Shogun vs. Henderson?

Let's be honest. Last night was the exact same Shogun that first returned to UFC, and lost, to Griffin. Since his return, he either gets his opponent out early or he ends up struggling.

The dude has chronic knee problems. He is significantly limited in training. And his time as an elite fighter has basically passed.

His cardio last night was actually amazing. Despite getting beaten down, he still had more in the tank than Henderson. He recovered quickly after each of Henderson's bombs. The problem is that Rua wasn't sharp with his striking or his reflexes and that can all be linked to not being able to go full speed in sparring.

I feel for the guy because knee injuries really can zap the life out of an athlete.

 

That may explain why he resorted to boxing instead of his brilliant Muay Thai.

 

Don't you kind of get the impression that his knees and kicks are gone now as real weapons?

Last night you saw a guy like Wanderlai Silva, with his oft cracked chin, put together beautiful Muay Thai flurries akin to those he killed Rampage with. Yet Rua no longer can. And it's all because his knees are gone.

I may be wrong but it sure looks that way.

 

Trpl, good point. You're probably right. Wandy is completely shot and yet yes, managed to pull out some solid Muay Thai moves, and yet Rua doesn't/can't.

It would also explain his softness, lack of training etc, he obviously just can't train that hardcore because of his bashed up knees.

I had no idea knees were that fragile and precarious, I'm surprised knee troubles aren't more common in MMA.

 

I said this previously about his knees and everybody was on my ass about it, calling it an excuse.

 

man, i really dont like henderson because he beat some of my favourite fighters, but this guy is an all time great, arguably top 5 best ever. he's possibly the toughest guy ever to beat.

 

He wasn't fat at the weigh in, and he fought 5 hard rounds. Anyone who claims this was not the real shogun is out of thier damn mind. He gassed in 2 rounds against Coleman and this fight was a much faster paced fight.

 

This enhances Jake Shields Legacy.

 

No. He obviously was able to train since his stamina was the best I have seen it in the UFC so far.

 

He was weight-drained for that fight.

 

i meant to say 'finish'. only nog brothers and silva subbed him, right?

 

has henderson had any roid issues in the past? i mean, he wasn't that great when he first came back to UFC and looked mediocre vs. rich franklin, whom i'd imagine would be destroyed by henderson at this point. or perhaps he just wasn't the same at middleweight as he is at light heavy.

 

When did he start using TRT? I would say it's probably a combination of starting the TRT and he's also just better at 205. I don't think Hendo has ever failed a drug test though.