• UFC 139

Family Pride on the line for Shogun at UFC 139

ESPN staff
November 17, 2011
Mauricio Shogun Rua is fighting for family pride at UFC 139 against Dan Henderson © UFC
Enlarge

Almost 10 years to the day since Dan Henderson defeated his brother at Pride 17, Mauricio Shogun Rua goes looking for revenge when the pair clash at UFC 139 this weekend.

Henderson and Murilo Ninja Rua produced a classic bout back in 2001; going the full three rounds before Henderson was given a split decision victory.

Since then Henderson and Shogun have both become world champions, becoming two of the biggest names on the Pride scene before later earning Strikeforce and UFC belts respectively.

Strangely the pair never collided during their Pride years though, so Saturday's showdown is one for the ages. Shogun admits he may have the not-so-secret weapon in San Jose, utilising his brother's experience to study Henderson's weaknesses.

"Certainly that was a great fight," Shogun recalled to MMA Fighting. "I watched that fight between my brother and Henderson a number of times. It was a very competitive fight.

"My brother is one of the people who helped me a lot with my strategy for Dan. I hope to impose my game plan, knowing it's going to be a tough fight with a great fighter. That was a great fight and I have good memories of it."

Henderson v Rua headlines a stacked card at UFC 139, also featuring Wanderlei Silva v Cung Le, Urijah Faber v Brian Bowles and Martin Kampmann v Rick Story.

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
Close

ABOUT COOKIES

To help make this website better, to improve and personalize your experience and for advertising purposes, are you happy to accept cookies and other technologies.

More Info Here Cookie Choices