• UFC 139

Shogun debates decision, calls for Henderson rematch

Mauricio Shogun Rua believes he earned a 10-8 round in his bout with Dan Henderson at UFC 139 © Getty Images

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Mauricio Shogun Rua has called for a rematch with Dan Henderson after claiming their battle should have been called a draw at UFC 139 on Saturday.

After five rounds of epic action, Henderson walked away with a unanimous 48-47 decision in San Jose, leaving Shogun to take consolation from the Fight of the Night cheque handed out by the UFC.

The whole decision hinged on two rounds, the third and fifth, in the night's main event. Henderson clearly took rounds one and two, while Shogun owned round four.

In the third, Henderson was on the cusp of stopping Rua - arguably earning a 10-8, although the Brazilian rallied to do some good work towards the klaxon - perhaps lessening the damage to a 10-9.

Then, in the fifth, Shogun took Henderson to the mat, mounted him on two occasions and rained down punches - in what looked to the naked eye a clear 10-8 round. In the end, both rounds appeared to be scored 10-9, handing Henderson the victory.

"I don't know how the judges scored the last round," Rua said. "It could have been or should have been a 10-8 round.

"But that doesn't take anything away from Dan Henderson. He is a legend and those are the type of fights that create a legacy."

Undoubtedly the efforts of Shogun and Henderson will long be remembered, but the Brazilian wants to do it all over again in order to gain revenge.

"I'm going to rest with my family now and take care of myself," Rua said. "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."

Shogun's request may fall on deaf ears though, after president Dana White revealed Henderson is heading for title shots against Jon Jones and Anderson Silva.

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