Brazilian jiu-jitsu submission specialist Rousimar Palhares (8-1) has signed a contract to take on Dan Henderson (22-7) in a middleweight bout at UFC 88: “Breakthrough” at the Philips Arena in Atlanta, Ga., on September 6, according to MMAWeekly.com.
“Dangerous Dan” –- with his proven chin and prestigious Greco Roman wrestling pedigree –- was supposed to be the man to derail the seemingly invincible champion, Anderson Silva. And in the first round of their fight at UFC 82: “Pride of a Champion,” Henderson appeared to be well on his way.
However, Silva came out in the second frame and finished Henderson with a submission (rear naked choke) -– the first time that the former Pride FC dual champion had been stopped early since 2005.
With two straight losses since his return to the Octagon it’s safe to say that this is a must win for Henderson.
Palhares was impressive in his Octagon debut, submitting mixed martial arts veteran Ivan Salaverry via super slick armbar at UFC 84: “Ill Will” back in May. It was so slick, in fact, it earned him a $70,000 “Submission of the Night” bonus.
Henderson is no doubt the biggest test to date for the young Brazilian Top Team-trained fighter and it would brand him an instant force in the 185-pound division. And if there is one weakness in Henderson’s tight game it’s his submission defense — three of his seven career losses have come via submission (the other four are decisions).
Put simply, it’s a big fight for both fighters for different reasons.
UFC 88 will showcase a main event between former light heavyweight champion Chuck Liddell and The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 2 heavyweight winner Rashad Evans.
Stay tuned for more UFC 88 fight card updates.
68 Comments »
wow….suprise. i was hoping for a hendo vs. franklin battle. maybe next time.
I was hoping for the same battle. Henderson will out strike and wrestle Palhares. He just better be careful for that sick arm bar he has.
Ditto. I really thought the next fight for Hendo and Franklin would be against each other. Oh well. Hope that fight still happens at a later date.
Hoping for that one too. I just got a little depressed.
maybe they are protecting franklin… i mean… franklin gets to fight lutter and dan fights pilhares? even hughes got lytle when he lost to gsp first time… dan really does get some tough matchups…
Gonna be a good fight, but it think its a bit of a jump in competition for Palhares. Henderson should have this one pretty easily.
This is a FREAKING JOKE! Fans have literally been waiting years to see Dan Henderson vs. Rich Franklin. It was one of many fans dream fights between PRIDE vs. UFC. Now the UFC is in a position to give us fans this fight, and they are B.Sing!
No way shold Rusimar Palhares be sacrificed so that Hendo can get a win. THis is just Crap! Rusimar is a fabulous addition to the UFC and why in the world they are sacrificing him like this so early in his promising UFC career, I JUST DONT UNDERSTAND!
I am a FAN of both fighters, but I am very upset about this match up!
I agree, I wish they’d have built him up a little more (palhares), it should be a good technical fight and I think palhares will give hendo some trouble, but hendo should win this one no doubt. I’d still have rather seen hendo vs franklin.
Thats what I was saying Linx, build him up! THis guy is young and Legit, whystart him off with the 2nd Nastiest middleweight in the world?
I just dont get it.
I would rather see Palhares vs. Maia or Palhares vs. “Talented Fairy” McDonald, just not Henderson right off the bat!
Who said it’s a sacrifice? The main goal of the UFC at 185 is to find a marketable opponent to fight Silva. Henderson has already been that and lost that. What’s better than a new force who has shown he has serious submission skills if he can beat Hendo? Now they can start throwing Palhares name out there as a serious threat to the title because they’ll say if Anderson has any weakness it would be on the ground. Only because he has lost by submissions before.
Let’s face it, Hendo and Franklin are both gatekeeperes to the title. The two of them fighting, while entertaining it may be, solves nothing. One of them is going to have to fight an up and comer so that the UFC can have fresh contenders. I like this match up and I look forward to seeing Palhares win. They’ll be a nice line on him for that fight too.
i agree that franklin is a gate keeper but i think dan had an off night…i think dan would take him or have a lot better fight the second time around
In my opinion Palhares embodies the epitome of Brazilian Jiujitsu,pure unadulterated,unmitigated,whoop-ass. Here you see what all the Great Masters have attempted to impart to their most gifted students come together in the presence of One man and that Man is Rousimar Toquinho Palhares. If Henderson couldn’t get pass Silva why would anyone think he can defeat Palhares ,for as much I love and respect Anderson he too has met his match in Rousimar Palhares!
i severly doubt palaharess has the all around ground game to submit henderson….yes its true close to half of henderson loses come via submission but its by the two most prestigious BJJ practitiners in the world…twice by noguera who trains with his bro and silva…and the third by silva as well.
this might shape up to be a really good card.
This fight is really going to put Palhares on the map. Stylistically, Toquinho may be more dangerous to Dan than Rich Franklin. I see this ending… Palhares via heel hook.
what a big opportunity for a new comer, but to bad for for him, not against Hendo
Easy win for Hendo unless this guy magically learns to strike and has KO power…
he can strike, he has good hands. I don’t know why he didn’t use anything in his first fight though, I didn’t see him throw one punch!
As long a dude puts on a god showing against Hedo win lose or draw this fight will add to thenear empty MLWT class, put the winner gets Franklin. Im hoping Franklin is moving up in weight though, we’ll see. Get Okami in the RING!!! and lets get that one over with!
Think Franklin will move up if A.Silva is testing the waters at LHW?
BTT revenge on hendo. Palhares upset special via leg lock in the first.
Hendo should take this guy and finally get his win in the UFC. Getting an armbar against Salaverry isnt exactly a big accomplishment.
exactly.i was a little surprised when i first read about this matchup, but hendo does need a win in a bad way. this fight then hopefully franklin.i see bisping in both guys future. oh my! i said it.
It’s In no way a MUST WIN. Losing 2 in a row against 2 of the top 5 pound for pound fighters in the world.
Same thing they were saying with the Chuck - Wandy loser.
But anyways, Hendo should make quick work of this guy.
Hendo should of fought a top 10 guy!
Maybe Quarry?
Quarry in the top 10? You might want to lay off of Nick Diaz’s bag bro.
Top 10 ufc fighters
at middleweight
not in the world
No way, not even in the UFC. Middleweight is probably the most stagnant division but they still have Silva, Henderson, Franklin, Okami, Marquardt, Bisping, J. Mcdonald, Leben, Cote, Meia, Letes. All of which would beat Quarry my friend.
What a waist. Hendo should have fought Franklin. Palhares should have gotten Alves or Filho.
Alves is at 170 (when he makes weight). Filho is in the WEC fighting Sonnen next.
UFCAddict or just addicted to some other crap??? cause that was the worse “request-list” i’ve ever read on this site?
Forget Alves or Filho, give him Mark Hunt or Jens Pulver? Why not Dracula or The Incredible Hulk?
I’m so disappointed with this fight! I want to see Henderson vs Franklin!
Pahlares is dangerous opponenet for hendo! Anybody think the same?
A puzzling matchup, didnt realize that Palhares would get a such a quick shot against someone like Hendo. I was very impressed with his transitions and eventually submission in his last fight, but I figured that the UFC would have him climb the ladder against other guys first. If Hendo loses, he’ll probably go back up to 205 because he prefers to fight there, but I think he’ll be fine
Dana is thinking man Hendo lost two fights but against two of the best fighters in the world. I need to feed him some sub par fighters to get him back on top so he can be more marketable. I think Hendo will fight one more sub par fighter and get a crack on Franklin. If the Hendo and Franklin and match happen and Hendo lost it could be a big loss for all the money Dana pumped in marketing Hendo. You lose three fights in a row no matter to who it is does not look good, but look at the axe murderer.
sweet this will be a good match, wouldn’t be surprised if it hits the mat we see an upset, thought he was fighting ace, all good
HOPEFULLY, the powers that be at the UFC will not treat Dan Henderson’s 3rd UFC fight as a must-win situation. He lost to the LHW champion by decision. Losing to the Middleweight Champion is nothing to be ashamed of. So all in all his last two losses are really not that bad, considering that he did perform well in both fights. Many will argue that he did dominate Silva in the first stanza.
Take a look at Wanderlei’s record. Before Jardine, he’s coming off of 3 straight losses and many people questioned his ability!?! ONE of those losses was to Cro-Cop! A freaking Heavyweight. He also loss to Mark Hunt, who probably could not reach the LHW limit if you paid him $500 Grand.
Don’t get it twisted, people lose fights but that does not mean a thing.
Henderson’s biggest opponent right now is conditioning. He looked great in the early rounds against Page and Silva but he gassed out. We’ll see what happens.
quarry? top 10? Bisping would tko quarry! so its about time you start rating Bisping higher as he will destroy these in this division! Bisping should fight Franklin.
I would love for that to happen.
i say quarry makes count chocula bleed.
YEAH!!! i bought tickets this past saturday
this is turning out to be an awesome card i hope anderson vs. okami is gonna happen
im glad ufc came back to georgia its been 14 years
Hendo is a very tought fight for rousimar, maybe he can surprise the mma world, but i don´t belive he can do ti.
Hendo will win this but Palhares will represent a tought fight for Hendo because he is a submission specialist…
Hendo via (T)KO. But Palhares will be recognized around the world
I see an upset. Has anyone seen how Frank Shamrock easily submitted Dan Henderson back in the day? I know that’s then and this is now, but I think Palhares will take this to the ground and win. Palhares, like Lister, is so dangerous on the ground that they cannot be compared to people who “cross train” in jujitsu or complement their striking with some grappling. I see an “L” in Henderson’s future.
Here’s the link to the Shamrock/Hendo battle.
http://www.mmascraps.com/2008/06/frank-shamrock-vs-dan-henderson-video.html
yea, you might be right. tapped so quick & easily.
ya but that wasnt an mma fight!
Thats almost funny Hendo looses two fights to two of the worlds greatest fighters, and people talk about him like his career at the UFC is already over. COME ON. He looses to Rampage in a 5 round battle by decision, and Anderson Silva arguably the worlds best pound for pound. Both champions. Hendo is still in the game.
Yall do know that Franklin already turned down the fight with Hendo. THats why Palhares came in.
Where did you see this it?
I thought you were wacko, and you are. Here is a link to what you refer to.
http://mmamania.com/2008/04/30/rich-franklin-vs-dan-henderson-ufc-fight-has-been-discussed/
It is because they wanted him to fight at UFC 85. That was because he just fought at UFC 83 against Lutter.
nice addition to the event.. i cant wait to come and watch it live.. sept 6th is too long of a wait… welcome to the A!
I wasn’t expecting that. It’s gonna be a very good fight, we might even see Hendo wanting to keep it standing. Palhares BJJ is right there with Silva’s (just watch his submissions wins here in brazil). I think Hendo will take this one, but he better watch out.
Dangerous fight, Palhhares has awesome BJJ. I thought they would try to build Palhares up slowly, looks like they are throwing him in the fire, Hendo is still top ten in the world pound for pound. From now on Palhares will be a good draw though win or lose. If he can pull of an upset, I would like to see him fight Almeida, MAYBE for a title shot (expecting Almeida to beat Cote). If Dan wins, BISPING for the title shot. Atleast thats how it would go if my name was Joe Silva.
Dan needs to win in dominating fashion, the only reason hes ganna stay at middlewieght so he can get a rematch with silva he knows he can beat him convincingly because if he didnt feel he could he would of moved back up to LHW to dominate up there
Dan will be the first ever to hold two titles at the same time in the UFC WATCH
maybe now franklin is not fighting henderson they can come up with something like bisping franklin at 88/89. in that match i would lean towards a franklin unanimous decision
If by unanimous decision you mean knock out.
I would like to see Franklin vs. Bisping also but I heard Bisping was going to fight Leban coming up when the UFC goes back to England.?
If Bisping knocks out Leben, I won’t say another bad word about him.
For the record, Palhares is not a beginner in mma. He’s simply new to the UFC organization.
I wanna see a Franklin vs. Hendo fight as much as anyone, but IMO this match is a good thing. First, if gives Hendo a break from the superfights he’s been in lately. Second, it’s a chance to showcase Hendo to fans who haven’t seen him fight in Pride.
I’d rather see Hendo against Franklin too and I think this is a dangerous fight for Hendo. This could have upset written all over it. I’ve only seen Pahhares fight once but he is shorther and built like a little tank with sick looking ground skills. I’m rooting for Hendo but he better come ready.
This is just a jump fight. You see the UFC do this all the time. They’ll see a new guy come off of a big win (”big” meaning the actual way that the guy won, not neccessarily the oponent) and then they throw them up against a world class fighter who needs a win. They did it with Anderson Silva, but look what happend. Sometimes it back fires in the UFC’s face, but most of the time it works out. I see Henderson winning this fight. In no way do I see his UFC career in jepordy, but he’s a top fighter. He knows he needs it. Bisping is in the future of either Heno or Franklin. But I don’t see them pushing another Franklin vs Silva fight…it just wouldn’t market well. And the ratings they’ll get with Silva in LHW now, I doubt UFC will do anything but beat around the bush in MW…just how things go.
Not disappointed whatsoever! To the ones who think this is gonna be easy for Henderson, read my words: Rousimar will finish him so fast and so spectacularly that Hendo will believe it was Truck.
Toquinho is a phenomenon and he´ll show it to the world September, 6. Any bets?
I agree with you Sandman.. but only if they go to the ground Rousimar will indeed finish Dan but the standup has to go to Dan, the question is can Rousimar get Dan to the ground cause if he does Dan will lose.
Rousimar FTW. He has the build to take it to the ground fairly easy, even if he ends up in a bad position once he’s there, it wont matter. Heel Hook will finish Henderson and hopefully not his career, because from the looks of it Rousimar snapped a few knees on purpose. BRAZILIAN TOP TEAM !!!
Well, this is interesting matchup, although I too would have preferred to see Franklin get whupped by Dan, just to shut Silva’s mouth.
And nest time, Dan, grapple Silva and wear him down first, then trade with him, catch a leg, and G&P him. He can be beat, no doubt, just don’t stand squared up and trade with him, he is too quick with too much reach for most M.W’s. Dan squared up to trade with Silva in the second round, and caught a leg kick that stunned him. That was how he got choked out.
While Rich is made to order for Hendo, Palhares, now, that is much different.
Why? Well, Dan has never been tko’d or ko’d, but all his losses have come from submissions.
And Palhares? 9 fights, 6 submissions, so that is his strength. Someone knew that, and matched it that way.
So, it could be interesting. I like Dan in 3:00 of the first round.