Rashad Evans snapped a two-fight losing streak, defeating Dan Henderson in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) 161 main event pay-per-view by split decision (28-29, 29-28 and 29-28) Saturday night.
The closely contested fight saw Evans get floored late in the first round, only to bounce back in the second and third rounds, including reeling the former Strikeforce and PRIDE champion early in the last round, to hand Henderson his second straight loss.
"After getting dropped in the first round, I knew I won the second, but I needed to come out strong in the third," said Evans told Joe Rogan in his post-fight interview.
Evans, who lost his last two previous fights to Antônio Rogério Nogueira and UFC light heavy weight champion Jon Jones, puts his name back into title contention, hoping to land a rematch with Jones. White had warned, earlier in the week, that the loser of the main event may "statically" never get a title shot in the division.
"The fight could have gone either way. I mean, if they said Dan won, I would not have been surprised," said UFC president Dana White, in the post-fight press conference. "Rashad got hurt with a jab by Dan Henderson, that's how hard it hits. Tonight was a good confidence booster for him, hopefully, and he starts to let his hands go more."
Henderson, though disappointed with the loss, was at peace with the judges' decision. "This one I can swallow a little easier than the last one," said "Hendo", referring to his split-decision loss to Lyoto Machida at UFC 157. "Rashad is a tough guy. He stood and fought me and he did a great job. I can't say that about the last guy I fought."
In the co-main event, Stipe Miocic upset Roy Nelson - who took the fight on two-weeks notice - by unanimous decision (30-27 on all the scoreboards). Miocic's striking gave Nelson problems throughout the night, setting a UFC record, with "Big Country" absorbing 437 significant strikes without getting knocked out.
"I guess this was the biggest win of my career," said Miocic. "I hit him with some big shots and he took them. I'm a Golden Gloves boxer. I believe in my boxing ability."
Nelson, the season 10 winner of "The Ultimate Fighter" show, turned down a contract extension earlier in the year, deciding to finish out his contract to gain more negotiating leverage and is now facing free agency.
"His contract was up in July. We asked for an extension and he said 'no'," said White during the presser. "Do Roy and I always see eye-to-eye? No, we don't. We've made an offer to Roy and we'll sit down and talk to Roy after this."
The rest of UFC 161's results and money bonuses:
- Ryan Jimmo def. Igor Pokrajac via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
- Alexis Davis def. Rosi Sexton by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-27, 29-28)
- Shawn Jordan def. Pat Barry via TKO (punches) - Round 1, 0:59
- Jake Shields def. Tyron Woodley via split decision (27-30, 29-28, 29-28)
- James Krause def. Sam Stout via submission (guillotine choke) - Round 3, 4:47
- Sean Pierson def. Kenny Robertson via majority decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-28)
- Roland Delorme def. Edwin Figueroa via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Mitch Clarke def. John Maguire via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
- Yves Jabouin def. Dustin Pague via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Fight of the Night Bonus: Sam Stout vs. James Krause ($50,000 each)
Knockout of the Night: Shawn Jordan ($50,000)
Submission of the Night: James Krause ($50,000)
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