The main event of UFC 161: "Evans vs. Henderson" tonight (Sat., June 15, 2013) at the MTS Centre in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, featured Rashad Evans and Dan Henderson squaring off in a battle to remain relevant in the light heavyweight division. Both have had prior chances at the gold in their respective weight class and a loss here would likely mean never challenging for said championship ever again.
Evans decided to stay aggressive in the third, pushing in with left and right hands and landing some relatively big punches that had the iron-chinned "Hendo" backing up. If nothing else, the sheer volume of strikes was effective in giving Rashad the edge.
Henderson's lack of energy became a real hindrance here. Evans was landing the more meaningful offense on top of implementing his game plan and even effectively controlling the Octagon.
You know that old outdated method of scoring or whatever.
Evans spent much of the remainder of the round simply controlling the action by pushing "Hendo" up against the cage and dirty boxing with him, getting the better of the exchanges there. His younger body held up much better, and had this been a five-round battle, it likely would have been even more emphatic.
Henderson swung hard with that big right hand just before the bell but it missed and that seemed to signal the end for him.
The judges ultimately scored it for Evans via split decision.
For complete "Evans vs. Henderson" results and coverage click here, and for complete UFC 161 results and blow-by-blow coverage of all the night's action click here.