Viewpoint: ‘Shogun’ Deserved 10-8 Fifth

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It may sound cliche, but Dan Henderson and Mauricio “Shogun” Rua left it all in the arena at UFC 139 on Saturday. By the time their five-round classic inside the HP Pavilion in San Jose, Calif., had concluded, neither man had the energy to answer questions at a post-fight press conference. Instead, both fighters were ushered to the hospital to receive treatment for the exhaustion and ailments that only 25 minutes of all-out exertion in the Octagon could warrant.

It was the type of bout in which Mike Goldberg’s statement proclaiming “this is the greatest bout in UFC history” wasn’t so easily dismissed as the analyst’s usual bit of hyperbole. If you watched it live, you made sure to text or call those who didn’t. If you weren’t able to catch the historic bout as it happened, you’re damn sure thinking about ordering the encore.

When a fight features as much memorable ebb and flow as the clash between “Hendo” and “Shogun” did, sometimes important details get swept aside so as not to tarnish the moment; details such as scoring and when to properly apply a 10-8 tally in a round of dominance. In reality, the first-ever meeting between the two former Pride Fighting Championships competitors should have been a draw. There is plenty of time to debate where the bout ranks in the annals of the UFC and mixed martial arts. It’s possible that Rua-Henderson might not even have been the best fight from Saturday night: Michael Chandler and Eddie Alvarez staged an epic back-and-forth battle of their own at Bellator 58 in Hollywood, Fla. That’s an argument for another day.

Instead of discussing whether Henderson should fight for the 185- or 205-pound belt in the near future, we should be considering the merits of a rematch between Henderson, the former Strikeforce light heavyweight champion, and Rua, the former UFC light heavyweight champion.

“This is one of those tough fights,” UFC President Dana White said at the post-fight press conference. “You give Henderson the first three rounds, you give Shogun four and you give Shogun [a] 10-8 in the last round for a dominant round. It’s a draw; that’s how I scored it, but who the hell am I?”

He wasn’t alone. Two of Sherdog.com’s three unofficial judges had the bout scored 47-47, as well, as did many other major MMA media outlets. While the UFC president is one of the most powerful men in the sport today, he clearly doesn’t share a like mind with a California State Athletic Commission-appointed judge. All three cageside judges for Henderson-Rua -- Steve Morrow, Susan Thomas-Gitlin and Ralph McKnight -- played it safe, giving the winner of each round a 10-9 mark. It’s hard to fault their decision making when awarding the rounds, because it was clear that the first three rounds belonged to Henderson, while Rua finished strong in the fourth and fifth.

However, the criteria for awarding a 10-8 round must come into question. According to MMA’s unified rules, “a round is to be scored as a 10-8 round when a contestant overwhelmingly dominates by striking or grappling in a round.”

By now, serious fans of the sport can recite that criteria by heart, but how easy is it for judges to apply such a vague standard to a fight? After all, it’s difficult enough to differentiate between a 10-8 round and a 10-7 round that asks for a competitor to “totally dominate.” The difference between the words “totally” and “overwhelmingly” seems minimal at best. What was clear is that Rua controlled round five in a way that no other round of the closely contested bout was controlled.

According to FightMetric.com, Shogun outlanded the Team Quest product 26-0 in significant strikes, 79-8 in overall strikes and mounted him five times in the final frame. While overwhelmingly or totally might be in question, dominant was not. Meanwhile, Henderson saw reason for a 10-8 round to be scored in his favor, as well.

“I knew I had the first three [rounds] won easy,” he said. “I thought I had one of those rounds 10-8.”

Not quite. Henderson is referring to the third round, when one of the Californian’s trademark right hands sent Rua tumbling to the canvas. As Hendo followed up with punches on the ground, the situation appeared dire for the Brazilian. Rua somehow recovered, gathered his wits and got the better of Henderson in the second half of the round. Henderson’s knockdown was likely the most damaging punch of the entire fight, but he didn’t control the round. The former two-division Pride champion only connected with four more significant shots than his opponent, while Rua landed the only takedown and attempted the only submission of the period. In trying to finish the fight, Henderson punched himself out and didn’t end with the flourish that would seem to be required of a 10-8 round.

Before the final round began, Henderson’s corner urged him to clinch and avoid exchanges with Rua. That plan didn’t come to fruition, and the Greco-Roman specialist spent the majority of the stanza on his back in full-blown survival mode. In an alternate universe where fights go longer than five rounds, Hendo would have been done.

So why wasn’t Rua given his due for the fifth round? Athletic commissions offer no clear-cut way to determine what truly constitutes dominance in an MMA round, so the risk outweighs the reward for those filling out the scorecards. Anyone awarding a 10-8 round is almost always subjected to instant scrutiny. Ironically, there was one judge who threw caution to the wind at UFC 139. In a bout that didn’t necessarily need it, Jackie Denkin awarded two 10-8 rounds to Stephan Bonnar in his unanimous decision triumph over Kyle Kingsbury. Whether correct or not, at least Denkin wasn’t afraid to be bold.

Talk may center on Henderson getting a title shot at a yet-to-be determined weight class, but middleweight champion Anderson Silva will be on the shelf for a while, and, tough as he is, nothing about Henderson’s performance against Rua suggests he’s ready to topple Jon Jones at light heavyweight. To Rua’s credit, he didn’t lobby for a rematch or complain about the scoring after the fight. Perhaps he was too drained to do so.

“I’ll come back stronger next time,” he said. “I’m sorry.”

In making up one half of one of the most exciting bouts in recent memory, Rua has nothing to be sorry about. His next time in the cage should be against Henderson, too.