Henderson, 38, of Temecula, Calif., turned a slip into a takedown early. On the ground, he controlled Franklin while drilling him with right hands that arguably did the most damage in the round.
“I think I had him hurt there for a little bit, but I think he had enough experience to stay calm,” Henderson said.
Franklin, 34, eventually escaped and kicked well to Henderson’s body during the exchanges that followed. For the most part, Henderson’s big right hand stayed loaded while Franklin kept him off balance with kicks and movement.
An accidental head butt sent Franklin into the second with a cut near his hairline. The former UFC middleweight champion had the more effective striking game on the feet, but Henderson took him down out of the clinch midway into the period and stayed active from the top position.
The Cincinnati native came out aggressively for the final round, but again Henderson was able to take him down.
Franklin had to get up, and he did. He was the fresher of the two fighters and pursued Henderson for the rest of the round with kicks to his body and straight lefts. An accidental eye-poke late slowed Franklin’s rally, but he still earned the period.
A close fight then went to the judges, who returned a split decision for Henderson with two 29-28 scores in his favor and one 30-27 score for Franklin.
“I felt like I definitely won the first two rounds,” said Henderson, whose victory grants him a spot opposite Michael Bisping on the upcoming season of “The Ultimate Fighter.” “Third round he did well. I probably would have gave that one to him, but 30-27 for him was a little off.”
Revenge was "Shogun" Rua's.Mauricio 'Shogun" Rua bounced back from multiple knee surgeries to defeat Mark Coleman, though it was not a quality performance for the Brazilian.
Coleman, a 44-year-old former UFC heavyweight champion who was fighting at 205 pounds for the first time, took a leg kick and a knee but finished his opening takedown attempt seconds into the fight. He punched hard to Rua’s head until Rua escaped and later executed his own takedown.
The fighters reversed position and scrambled often. As Coleman tired, Rua battered him with kicks to his legs, knees to his body and a right hand that dropped him.
Coleman looked exhausted to begin the second while Rua scored more points with kicks and punches. The former Ohio St. wrestler finished a double-leg but couldn’t keep his opponent down. On the feet, Coleman held his hands at his waist and plodded around the Octagon with his mouth open. Rua, however, fought sloppy and also seemed to run out of gas.
Despite his fatigue, Coleman continued to connect with punches and finish takedowns in the third round. Rua landed more strikes, of course, but he could not finish the fight until a late flurry floored Coleman and prompted referee Kevin Mulhall to intervene at 4:36.
“I think I deserve another one,” Coleman said. “It’s one to one. Let’s do it again, Shogun. I respect you, but I can beat you.”
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil’s Rousimar Palhares earned a unanimous decision over veteran Jeremy Horn in a middleweight bout.
Palhares, 28, tripped Horn to the mat in the opening minute. Horn, 33, gave his back while trying to roll out, which allowed Palhares to pound away on the side of his head. Eventually Horn got to his feet only to be body-locked back down to the same position, where Palhares teed off to conclude a dominating round.
Horn came to life in the second, though. Palhares lifted him high for a slam and quickly moved to his back on the ground. Horn defended, however, and eventually finished a single-leg takedown off a scramble and mounted Palhares. The Brazilian escaped, but back on the feet Horn landed a left hook before giving up another takedown.
Palhares scored a suplex to start the third. He would go on to control Horn for the rest of the period, though Horn was savvy enough to stay in the fight as Palhares slowed considerably.
All three judges called the fight 30-27 for Palhares, who said afterward that he had broken his hand in the first round.
Also at 185 pounds, Denis Kang was impressive early but lost his UFC debut to Alan Belcher. He connected with his hands before grounding Belcher, who gave up side control but eventually kicked him away and stood.
Back on the feet, Kang, a standout in Pride, continued to outbox his foe with a left hook to the body and a glancing right upstairs. A shout came from Belcher’s corner for him to “wake up,” but soon after Kang finished another takedown and worked on a kimura.
Belcher landed a good body kick in the second, but Kang had little trouble returning the fight to the mat. There, Belcher threatened with a sweep and forced a stalemate that led to a standup. That’s when Kang shot again, and Belcher sprawled perfectly, wrapped up a guillotine, pulled guard and submitted him at 4:36.
“I wish I could have been more dominating so I could come in here and call out the champion … but I think I need one or two more fights before that,” said Belcher, a 24-year-old from Biloxi, Miss., who has won four of his last five in the Octagon.
Marcus Davis and Chris Lytle fulfilled their promises to fight it out on the feet for 15 minutes in their welterweight bout.
With a singing Irish audience as background music, Lytle, 34, of Indianapolis, landed a right hand that staggered Davis in the opening 30 seconds. After recovering, however, Davis, 35, began following a strategy devised no doubt in conjunction with world-class trainer Mark DellaGrotte.
“The Irish Hand Grenade” did not stand toe-to-toe with the hard-punching Lytle. Instead, minutes into the fight it was clear that he would use his superior footwork, counterpunching and kicks.
Lytle stuck with his bombs, which did connect from time to time. He rocked Davis again early in the second period and flurried on him against the cage. Davis covered up but still took some shots on his ears before hustling away, finding his footing and planting a kick into Lytle’s body that floored him.
That kick and countless others were Davis’ answer to Lytle’s winging punches. He also made him pay with careful counterpunching, but Lytle proved capable of taking punishment and still moving forward to dish out his own.
The third round was more of the same. Lytle stalked forward while throwing the more powerful strikes while Davis countered with more technical boxing and additional kicks and knees. By the end of the fight, both men had swollen eyes and bruised bodies. Lytle’s side, in particular, was blue and welted from his opponent’s kicks.
The judges were split on the entertaining fight, scoring it 29-28 twice for Davis and once for Lytle.
