A Reign Supreme - Silva Submits Hendo in Two
Source: UFC
Mar 2, 2008 - 8:12:29 AM
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After his sixth straight UFC victory without a loss, a string that has seen him show new wrinkles to his game with each passing outing (none of which have gone past the second round), UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva has reached the point in his career where competition is not measured by how many fights he wins or loses, but by how many rounds he loses.
Tonight in the highly anticipated UFC 82 main event at the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio, Silva lost the first round to PRIDE 183-pound champion Dan Henderson. In round two, Silva turned up the heat and finished Henderson with a rear naked choke.
Game over and another victory for the most dominant fighter in the game today.
“My hat’s off to Anderson Silva,” said a gracious Henderson. “He was definitely the better fighter tonight. I controlled him well and beat him up a little bit in that first round and he came back ready to get after me in that second round. He dazed me a little bit on the ground and he got me in the choke.”
The opening seconds were tense as Henderson moved forward behind probing kicks to the leg. Silva fired back with a leg kick of his own 70 seconds into the bout, but a brief follow-up exchange produced no fireworks. As the bout approached the three minute mark, Silva was trying to work his kicks, but it was Henderson who broke the ice scoring wise with a takedown. Silva did his best to keep Henderson tied up as the Californian fired off a series of hammerfists at close range, and with under 30 seconds left Henderson briefly got into side control before ending up in Silva’s guard by round’s end.
Silva came out with more urgency in the second round, firing off kicks that Henderson was able to brush off with little difficulty. Henderson fired back with some haymakers, but while Silva waved his foe on, the close exchanges allowed Henderson to grab hold of ‘The Spider’ and tie him up against the fence. Once the two separated, Henderson landed with a couple of hard strikes, but Silva responded with a right knee to the head that appeared to jar ‘Hendo’. Henderson looked for the takedown, but Silva jumped into the top position and tried to land a finisher. As the round entered its final two minutes, Henderson’s head was clear, but Silva was actively working, and with under a minute to go, the UFC champion got his foe’s back and sunk in a rear naked choke. Henderson valiantly tried to fight it off and make it to the end of the round, but at the 4:52 mark he was forced to tap out.
With the win, Silva ups his record to 21-4, which includes six wins without a loss in the UFC. Henderson falls to 22-7.
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