UFC 139

UFC 139: Shogun vs. Henderson

Company type	Mixed martial arts event
Industry	Sports entertainment
Founded	November 19, 2011 (2011-11-19)
Headquarters	San Jose, California , United States
Area served	Worldwide (pay-per-view)
Key people	Dana White (UFC President)
Products	Mixed martial arts bouts

UFC 139: Shogun vs. Henderson was a mixed martial arts event hosted by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on November 19, 2011, at the HP Pavilion in San Jose. This marked the UFC's debut in a significant market traditionally dominated by Strikeforce.

Background

The event featured two preliminary bouts broadcast live on Spike TV.

Initially, the Heavyweight Champion Cain Velasquez was slated to defend his belt against Junior dos Santos, but this fight was rescheduled to headline the first-ever UFC on Fox card. To replace this main event, UFC President Dana White announced that Dan Henderson had re-signed with the promotion to face former champion Maurício "Shogun" Rua. This contest was billed as a "No. 1 contender’s match" for the light heavyweight title, with the victor securing a future title opportunity following Rashad Evans' intended challenge against the reigning champion.

Vitor Belfort was originally connected to a bout with Cung Le, but veteran Wanderlei Silva stepped in, boosting the event's appeal.

In the bantamweight category, Johnny Eduardo was set to meet promising prospect Michael McDonald. Eduardo withdrew due to a shoulder injury and was replaced by newcomer Alex Soto.

Consequently, the Spike TV prelims lineup changed, featuring McDonald facing Soto instead of the anticipated Tom Lawlor versus Chris Weidman matchup.

At official weigh-ins, both Shamar Bailey and Nick Pace failed to meet their weight limits, incurring fines of 20% of their fight purses and resulting in catchweight bouts set at 158 lb and 141 lb respectively.

The event attracted an audience of 13,832 and generated gate receipts totaling $1.27 million. Pay-per-view purchases reached approximately 290,000, demonstrating strong commercial success amid competitive circumstances.

Critical reception

The card received widespread critical praise. UFC President Dana White described the main event as "one of the top three best fights ever in MMA," drawing parallels to the legendary Thrilla in Manila. The bout garnered several Fight of the Year honors and was enshrined in the UFC Hall of Fame in 2018.

Bonus awards

A $70,000 bonus was awarded to the following competitors:

• Fight of the Night: Maurício Rua vs. Dan Henderson and Wanderlei Silva vs. Cung Le
• Knockout of the Night: Michael McDonald
• Submission of the Night: Urijah Faber

Reported payout

Fighter payouts reported to the California State Athletic Commission exclude sponsorship earnings, discretionary "locker room" bonuses, and UFC "fight night" bonuses:

• Dan Henderson: $250,000 (no win bonus) defeated Maurício Rua: $165,000
• Wanderlei Silva: $200,000 (no win bonus) defeated Cung Le: $350,000
• Urijah Faber: $64,000 ($32,000 win bonus) defeated Brian Bowles: $19,000
• Martin Kampmann: $58,000 ($29,000 win bonus) defeated Rick Story: $19,000
• Stephan Bonnar: $68,000 ($34,000 win bonus) defeated Kyle Kingsbury: $10,000
• Ryan Bader: $48,000 ($24,000 win bonus) defeated Jason Brilz: $13,000
• Michael McDonald: $14,000 ($7,000 win bonus) defeated Alex Soto: $6,000
• Chris Weidman: $24,000 ($12,000 win bonus) defeated Tom Lawlor: $12,000
• Gleison Tibau: $54,000 ($27,000 win bonus) defeated Rafael dos Anjos: $16,000
• Miguel Torres: $60,000 ($30,000 win bonus) defeated Nick Pace: $4,000 ^
• Seth Baczynski: $16,000 ($8,000 win bonus) defeated Matt Brown: $12,000
• Danny Castillo: $34,000 ($17,000 win bonus) defeated Shamar Bailey: $8,000 ^

^ Shamar Bailey and Nick Pace were penalized 20% of their purses for missing weight. The initial CSAC report did not detail these penalties.