DUBLIN, Ireland — Former two-division champion Dan Henderson won a close split decision over former middleweight champ Rich Franklin at UFC 93 on Saturday night, while Mauricio "Shogun" Rua also made a winning return to the Octagon.

Henderson relied on his world-class wrestling to trap Franklin on the ground throughout the fight, eventually scoring enough points to win the bout and a coaching job on season nine of The Ultimate Fighter reality TV show.

Two judges scored the three-round light heavyweight fight 29-28 for Henderson. The third had it 30-27 for Franklin.

"I felt that this was a good fight style-wise for me," said Henderson, a former PRIDE champion. "I felt that I could take him down. He did well from the outside, but I did well from the inside and on top."

In the co-main event, Rua returned from a knee injury and a surprise loss to Forrest Griffin to beat veteran Mark Coleman by technical knockout.

Henderson (24-7), from Temecula, Calif., landed the first big blows in the opening round, and a clash of heads near the end of the first round opened a cut on Franklin. The smaller Henderson kept chasing Franklin (26-4-1) in the second round, finally taking him to the mat and landed a number of punches right up to the bell.

Franklin, fighting out of Cincinnati, tried to get back in the fight in the final round, but it was too late and the result went to the judges.

"My only disappointment is that I didn't do more in the third round," Henderson said.

The 44-year-old Coleman (16-9), who had not fought in the UFC since 1999, appeared to be winning the crowd of 9,369 at O2 Arena when Rua landed seven unanswered blows in the third round and the referee halted the fight.

Rua (17-3) will next face UFC superstar Chuck Liddell.

"I was on the sidelines for one year, and that wasn't easy," Rua said through an interpreter. "That took away a lot of my conditioning, and I've had to get back into a rhythm. By my next fight I'll be more prepared, and in better shape to give my fans a show."

The UFC announced a gate of about $1.3 million and has already said it plans to return to O2 Arena in 2010, perhaps on St. Patrick's Day.