UFC Fight Night 38 took place on Sunday evening at the Ginasio Nelio Dias in Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil and was headlined by Dan Henderson stopping Mauricio “Shogun” Rua in the third round by TKO.
The fight started with both fighters being tentative at the start and Henderson would rock Shogun in the final minute of the opening round. Shogun would quickly recover and then he dropped Henderson with punches.
Shogun would attempt the fight on the ground, but the round ended before he was able to get the finish. As the second round opened, it appeared that Henderson was still in recovery mode from the strikes at the end of the round and Shogun would drop him with an uppercut. The fight would remain on the mat for the remainder and Henderson was able to recover from the uppercut.
In what would be the final round, Henderson would land a right hand that dropped Shogun and went for the finish on the ground. After throwing a flurry of punches on the ground, referee Herb Dean came in to call the fight at the 1:31 mark of the round.
The victory for Henderson (30-11) snaps a three fight losing streak and this is his first win since defeating Shogun (22-9) at UFC 139 in 2011. Also, this is his first TKO/KO victory since defeating Fedor Emelianenko in Strikeforce in 2011.
Dolloway stops Ferreira in 39 seconds
The co-main event of the fight card was a middleweight bout as C.B. Dolloway stopped Cezar Ferreira in 39 seconds by TKO and he has now won three of his last four fights.
The action started quickly with the fighters throwing punches and Ferreira would have Dolloway on his heels. With Dolloway’s back against the fence, he landed a right hand, followed by a left hook that dropped Ferreira and he finished the fight on the ground with strikes.
Dolloway (14-5) is now 2-0 in Brazil against fighters from the inaugural season of “The Ultimate Fighter Brazil” and this is his sixth career win to come by TKO/KO.
Santos and Parke fight to a majority draw due to point deduction
In a lightweight bout of recent Ultimate Fighter winners, Leonardo Santos and Norman Parke fought to a majority draw due to Parke being deducted a point in the second round for grabbing the shorts of Santos.
The opening five minutes of the fight would be a striking battle that Parke would land more strikes but Santos landed the more significant strikes. In the second round, as Parke was looking for a takedown, he grabbed the short of Santos and referee Wernei Cardoso deducted a point from Parke without an warning.
Parke would control the final round by closing the distance and fighting in the clinch. He would have a 35 total strikes landed advantage in the final round and the fight went to the scorecards. The fight would be declared a majority draw as one judge had the fight for Santos, while the other two judges had the fight a draw.
After losing opening round, Maldonado comes back to win by decision
Gian Villante was able to control Fabio Maldonado in the opening round, but Maldonado was able to come back in the second and third rounds to win by unanimous decision.
Villante got off to a great start in the first round by scoring two takedown attempts and having control for nearly the entire round. As the second round opened, he looked for another takedown attempt and ended up landing a knee in the clinch that opened up a cut on the forehead of Maldonado. However, that would be the moment that the fight turned as Maldonado broke away and began to land his jab.
Maldonado would begin to land his jab and body punches at will and Villante appeared to be gassing out. During the second round, Maldonado would land 70 total strikes and appeared that he would score a stoppage in the final round. He would dominate Villante in the final five minutes as he landed 78 total strikes but Villante would make it to the final bell. All three judges would score the fight for Maldonado (21-6) and he has now won three straight fights in the UFC.
Taisumov deducted two points, Prazeres wins by decision
In a fight that will be remembered for the point deductions of Mairbek Taisumov, Michel Prazeres won his second straight fight in the UFC as he won by unanimous decision.
After a feeling out process to start the fight, Prazeres scored a takedown and immediately got the full mount position. He would end up losing the position and looked for a north-south choke. He would be unable to get the submission and the fight went back to the feet. Prazeres would look for another takedown and Taisumov stopped the attempt at first by grabbing the fence.
However, Prazeres would still get the fight to the ground. Once again, he would get the mount position but Taisumov got off the mat. With Prazeres still on the mat, Taisumov landed an illegal kick and referee Mario Yamasaki deducted a point. The round would come to an end and Taisumov would be deducted another point in the second round, this time for a fence grab.
In the final round, Taisumov would be able to stop seven of the eight takedown attempts by Prazeres but was unable to mount any offense that could end the fight. The fight would be decided by the scorecards and all three judges had the fight 30-25 for Prazeres (18-1), who has won back to back fights since losing his UFC debut.
Jason stops Siler in first round after early stoppage
The opening bout of the fight card was a featherweight bout as TUF Brazil winner Rony Jason scored a TKO victory in the first round over Steven Siler.
The fight opened with Siler throwing multiple leg kicks but Jason would end up stunning him with a right hand and dropped him with a left hook. Once Siler fell to the mat, the referee immediately came in to stop the fight, even though Siler was throwing an up kick as the referee stopped the fight.
Jason (14-4) has now won four of his five fights in the UFC and this is his second win to come by TKO in the UFC. The defeat for Siler (23-12) is his second straight defeat and this is his first defeat to come by TKO/KO since 2009.
The complete UFC Fight Night 38 results are below.
Main Card: (Fox Sports 1)
Dan Henderson def. Mauricio Rua via TKO (strikes) – Round 3, 1:31
C.B. Dollaway def. Cezar Ferreira via TKO (strikes) – Round 1, :39
Leonardo Santos vs. Norman Parke declared a majority draw (29-27, 28-28, 28-28)
Fabio Maldonado def. Gian Villante via unanimous decision (29-27, 29-28, 29-28)
Michel Prazeres def. Mairbek Taisumov via unanimous decision (30-25, 30-25, 30-25)
Rony Jason def. Steven Siler via TKO (strikes) – Round 1, 1:17
Preliminary Card: (Fox Sports 1)
Thiago Santos def. Ronny Markes via TKO (strikes) – Round 1, :53
Jussier Formiga def. Scott Jorgensen via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 3:07
Kenny Robertson def. Thiago Perpetuo via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 1:45
Hans Stringer def. Francimar Barroso via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Preliminary Card: (Fight Pass)
Godofredo Pepey def. Noad Lahat via KO (flying knee) – Round 1, 2:39