Due to a scheduling mix-up, Fox Sports 1 will be broadcasting a motocross event this Saturday (No word on whether or not the event is just Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone jumping dirtbikes on his ranch for five hours). This means that UFC Fight Night 38: Rua versus Henderson 2 is going to be on Sunday, March 23. This is a terrible idea because I rarely wake up before noon on Sundays. Accommodate me, you multi-billion dollar entity! The With Leather family has made their Fight Night 38 picks and predictions, so take a look at those and drop your own in the comments. Let’s dive into these fights and sort out what’s what!
The early prelims are on the Fight Pass system, starting at 4:00 PM ET. Just two fights, and I’ve only heard of one out of the four competitors. I am interested in finding out more about this NOAD LAHAT character because I’m a sucker for a weird name.
After those fights, the action moves to Fox Sports 1 with the standard prelims at 5:00 PM ET. The best looking fight is the flyweight scrap between Jussier “Formiga” da Silva and Scott “Young Guns” Jorgensen. Both guys have some recent losses, so I’m wondering if this is a loser leaves town match. These prelims were supposed to feature Diego Brandao destroying Will Chope because sometimes UFC match makers Sean Shelby and Joe Silva just like to smash their toys together while making explosion sounds, but Chope isn’t with the company amymore.
We stay on Fox Sports 1 for the main card, which starts at 7:00 PM ET. I’m not seeing any spectacular fights, but there are several dudes I enjoy watching on this portion. I’m always down for a North Caucasus guy, and as a Chechen, Mairbek “Beckan” Taisumov fights that bill quite nicely. Fabio Maldonado, with his penchant for body shots and willingness to get punched in the face a bunch to deliver them, is another favorite of mine. The co-main event features Clarence Byron Dolloway’s dumb face against Cezar Ferreira, who I recently learned was adopted off the streets by Vitor Belfort. I’m not sure if Antonio Silva served as his wet nurse, but you can’t rule out that possibility.
The main event of the evening is a rematch of one of the greatest fights in the history of UFC. Back in 2011, Mauricio “Shogun” Rua and Dan “Hollywood H-Bomb Big Right Hand” Henderson faced off in the main event of UFC 139. What followed was 25 straight minutes of glorious head trauma as both men were nearly finished at different points during the fight. Henderson won a contentious unanimous 48-47 decision (Many thought it should have been a draw, but MMA judges are terrible. Now, two years later, both men are older, with even less cardio, and Dan Henderson is fresh off his first ever knockout loss. It should be a good fight, but I’m not expecting it to come close to that magical night back in November 2011.
Not to get all Reed “Fightnomics” Kuhn on y’all, but here’s an interesting tidbit I discovered about this card: Of the 24 fighters on this card, 13 are coming off losses, with five of the twelve bouts featuring loser versus loser.
