(Image Source: MMA Fighting)

BY ADNAN S. KHAN

ANCHOR LAUREN ZIMA

UFC President Dana White is calling it the Ali vs. Frasier III of the UFC. Fox Sports agrees- saying Saturday night’s 25-minute, non-title slugfest between Dan ‘Hendo’ Henderson and Mauricio ‘Shogun’ Rua is one for the books.

“... [the] fact that both fighters were taken to the hospital immediately afterward gives credence to how much it took out of both of them, … it’s easy to think that this war of attrition will wind up taking time off the end of both men’s careers the same way the ‘Thrilla in Manilla’ seemed to do to Ali and Frazier.”

Henderson dominated the first two rounds with Rua returning the favor in the last two. But round three was the decider -- and the subject of controversy. Henderson dropped Rua with his trademark right hook, then delivered a half a minute of ground and pound. He expressed his surprise to UFC.com that the ref didn’t stop the fight.

Henderson: “Should’ve won that round too. I (expletive) hit him as hard as I could. I hit him as hard and clean as I have hit anybody.
Coach: “You see, I tell you what, Shogun got a (expletive) chin.”
 

To be fair, in the same round, Shogun, in his semi-conscious state, nearly caught Henderson in an ankle lock. ESPN UK reports Shogun thought the fight was a draw and is looking forward to a rematch. He said:
 

“I’m going to rest with my family now and take care of myself … Then I’m going to go back and look at the tapes. I want a rematch and I think this would be another great battle and one the fans would definitely want to see.”
 

The win, which was Hendo’s first UFC fight since 2009, has cleared a path for him to a title shot. He’s eyeing both Jon Jones in the light-heavyweight division and Anderson Silva in the middleweight division. RantSports says Hendo is the top contender for any title fight.

“Henderson is 41, so his window for title opportunities is closing … Henderson does have a decent claim to a title shot: Evans has won once in the last 20 months (Tito Ortiz) and Machida has won once in the last 25 months (Randy Couture).  In contrast, Hendo has 4 wins in the last 12 months with 3 finishes.”

Dana White said the fight was one of the top three in MMA history. The next fight on fans’ brains  - UFC 140, where Jon ‘Bones’ Jones, the current light-heavyweight champ,  takes on the dragon himself -- Lyoto Machida -- on December 10.