Decision Dan strikes again

January 18, 2009

Dan Henderson earned a spot opposite Michael Bisping as coaches on the next season of the Ultimate Fighter reality show with a split-decision victory over Rich Franklin in the main event of UFC 93 last night in Ireland.

Two judges scored the bout 29-28 for Henderson while the other had it 30-27 in favor of Franklin. I agreed with the first two judges, giving Henderson the first two rounds with Franklin winning the third.

Franklin had a bad cut open above his eye after the two clashed heads in round 1. Then, in the third round, with Franklin earning a little momentum as he began to go to work with his jab, Henderson accidently poked the former middleweight champion in the eye, causing a delay. In the end, it looked like Franklin was beginning to find his range, but it was too little too late.

Mauricio “Shogun” Rua was sloppy in getting his first win inside the Octagon, beating an over-the-hill Mark Coleman in the co-main event. After the initial onslaught, Coleman was gassed after 2 minutes, but it still took Rua into the final minute of the fight before winning by TKO. After the fight, UFC President Dana White announced that Rua will fight Chuck Liddell in Canada later this year.

Other notable winners include Alan Belcher, who submitted Denis Kang, and Marcus Davis, who earned a warrior-like decision victory over Chris Lytle.

Posted in Fights