UFC Fight Night 38 Bonus Report: Rua, Henderson and Pepey Take Home Extra $50,000

Fight of the Night: Shogun Rua vs. Dan Henderson
We were treated to another light-heavyweight classic by these two men. Shogun Rua was in control of the action in rounds one and two and everybody thought it was only a matter of time before Dan Henderson couldn’t intelligently defend himself anymore. Rua dropped Henderson in round one and almost ended the fight, but Henderson was able to make it to the end of the round. Henderson was once again introduced to the mat by Rua’s brutal uppercut but quickly recovered and made it to round three. After separating from a clinch, Henderson blasted Rua’s nose with a right hand and followed up with several additional shots to the head which led to the end of the fight. Herb Dean waved it off and Rua fell to his back wincing in pain.

Performance of the Night: Dan Henderson
Dan Henderson showed great determination in his fight tonight. Herb Dean was close to waving off the fight in the first round and whether it was instinct or he was actually conscious, Henderson defended himself and made it to the second round. He adapted to the strategy of Rua and started landing more shots until he was dropped by an uppercut. Despite being dropped twice, Henderson stuck to his gameplan and waited for a hole to appear in Rua’s offense and it presented itself in the third round. Henderson punched Rua’s nose into the back of his head and ultimately picked up the win.

Performance of the Night: Godofredo Pepey
Godofredo Pepey showed the UFC fan-base why it would be smart for them to subscribe to UFC Fight Pass. Unfortunately for the UFC, they decided to give the fight away for free on Fox Sports 1. Pepey and Lahat were having a back and forth contest until Pepey landed a beautiful flying knee. Lahat was out before he even hit the canvas and Pepey landed an additional shot for good measure.