Introduction
UFC Fight Night 38: Shogun vs. Henderson 2 took place on Sunday, March 23, 2014 at the Ginásio Nélio Dias in Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil — broadcast live on Fox Sports 1 to 936,000 average viewers with a peak of 1.25 million. The event was a rematch between two of the sport’s most battle-tested legends: Mauricio ‘Shogun’ Rua and Dan Henderson, who had first met at UFC 139 in November 2011 in a unanimous decision win for Henderson that was widely named Fight of the Year for 2011 and frequently cited as one of the greatest bouts in MMA history.
The rematch proved just as compelling. Shogun dominated the first two rounds and had Henderson on the verge of being finished on multiple occasions. Henderson’s durability kept him upright. In round three, he unleashed his devastating overhand right — known as the H-Bomb — landing flush on Rua’s face and ending the fight in a single exchange that shattered Rua’s nose and knocked him down. Henderson earned both Fight of the Night and Performance of the Night bonuses — $100,000 in total post-fight money.
Quick Stats
📅 Date: Sunday, March 23, 2014
📍 Venue: Ginásio Nélio Dias, Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil
📺 Broadcast: Fox Sports 1 — 936,000 avg. viewers (1.25M peak)
🏆 Main Event: Dan Henderson vs. Mauricio Rua — Light Heavyweight (5 rounds; rematch of UFC 139)
✅ Result: Henderson def. Rua via KO (H-Bomb right hand) — R3 (FotN + PoN; $100k total bonuses)
Main Event: Henderson’s H-Bomb Comeback
The fight followed the opposite arc of their UFC 139 classic. At UFC 139 it had been Henderson who dictated early before Rua rallied; in Natal it was Rua who dictated from the opening bell. He used his karate-boxing combination to land early, controlled the clinch, took Henderson down, and had the American in serious danger in round two. Henderson was rocked, bloody, and behind on all reasonable readings of the scorecards. In round three, Rua pressed forward again — and Henderson loaded up his signature overhand right. The punch landed with full extension directly on Rua’s nose. The nose fractured and Rua went down in a state of confusion. Henderson followed with a single ground strike before the referee intervened.
Henderson earned both Fight of the Night (shared with Rua) and Performance of the Night — $100,000 in combined bonus money. It was the kind of night that defined Henderson’s reputation: absorbing elite-level punishment for two rounds, surviving through sheer durability, and finishing with the H-Bomb.
Full Results
Main Card (Fox Sports 1)
Dan Henderson def. Mauricio Rua — KO (H-Bomb right hand) — R3 — Light Heavyweight (FotN + PoN $100k; came back from near-stoppage in R2)
C.B. Dollaway def. Cezar Ferreira — Split Decision — Middleweight (rescheduled from UFC on FX 8 in 2013; both had withdrawn injured)
Leonardo Santos vs. Norman Parke — DRAW — Lightweight
Fabio Maldonado def. Gian Villante — Light Heavyweight
Michel Prazeres def. Mairbek Taisumov — Welterweight
Preliminary Card (UFC Fight Pass)
Rony Jason def. Steven Siler — Featherweight
Thiago Santos def. Ronny Markes — Middleweight (Santos’ early UFC career; future UFC LHW title challenger)
Jussier Formiga def. Scott Jorgensen — Flyweight
Kenny Robertson def. Thiago Perpétuo — Welterweight
Hans Stringer def. Francimar Barroso — Light Heavyweight
Godofredo ‘Pepey’ Castro def. Noad Lahat — Featherweight (PoN $50k)
Bonuses & Awards
🥇 Fight of the Night: Dan Henderson + Mauricio Rua — $50,000 each
🥇 Performance of the Night: Dan Henderson + Godofredo ‘Pepey’ Castro — $50,000 each (Henderson earns $100k total)
Records & Milestones
• Dan Henderson swept both the Fight of the Night and Performance of the Night bonuses — $100,000 in total for a single fight.
• Thiago Santos’ early UFC career — he would go on to challenge Jon Jones for the UFC light heavyweight title at UFC 239 in July 2019.
Legacy & Impact
The Shogun-Henderson II rematch was a different fight from its predecessor, but it carried the same core characteristic: Dan Henderson absorbing punishment no ordinary fighter would survive, then detonating the H-Bomb at the right moment. Shogun’s loss confirmed that the prime years of his career were behind him, though he remained active in the UFC through 2020. Henderson’s win gave him another brief title contention window before his career wound down. For Natal, Brazil — a city that had co-hosted the 2014 FIFA World Cup the same summer — the Fight Night was a demonstration of the UFC’s depth of Brazilian market penetration beyond the major cities of São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro.
FAQ
How did this rematch compare to their UFC 139 classic?
UFC 139 was a five-round war with both fighters hurt repeatedly across all five rounds, producing one of the most back-and-forth title fights in non-championship history. The rematch at Fight Night 38 was shorter and less even — Shogun dominated two full rounds, Henderson was repeatedly in serious danger, and the finish came abruptly in round three. It was a different kind of fight, but it carried the same DNA: Henderson’s refusal to be finished and his single-punch KO power. The original was considered a superior contest, but the rematch’s narrative — Shogun dominating only to get H-bombed — had its own dramatic logic.
What is the H-Bomb and why was it so feared?
The H-Bomb is Dan Henderson’s signature overhand right — thrown with full rotation of the hips and shoulder, delivered from a two-handed stance with the right hand cocked high. Henderson was an Olympic-level wrestler (two-time US Olympic team member) whose wrestling base provided the hip drive and rotation that generated the punch’s power. The right hand had KO’d Michael Bisping (UFC 100), Fedor Emelianenko (Strikeforce), and Wanderlei Silva across his career. Shogun felt a version of it that broke his nose and effectively ended the fight in a single exchange.
Who is Thiago Santos and why does his early career on this card matter?
Thiago ‘Marreta’ Santos is a Brazilian light heavyweight who began his UFC career in the middleweight division. His prelim win over Ronny Markes at Fight Night 38 was one of his first UFC appearances. He eventually moved to light heavyweight and compiled a remarkable run, finishing multiple top-ten opponents before challenging Jon Jones for the UFC light heavyweight title at UFC 239 in July 2019 — a fight that many scored for Santos and that ended in a controversial unanimous decision for Jones. The Fight Night 38 win in Natal was an early data point in a career arc that reached the sport’s highest level.