MANILA, Philippines - In one of the greatest fights in the history of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), veteran fighter Dan Henderson defeated former light heavyweight champion Mauricio "Shogun" Rua via unanimous decision in the main event of UFC 139 Saturday in San Jose, California (Sunday in Manila).

Mauricio "Shogun" Rua punches at Dan Henderson in the main event of UFC 139.

The five-round, non-title fight between Henderson and Rua went the distance, with Henderson doing just enough in the first three rounds to withstand a late rally by Rua.

All the judges scored the bout 48-47 for Henderson.

"That guy (Rua) can take a punch," Henderson said in the post-fight interview. "I hit him hard, I thought I could finish him... but he finished the fight strong."

Henderson was in control of the fight early as he was able to hurt "Shogun" with his strong right hands.

He bloodied Rua early in the first round with big shots to the face, but the Brazilian managed to withstand the barrage.

Rua got in trouble in the third round when Henderson rocked him with a strong right hand, dropping him to the canvas. Henderson tried to finish Rua at that point, hammering the latter with fists to the face, but Rua was able to escape anew.

The momentum shifted in Rua's favor in the fourth round. He was able to take down Henderson to the canvas and hurt him with shots to the head and knees to the body.

Later in the fourth, it was Henderson's turn to get in trouble when Rua caught him with a massive uppercut. But Henderson survived the round.

The final round saw Rua trying to go for the knockout. Henderson spent majority of the round defending as Rua peppered him with punches to the head and body.

Henderson said afterward that he knew he was ahead on the scorecards.

"I knew I won the first three rounds easy," he said. "I hit him and clean, and I should've had him finished, but the gas tank was running a little low at that point."

The 41-year-old veteran admitted that it was one of the hardest fights of his career.

"(Rua) stood in there with great heart, like a champion should, and he finished strong," Henderson said.

The co-main event featured another veteran, Wanderlei Silva, knocking out kickboxer Cung Le in the second round of their match-up.

It was a strong performance from Silva, who withstood Le's unorthodox offense and unleashed a right hand in the second round that dropped the Vietnamese to the canvas.

Silva proceeded to swarm Le with hammer fists to the head, and the referee stepped in to stop the fight.

UFC president Dana White awarded Fight of the Night bonuses to Henderson, Rua, Silva and Le.

White also awarded the Submission of the Night bonus to Urijah Faber after he choked Brian Bowles via a guillotine choke in the second round.

Faber also became the number one contender for Dominick Cruz's featherweight title.