The two competed in the first five-round non-title fight since the UFC added the new five-round rule to any main event, and in the end, Henderson managed to narrowly out-point Rua for a unanimous decision.

It appeared that Henderson would end the fight early as he landed some big right hands on Rua, but the former UFC champion survived and pushed the fight into the later rounds where Henderson became exhausted. The final seven minutes were all Rua, but it was too little, too late, as Henderson had done enough to win 48-47 on all three judges’ scorecards.

The win pushes Henderson into the top 5 of the UFC light heavyweight division, but an immediate rematch with Rua may be in order due to the reaction from the fans and UFC brass on the fight itself.

In the co-main event, Wanderlei Silva proved he is still dangerous as he beat Cung Le by TKO in the second round in a middleweight contest.

Early in the fight it looked as if Silva may not get out of the first round, as he took a number of big kicks and punches from Le, but he survived and then came out aggressive in the second round. Silva caught Le with a big right hand and then followed up with some devastating knees in the clinch that led to the stoppage.

While Silva still has a long way to go to be near the title picture, he still remains a relevant fighter in the UFC.

In bantamweight action, Urijah Faber defeated Brian Bowles by guillotine choke in the second round to earn another title shot at Dominick Cruz. Faber controlled the fight from the start, as his hand speed and diverse striking were too much for Bowles to deal with.

For complete UFC 139 results (courtesy of MMAMania.com), check out the jump.

UFC 139 Results

Saturday, Nov. 19

HP Pavilion, San Jose, California

205 lbs.: Dan Henderson defeats Mauricio Rua via Unanimous Decision

185 lbs.: Wanderlei Silva defeats Cung Le via TKO (Strikes) Round 2

135 lbs.: Urijah Faber defeats Brian Bowles via Submission (Guillotine Choke) Round 2

205 lbs.: Stephan Bonnar defeats Kyle Kingsbury via Unanimous Decision

170 lbs.: Martin Kampmann defeats Rick Story via Split Decision

205 lbs.: Ryan Bader defeats Jason Brilz via TKO (Strikes) Round 1

135 lbs.: Michael McDonald defeats Alex Soto via TKO (Strikes) Round 1

185 lbs.: Chris Weidman def Tom Lawlor via submission (d’arce choke) at 2:07 of round one

155 lbs.: Gleison Tibau def Rafael Dos Anjos via split decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)

135 lbs.: Miguel Torres def Nick Pace via unanimous decision (30-27 by all three judges)

170 lbs.: Seth Baczynski def Matt Brown via submission (guillotine choke) at 0:42 of round two

155 lbs.: Danny Castillo def. Shamar Bailey via TKO (strikes) at 4:52 of round one

The long-awaited rematch between Dominick Cruz and Urijah Faber is now set for UFC 132.

UFC officials announced the bout on Saturday. UFC 132 takes place July 2 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas.
The Cruz/Faber bantamweight title bout will serve as the main event for the card, the first time former WEC lighter-weight stars will serve in that capacity for a UFC event.

Cruz and Faber first met at WEC 26, where Faber submitted Cruz in just over one minute. It was the only loss of Cruz’s career. Since that time, Cruz has gone on an eight-fight winning streak and captured the WEC (now UFC) bantamweight championship.

The rivalry between Cruz and Faber has blossomed since their first meeting, with the normally-affable Cruz saying that Cruz is one of the few people in the sport that he genuinely doesn’t like. The feeling is mutual for Cruz.

The two fighters were rumored to coach The Ultimate Fighter, but that’s not the case.

Read more MMA headlines.

PHIL DAVIS IS STILL GROWING
In the wake of Jon Jones’s tremendous rush to the top of the UFC light heavyweight division, a lot of people are expecting a similar quick climb for Davis. If his performance Saturday night is any indication, he’ll get there, but it shouldn’t be any time soon.

Davis is a tremendous talent with a very bright future, but he’s far from being a finished product. Earning a good win over Antonio Rogerio Nogueira is another step in the right direction, but showed that the former national champion’s striking is still a work in progress.

Some may frame his win Saturday night as a sign that the hype surrounding Davis is a little too much, but to me it as simply indicative of something Davis told me earlier in the week: he’s still green.

As he continues to develop, Davis will become a very dangerous part of the 205-pound division. I just hope people give him time to get there at his own pace.

Read the full list of 10.

UFC Light Heavyweight Championship: Mauricio “Shogun” Rua (19-4) vs. Jon Jones (12-1) – This fight is tough to call. Jones seems like he is an unstoppable force coming in, and is actually favored by oddsmakers. However, this is the biggest fight of his life on the biggest stage and that could affect him mentally. Shogun has looked good in his wins over Lyoto Machida, but he has been off for 10 months because of a knee injury and his last time fighting off an injury, he looked less than impressive. Shogun will show Jones something he hasn’t seen yet, but I think Jones will return the favor. I think the key to this bout is Jones’ wrestling and I see him controlling Shogun in the early rounds before finishing with ground and pound in the third round.

UFC Bantamweight Bout: Urijah Faber (24-4) vs. Eddie Wineland (18-6-1) – Both fighters were former WEC champions and are now making their UFC debuts. Faber likely earns a title fight with a win and coming in he is clearly the better fighter in terms of all-around skills. I see Faber using his quickness and hand speed to set the tone early and then moving to his grappling and submission fighting late in round two to seal the deal. I like Faber by choke in the second.

UFC Lightweight Bout: Jim Miller (19-2) vs. Kamal Shalorus (7-0-2) – Miller is working his way towards a title fight and in this bout, he faces an unbeaten but untested fighter. Shalorus has the better striking, but Miller had a good chin and a relentless attack with his grappling. I look for him to control the fight for the last two rounds to earn himself a decision victory.

UFC Middleweight Bout: Nate Marquardt (33-10-2) vs. Dan Miller (13-4) – Marquardt is favored to win and I think he will, but it will be a tough fight. Marquardt has struggled with wrestlers over recent years and Miller is a solid wrestler. The difference is that Miller is not as strong as some of the other wrestlers Marquardt has stumbled against and I think that will be the deciding factor in this fight. Marquardt will be able to avoid the ground more often due to his strength advantage and his striking and takedown ability will allow him to earn a close decision.

UFC Heavyweight Bout: Mirko Cro Cop (27-8-2) vs. Brendan Schaub (8-1) – This should be an entertaining fight between strikers, but in the end, I like Schaub by TKO as Cro Cop just does not have the explosiveness he once had. He has struggled against strikers in his UFC career, and I see this being no different. Look for Schaub to land some heavy punches in the second round that will finish the PRIDE legend.

10. Chris Leben vs. Mike Swick: WEC 9 (1/16/2004)
One year prior to becoming household names on the original cast of “The Ultimate Fighter,” Chris Leben and Mike Swick went to war in this WEC classic. At the time, the WEC wasn’t owned by Zuffa. The sport itself was struggling for mainstream acceptance.
After an action-packed first round, these two strikers stood in the pocket and traded punches until Leben dropped Swick with a thunderous left hand to become the first WEC middleweight champion. Leben would then vacate the belt to take part in the very first TUF and the rest is history.

9. Mike Brown vs. Urijah Faber: WEC 36 (11/5/2008)
“The California Kid” Urijah Faber was (and still is) the face of the WEC. When Zuffa purchased the organization in 2006, Faber was their most marketable asset and also a dominant champion at 145 lbs.
With five consecutive title defenses under his belt, Faber was considered as close to untouchable as one could get. But his invincible mystique would come to an end at the hands of Mike Brown, who not only defeated Faber, but knocked him out in the very first round to claim the featherweight championship.

Check out the rest of the top 10.

The decorated former WEC featherweight champion is making the move down to bantamweight, beginning tonight with his main event bout at WEC 52 against Takeya Mizugaki from the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas.

I had a chance to catch up with the MMA legend as he gears up for Mizugaki.

During the interview Faber discusses his change in weight, the WEC/UFC merger, and what’s in his future. Enjoy.

The Scores Report: Well Urijah, it is fight week, how are you feeling?

Urijah Faber: I feel great. I am just working on getting my weight down. I am within striking distance now. I am walking around about 7 or 8 pounds over. (Faber weighed in at 136 pounds for his 135-pound fight on Wednesday night).

TSR: What has the weight cut been like? You have been fighting at featherweight for a while now and really haven’t had a strenuous cut as you have for this fight.

UF: It’s going better. My body feels great. I have been doing the cut steadily over the last few months. It has kind of been the opposite for me because before I was doing what I could to keep food in and stay heavy and now I am trying to eat lighter and lose weight. Initially the weight was easy to lose but the closer you get to 135, the harder the pounds are to shed. When I went through the practice cut, the last few pounds were pretty tough.

TSR: Do you notice anything different with your abilities at this lighter weight?

UF: I feel like my grappling is at a whole new level. When I competed in wrestling I always competed at 133 pounds, so being at this weight to fight, I feel like my skills are where I need them to be. I feel like I have great conditioning already and I feel faster and even stronger.

TSR: This fight with Mizugaki was originally scheduled for WEC 50 back in August but you had to pull out with a knee injury. Have you fully recovered from that injury?

UF: Yeah. My health is great and I am 100 percent. I have made a full recovery. It took about six weeks and even when I was recovering, I could still train and just not use the injured leg, so I was able to stay in great shape.

TSR: Give me your thoughts on your opponent. What do you feel he does well?

UF: His strength is his stand up. He has good hands and he has god takedown defense and submission defense. He has a couple decent takedowns too. The guy has a ton of heart too and he is not an easy guy to get past, but I think I have better all-around skills and will be comfortable wherever the fight goes.

TSR: The UFC recently announced it would be absorbing the WEC and its roster in 2011. What do you think of that decision and where were you when you heard the news?

UF: I basically got a call from manager at MMA INC. Had all us guys from Team Alpha Male on a conference call and told us what was going on. We were all stoked. We all went to practice that day on cloud nine. The implications for exposure and notoriety and pay all go up so much by becoming part of the UFC.

TSR: Was there a feeling that the WEC was the little brother to the UFC prior to the merger?

UF: I think the WEC was at a different level than the UFC because of budgets. The WEC was something new that was trying to be built into something big and that was great to be part of, but the UFC is an established company with a bigger budget. When you think of the UFC and everything they do in terms of production and putting on shows, they are the place to be and it is really exciting for us to be part of that now.

TSR: Now that merger is happening has it changed your career plans or goals?

UF: I am always establishing goals for myself but when I first started my goal was to be a UFC or PRIDE champion. Well, PRIDE is long gone, but now I have the opportunity to be a UFC champion with new move and that is exciting and I can’t wait to get in there and spend 5 or 6 years adding to my career and establishing myself in the octagon.

TSR: Your training partners Joseph Benavidez and Chad Mendes are also fighting on this fight card. What is it like when you are all training to fight on the same night?

UF: It is great. The energy in the gym is awesome. We have a bunch of up-and-coming guys that are also preparing for upcoming cards and some guys that are getting ready to tryout for The Ultimate Fighter, so we have a gym full of motivated guys that are pushing each other and really making us all better.

TSR: You are one of the big faces behind the recent AMP surge into MMA. What is it like to be sponsored by AMP and really be the face of the company in terms of MMA?

UF: AMP Energy and Pepsi have been awesome. They make me feel part of the team and they do a lot of cool stuff for fans. They did the “Hometown Takedown” promotion where fans got to vote where a WEC event would be held. Dana White ended up revealing that Arizona had won and now WEC 53 will be taking place there next month. AMP just added Anthony Pettis and he is fighting for the WEC Lightweight title at that event and some lucky fan will get to walk out with him for that event. AMP does a lot of cool things for the fans and they really get behind their fighters and totally support them.

TSR: Anything you would like to say to the fans Urijah?

UF: Just thanks for your support and there are some big things in store for me so stay tuned.

Following his disappointing, yet narrow split-decision loss to Dominick Cruz at WEC 50, Joseph Benavidez was looking to take some time off.

The 135lbs contender had just faced the top bantamweight on the planet, former champion Miguel Torres, and submission ace Rani Yahya all within one year. You could say he deserved a break.

However, when the WEC came calling for the Team Alpha male product to step in for former champion Brian Bowles against Wagnney Fabiano at this month’s WEC 52, Benavidez did not have to think long about cutting his time away from the cage short.

“When the fight came up with Wagnney Fabiano, it was kind of a no brainer,” Benavidez told HeavyMMA today. “I was definitely looking to fight before the end of the year. You know, definitely wanted to get in that third fight of the year. I had already taken some time off, and it’s kind of hard man. I’m just a fighter and when someone offers me a fight, it’s always something I want to do. I’m always training and it always feels like the right decision for me.”

Read the entire article.