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First round: Crowd cheered Henderson wildly. Silva got a loud but mixed reaction. Most were giving him a standing ovation. USA chant for Henderson. Nothing happened in the first minute causing some boos. Henderson connected with a right. Silva with a low kick and a high kick. Silva with another high kick to the face. Henderson shrugged it off. Henderson blocked another high kick. Henderson with a bodylock and takedown. Henderson with a few hammer punches to the side of the head. No serious damage in the blows but they are the only offense. A Hard elbow by Henderson. Henderson kept throwing hammer blows while caught in half guard. Henderson got side control and threw elbows . Silva regained guard and held Henderson in a body triangle. Henderson’s round 10-9.
Second round: Silva connected with a hard kick. Henderson tried a takedown but Silva got on top. Henderson back to his feet. Henderson grabbed a body lock. The two were trading punches. A hard knee by Silva. More trading. Henderson is down. Silva on top scored with an elbow. Silva throwing good body blows while on top. Silva got Henderson’s back. Henderson tried an elbow block. Silva throwing punches to the side of the head. Henderson spun around and Silva threw elbows. More punches and elbows to the side of Henderson’s head. Henderson is in trouble as Silva went for a choke with time running out in the round. He clamped it on fully and Henderson had no choice but to tap out in 4:52 of round two.
Heavyweights: Heath Herring (28-13, 1 NC) def. Cheick Kongo (11-4-1), split decision
Judges’ scores: 29-28 Herring, 29-28 Kongo, 29-28 Herring
Key Moment/Turning point: Herring hit Kongo with a jarring series of knees to the ribs and obliques in the second round while working from side control.
Analysis: A strangely compelling fight that featured highlight-reel action mixed in with frustrating stretches of inactivity on the ground. Herring came out in the first round and dropped Kongo with a right at the outset, but Kongo neutralized Herring on the ground for much of the rest of the round en route to winning the round. It was more of the same to start the second round, as Kongo, who has strong striking skills and great power but no ground game, couldn’t do anything with his advantage on the ground. Herring drilled a standing Kongo with a nasty upkick. The next time they hit the ground, Herring gained side control and launched his nasty series of knees. Kongo got Herring in a rear naked choke early in the second round, but Herring took control, downed Kongo, and worked him over on the mat for the rest of the fight. It was the most impressive win of Herring’s UFC tenure, as he rebounded from a loss to Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira at UFC 73. Kongo has hit a plateau and clearly needs to develop ground skills if he is going to become a legitimate title contender.
Middleweights: Chris Leben (18-4) def. Alessio Sakara (16-7, 1 no contest)
How: TKO, 3:16 of the first round.
Key moment/turning point: The entire match was a slugfest, with Sakara’s more disciplined striking connecting more than Leben’s wild swinging. Sakara had rocked Leben with a punch when Leben responded with the left that crumpled Sakara.
Analysis: This match was put on the main card with the idea it would be a slugfest between a boxer and a slugger. It delivered, with it being the second best match on the show thus far (behind Koscheck-Hazelett). Both men were throwing and kicking from start-to-finish. Sakara was getting the better of it, to the point Leben once went for a takedown. Leben, with a reputation for having an iron jaw, was stunned a few times in the short fight.
Thank you Yahoo Sports!
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