UFC 139: Shogun, Hendo on weight; two miss

Two legends made weight while a few had trouble making their prescribed numbers as fighters stepped on the scale ahead of Saturday’s UFC 139 in San Jose.

Headlining the card at the HP Pavilion, Dan Henderson weighed in at a slim 203 pounds for his five-round light-heavyweight bout against Mauricio (Shogun) Rua, who weighed in on the number at 205 pounds.

It is the first fight of his second stint in the Octagon after a short detour in Strikeforce, where he captured the 205-pound belt. Surprisingly, it will also be his first time competing truly close to home.

“It’s my first time fighting in my home state of California,” Henderson said. “I was born and raised here.”

Rua, a former UFC light-heavyweight champion, is eager for the matchup.

“I’m very happy for this fight because Hendo is a legend in the MMA,” Rua said. “I like fighting the best.”

Watch two preliminary fights for UFC 139 live on Saturday at 5 p.m. PT / 8 p.m. ET. Ryan Bader faces Jason Brilz in a light-heavyweight tilt and Michael McDonald meets Alex Soto in a bantamweight bout.

In the co-main event, former Strikeforce middleweight champion Cung Le makes his debut in the UFC.

A native of Vietnam, Le grew up in San Jose and all his career MMA fights have taken place there — all of them up until now in Strikeforce, which is headquartered in the city.

Le and opponent Wanderlei Silva, another legend and former Pride champion, weighed in at 185 pounds.

An accomplished kickboxer, Le said Thursday he didn’t mind that he isn’t as recognizable as other fighters — despite his 7-1 record with seven knockouts in five years of fighting filled with highlight-reel kicks, as well as a blossoming movie career. He believes that will change now that he has moved to the UFC.

“I’m sure after this I’ll be recognized for my kicks,” said Le, whose film roles include Tekken, Pandorum, Fighting opposite Channing Tatum and the upcoming Dragon Eyes with Jean-Claude Van Damme.

On a conference call Wednesday, Le said it’s always exciting going to a different league.

“Going from Strikeforce to the UFC is like going from the CFL to the NFL,” Le said.

Another California native drew big cheers on Friday. Former WEC featherweight champion Urijah (The California Kid) Faber, who has fought all over the state but never San Jose, faces former WEC bantamweight belt-holder Brian Bowles. Both weighed in at 136 pounds.

Three undercard fighters, however, did not endear themselves to the crowd or UFC brass, missing weight on their initial attempts.

First, Shamar Bailey was a couple pounds over at 158 for his lightweight contest vs. Danny Castillo. He was given an hour to lose the extra pounds.

Then former WEC 135-pound title-holder Miguel Angel Torres and opponent Nick Pace both came in over. Torres was just a pound over the limit and was able to shed a couple half-pounds to make 136 on his third attempt. Pace on the other hand was a whopping six pounds heavy at 141 and had already decided he wouldn’t be able to make weight beforehand. He will be fined 20 per cent of his purse.

UFC commentator — and weigh-ins MC — Joe Rogan said to the crowd it appeared there was a discrepancy between the official scale and the one they were weighing in on backstage as he thought fighters were all making weight and then coming out and missing.

However, Bailey could not shed any more weight after a re-try and will forfeit 20 per cent of his purse. He later posted an apology on his Twitter account (@ShamarBailey).

“I apologize to fans, friends, family & @danawhite @Joesilva & to @lastcall155 for missing weight. Thnx to Danny 4 takin the fight. No Excuse,” Bailey tweeted.

Later, Pace (@NickPaceMMA) also tweeted an apology.

“I wanna apolgize to @danawhite @ufc and all my fans for not making weight. I was 139 and the commission wouldn’t let me cut anymore weight.”