Silva and has world class Greco Roman wrestling.

The rest of the card for UFC 93 has yet to be finalized.  UFC Event Tickets may still be found for this event.

The UFC put on a great event for UFC 88:Breakthrough this past Saturday.  Chuck Liddell faced Rashad Evans in the main event of the night where Liddell was favored to win.  Evans was able to knock Liddell out in stunning fashion in the second round with a beautiful overhand right.  It was the best single punch knockout I have witnessed. Liddell was out cold immediately and was saved by Herb Dean before Rashad could do anymore damage.

Rich Franklin managed to pick apart up-and-comer Matt Hamill for a TKO in the third round.  "The Hammer" seemed out-classed by the experienced Franklin even though it was Franklins first fight at 205 in several years.  Hammil did not have an answer for Franklin's take down defense or Franklin's striking.  Matt succumbed to a liver kick late in the third round.

Dan Henderson had his first win in the Octogan since his return beating Rousimar Palhares via uninamous decision.  Henderson came out and executed a conservative gameplan keeping the fight standing for the majority of the bout and not allowing the very dangerous Palhares to get him to the canvas to often.