Dan Henderson is an old, grizzled, veteran, mixed martial artist (MMA) fighter with dynamite in his right hand. He has an iron jaw and a never ending determination. Henderson is often referred to as the best American mixed martial arts fighter ever.
Accomplishments
Henderson fought his first professional MMA fight at the Brazilian Open in 1997. The then, 28 year old two-time American Olympic wrestler needed money to support a third Olympic bid. Henderson won two fights in one night, both by stoppage.
Henderson would go on to become a UFC tournament champion, Rings tournament champion (where he fought an unheard of three fights in one night against other legends and pioneers of the sport), and in 2007, he became the first and only MMA fighter to ever simultaneously hold division titles in two weight classes. Henderson accomplished this by violently knocking out MMA legend Wanderlei Silva for the now defunct Pride middleweight title.
After the UFC purchased Pride and all of its fighters, Henderson, who had fought the majority of his MMA career in Japan, came to America and gained a small but loyal following. UFC 100 (the biggest show in UFC history) saw the American become a star in his home country. The 38 year old Henderson scored one of the most vicious knockouts ever recorded in any sport against the British trash talking Michael Bisping.
At the age of 40, Henderson strung together three successive knockouts and became a Strikeforce champion. He topped this run off by knocking out the greatest heavyweight fighter in MMA history, Fedor Emeliannenko, despite giving up 20 pounds in weight. After his fight with Emelianenko, Henderson returned to the UFC and beat MMA legend Shogun Rua in an all-out five round war that has been titled the greatest fight in UFC history.
A Knockdown and Right Hand
Today, Henderson is 45 years old. He is still an active fighter and is just 2-6 since beating Rua in his UFC return. Before his recent skid, Henderson held the distinction of never being stopped by strikes. Three of Henderson’s last four losses have come by way of knockout.
Once a dynamic and decorated wrestler, Henderson has grown dependent on his big right hand (nicknamed the “H-Bomb”) for achieving victory. One factor causing this might be the aging fighter’s decreased speed, which has also caused Henderson to eat more vicious shots than ever before.
Henderson now holds the distinction of being knocked down more than any other active UFC fighter: 16 times. The fighters legendary chin and incomprehensible toughness now seems to be his biggest opponent. Henderson has never had a regular job. Competing against the best in the world is all that he knows.
Many have called for Henderson to retire, but he shrugs these statements off. Henderson makes no excuses for his losses, and indeed, two of them back in 2012 were controversial decisions. The former Olympian says his “body feels better than it has in a while,” but his recent decline is obvious.
Perhaps Henderson is still reeling after earning a title shot back in 2011 against Jon Jones, but he suffered an MCL tear in training that forced him to pull out (the first and only time he has ever pulled out of a fight). This was the start of Henderson’s skid, who says he is “just taking it one fight at a time.” Time waits for no one, especially aging athletes.
Reality Sinks in
On Nov. 7, 2015, Henderson faced Vitor Belfort for a third time. In his previous fight, Henderson had knocked out Tim Boetsch in 28 seconds, and he reminded everyone that he is still capable of knocking anyone out. The fight was a rematch of their 2013 meeting, which saw Belfort become the first man to ever finish Henderson via strikes. Henderson won their first meeting in 2006 by decision. Belfort tested positive for an Anabolic Steroid after the fight. This was the first of three current failed drug tests by Belfort.
Henderson put his faith in the new UFC USADA drug testing program, and he agreed to face the Brazilian, Belfort in Sao Paulo Brazil. He said that this match would be different; last time he had been caught in a bad position. That was a mistake he wouldn’t make again.
The fight started and Henderson came out in his traditional crouched home run stance. The American looked tentative and backed away from the faster, larger, and circling southpaw Belfort. Henderson landed a couple of nice leg kicks, but nothing of substantial damage.
After two minutes of a positional chess match, Belfort unleashed a brutal left head kick that Henderson ducked right into. Badly hurt and wobbled, Henderson desperately grabbed hold of the Brazilian who began following up with punches. Referee Mario Yamasake took the chance to jump in when Henderson’s arm went momentarily limp. The official stoppage came at 2:07 of the first round.
Following the fight, Henderson said, “he obviously got me with a nice kick, but I was aware of what was going on.” “I understand the decision to stop it, but… I’m just disappointed in myself.”
Henderson is now 31-14 in his MMA career. He has never taken an easy fight, and he never will. Regardless of age, Henderson is a warrior that will never back down from a challenge.
As a fan of Henderson, it has been an amazing career to follow. A lot of ups, and most recently, a lot of downs. Beneath the grit, warrior spirit, and determination, lies a man who loves to compete at the highest level. Henderson’s attitude and approach to fighting is inspirational. With one fight remaining on his current UFC contract, something tells me that we haven’t seen the last of Dan Henderson.
By Daniel McNamara
MDST 485 Class Blog 