Flashback: Silva beats Hendo in UFC 82 SuperFight
Flashback to 2008, when Anderson Silva defended his belt yet again against Dan Henderson at UFC 82.
UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva lost the first round to PRIDE 183-pound title holder Dan Henderson in their UFC 82 title unification bout, but in round two, Silva turned up the heat and finished Henderson with a rear naked choke to make it game over and another victory for the most dominant fighter in the sport at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio.
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.
Free Fight: Anderson Silva vs Dan Henderson | UFC 82, 2008
Unlock MORE of your inner combat sports fan with UFC Fight Pass! Fighting is what we live for. And no one brings you MORE live fights, new shows, and events across multiple combat sports from around the world. With a never-ending supply of fighting in every discipline, there’s always something new to watch. Leave it to the world’s authority in MMA to bring you the Ultimate 24/7 platform for MORE combat sports, UFC Fight Pass!
Free Fight: Anderson Silva vs Dan Henderson | UFC 82, 2008
/
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.
WATCH ON UFC FIGHT PASS
170-pound standout Josh Koscheck bounced back from his August 2007 loss to Georges St-Pierre in impressive fashion, stopping up and comer Dustin Hazelett in the second round.
WATCH ON UFC FIGHT PASS
Welterweight contender Diego “Nightmare” Sanchez broke a two fight losing streak in style, forcing Octagon newcomer David Bielkheden to tap out due to strikes late in the first round of a scheduled three rounder.
WATCH ON UFC FIGHT PASS
After a slow start, former UFC heavyweight champion Andrei Arlovski kicked his game into gear in the second round, stopping previously unbeaten Jake O’Brien to score his third straight victory and first stoppage since he knocked out Marcio Cruz at UFC 66 in December of 2006.
WATCH ON UFC FIGHT PASS
Florida’s Luigi Fioravanti upped his record to 13-3 in his welterweight bout with Luke Cummo, snapping the two fight winning streak of “The Silent Assassin” with a unanimous decision win while putting his own two fight UFC losing streak to rest.
WATCH ON UFC FIGHT PASS
After a disappointing loss in his home state of Ohio at UFC 77, Cincinnati’s Jorge Gurgel got it right the second time around, earning a three round unanimous decision win over John Halverson.
WATCH ON UFC FIGHT PASS
Following a debut year in the UFC that saw him struggle to a 1-2 record in 2007, Heath Herring got 2008 off to a much better start, using some heavy shots standing and on the ground to earn a close three round split decision win over Cheick Kongo.
WATCH ON UFC FIGHT PASS
Yushin Okami paved the way for a rematch against middleweight champion Anderson Silva with an emphatic second round stoppage of comebacking former 185-pound champion Evan Tanner.
WATCH ON UFC FIGHT PASS
It’s been eight UFC fights and eight wins for welterweight contender Jon Fitch, and though his victory over Octagon newcomer Chris Wilson saw the San Jose resident survive some hard strikes and a late triangle choke attempt, his unanimous decision win put him firmly in line for a world title shot.
WATCH ON UFC FIGHT PASS
Many expected the bout between middleweights Chris Leben and Alessio Sakara to be an all-out slugfest, and it lived up to expectations, with Leben’s better chin and heavy hands proving to be the difference as he stopped “Legionarius” in the first round.
WATCH ON UFC FIGHT PASS
