At UFC 157, Ronda Rousey's first defense of the women's bantamweight belt against Liz Carmouche is the main event. It's the only title fight on the card, and title fights getting main event status is a rule the UFC doesn't often break.
That didn't sit well with Dan Henderson's camp. He is fighting Lyoto Machida on the same card, and doesn't like being the second biggest name on the card. Gus Pugliese, Henderson's striking coach, told this to Gracie Magazine:
?Where I come from, there?s a pecking order for anything in life,? he said. ?I believe in paying dues. In this particular case, ?Hendo? and Machida paid their dues a long time ago. For someone new to come in and have a free ride just seems unfair to them and the whole sport they helped build.?
There's a legend about Chuck Berry and Jerry Lee Lewis from their time touring together during rock 'n' roll's infancy. A dispute arose over which man would close. Berry's camp won out, and he was given the last slot on the show. Lewis took his earlier spot, whipped the crowd into a frenzy with his performance and set his piano on fire during "Great Balls of Fire." He reportedly said to Berry, "Follow that!" as he left the stage.
While Henderson shouldn't literally set the octagon on fire like Lewis, the lesson from this possibly apocryphal story remains. If he wants to be the fighter everyone remembers from UFC 157, he can be. It doesn't matter if he is first, last, or somewhere in the middle of the card. Fans remember great fights. No one cares when they happened.
Jason Hollywood Chambers Ryo Piranha Chonan Dan The Sandman Christison Logan The Pink Pounder Clark
