UFC Fight Night 49: Henderson vs. dos Anjos | Event Profile, Full Results & Legacy
- Conor McBragger
- May 19
- 3 min read
Introduction
UFC Fight Night 49: Henderson vs. dos Anjos took place on Saturday, August 23, 2014 at the BOK Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma — broadcast live on Fox Sports 1, one of two UFC events on the same day (the other being UFC Fight Night 48 in Macau). Rafael dos Anjos defeated Benson Henderson by KO in round one with a straight left hand at 2:31 — the biggest win of RDA's career to that point and the result that put him directly in line for a UFC lightweight title shot.
The prelim card produced two notable firsts. Ben Saunders' omoplata submission of Chris Heatherly at 2:18 of round one was the first omoplata finish in UFC history. Thales Leites — known almost exclusively as a submission grappler — produced a shocking R2 KO of Francis Carmont. Max Holloway continued his run with a R3 TKO. No Fight of the Night was awarded; all four bonuses were Performance of the Night.
Quick Stats
📅 Date: Saturday, August 23, 2014 (same day as FN48 Macau)
📍 Venue: BOK Center, Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA
📺 Broadcast: Fox Sports 1
🏆 Main Event: Rafael dos Anjos vs. Benson Henderson — Lightweight (5 rounds)
✅ Result: RDA def. Henderson via KO (punch) — R1, 2:31 (PoN $50k; into title contention)
RDA's Statement KO
Henderson entered ranked #2 at lightweight and had just defeated Rustam Khabilov at Fight Night 42. For dos Anjos — coming off the controversial win over Jason High — it was the most important fight of his career. He landed a straight left hand mid-exchange at 2:31 of round one that dropped Henderson cleanly. Henderson could not rise before the referee intervened. The KO put RDA immediately into the UFC's #1 lightweight contender position and set up his title shot against Anthony Pettis at UFC 185 in March 2015.
First Omoplata Submission in UFC History
Ben Saunders submitted Chris Heatherly via omoplata at 2:18 of round one — the first time in UFC history that an omoplata had produced a tap-out. The omoplata is a shoulder joint lock applied by using the legs and hips to rotate the opponent's arm into hyperextension while isolating the shoulder socket. It is considered a high-difficulty submission in competition due to the number of escape routes available to a defending opponent. Saunders' execution was clean and controlled, earning Performance of the Night and a permanent footnote in UFC submission history.
Full Results
Main Card (Fox Sports 1)
Rafael dos Anjos def. Benson Henderson — KO (punch) — R1, 2:31 — Lightweight (PoN $50k; into title contention)
Jordan Mein def. Mike Pyle — KO (punches) — R1, 1:12 — Welterweight (PoN $50k)
Thales Leites def. Francis Carmont — KO (strikes) — R2, 0:20 — Middleweight (PoN $50k; shocking KO from a known submission grappler)
Max Holloway def. Clay Collard — TKO — R3, 3:47 — Featherweight (continuing his run toward the title)
James Vick def. Valmir Lazaro — Unanimous Decision — Lightweight
Preliminary Card
Ben Saunders def. Chris Heatherly — Submission (omoplata) — R1, 2:18 — Welterweight (PoN $50k; FIRST omoplata finish in UFC history)
Chas Skelly def. Tom Niinimäki — Submission (RNC) — R1, 2:35 — Featherweight
Neil Magny def. Alex Garcia — Unanimous Decision — Welterweight
Beneil Dariush def. Tony Martin — Submission (arm-triangle) — R2, 3:38 — Lightweight
Wilson Reis def. Joby Sanchez — Flyweight
Bonuses & Awards
Note: No Fight of the Night was awarded — all four bonuses were Performance of the Night.
🥇 Performance of the Night: Rafael dos Anjos, Jordan Mein, Thales Leites, Ben Saunders — $50,000 each
Records & Milestones
• RDA's KO of Henderson moved him directly into the UFC lightweight title picture — he won the belt at UFC 185 seven months later.
• Ben Saunders' omoplata of Chris Heatherly — first omoplata submission finish in UFC history.
• Max Holloway's TKO of Collard continued his remarkable winning run toward the featherweight title.
Legacy & Impact
The dos Anjos KO of Henderson was the pivot point in RDA's career. Seven months later at UFC 185 he submitted Anthony Pettis to win the UFC lightweight championship. He defended it twice — against Donald Cerrone and Tarec Saffiedine — before losing it to Eddie Alvarez at UFC 200. Ben Saunders' omoplata remains one of the rarest submission records in UFC history; the technique had never produced a finish at that level before his Tulsa performance. Fight Night 49 on the whole was a card where everything delivered: clean stoppages, significant career moments, and a main event result that genuinely shocked the lightweight division.
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