Evans ends slide against Henderson in UFC 161
Former Ultimate Fighting Championship light heavyweight champion Rashad Evans snapped a two-fight losing streak with a split decision over Dan Henderson in the UFC 161 main event in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, on Saturday night.
Also on the card, Las Vegan Roy Nelson didn’t do himself any favors in upcoming contract negotiations, dropping a unanimous decision to Stipe Miocic.
Henderson dropped Evans with a left jab in the opening minutes, but Evans recovered and traded punches with Henderson throughout the first two rounds.
Evans found more rhythm in the third round and earned the favor of two of the three judges as he handed Henderson his second straight loss by split decision.
Nelson, fighting six weeks after a first-round knockout win, tired early and offered little resistance to Miocic.
Miocic bounced back from the first loss of his career by hitting Nelson with just about everything in his arsenal. The durable Nelson refused to be finished but didn’t mount much of an attack.
It was the final fight on Nelson’s UFC contract, and he reportedly turned down a lucrative extension. The subpar performance, which featured plenty of deep breaths, clock-checking and shorts pulling, won’t do much for his bargaining position.
In another matchup of heavyweight sluggers, Shawn Jordan knocked out his friend and fellow Louisiana native Pat Barry in 59 seconds. Jordan landed two uppercuts and knocked Barry to the mat. Jordan, a former Louisiana State fullback, followed him there and delivered a barrage of lefts until the fight was stopped.
Two Canadian fighters on the main card gained wins by unanimous decision.
Alexis Davis used her superior jiujitsu skills to outwork Rosi Sexton on her way to winning a unanimous decision in the only women’s fight on the card, which marked the UFC debut of both fighters.
Ryan Jimmo, who said afterward he fought too conservatively because he was coming off a loss, ground out a win over Igor Pokrajac in a light heavyweight bout.
Welterweight Jake Shields won a controversial split decision over Tyron Woodley in the preliminary card’s featured bout.
Woodley, a two-time All-America wrestler at Missouri, won all three rounds on one scorecard. Each of the other two judges, however, awarded Shields two rounds.