Silva too tough for Henderson

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- UFC champion Anderson Silva choked out former Pride title-holder Dan Henderson at 4:52 of the second round to claim middleweight mixed martial arts supremacy at UFC 82 on Saturday night.

After a cautious opening, Henderson took Silva down two minutes in and controlled him on the ground the rest of the round. He did not do that much damage, other than some hammer fists, but the champion looked mortal for the first time in a while

A more aggressive Silva stalked Henderson in the second round and, after a clinch on the fence, the two started swinging.

Henderson got the worst of it and went down, eventually giving up his back to Silva after the Brazilian fired a barrage of punches from above.

Silva then sank in a rear-naked choke.

With the clock counting down to the end of the round, Henderson tried to hang on but had to tap.

Silva improved to 21-4 (6-0 in UFC events). Henderson fell to 22-7.

In the co-main event, Heath Herring won a split decision over France’s Cheick Kongo in a heavyweight bout.

Herring improved to 28-13 with one no contest while Kongo fell to 21-4-1.