Dan Henderson

At 53 years old, Dan Henderson has this physical status:

Daniel Jeffery Henderson (born August 24, 1970) is a retired American mixed martial artist and Olympic wrestler who last competed as a middleweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

He was the last Welterweight (83 kg (1890.0 lb)) and Middleweight (93 kg (205.0 lb) champion of Pride Fighting Championships and was the last Welterweight (83 kg (183.0 lb) champion.

Henderson was the champion of the Brazil Open 97 Tournament, the UFC 17 Middleweight Tournament Champion, and the Pride Worlderweight Grand Prix Tournament Champion.

Henderson also qualified for the UFC Middleweight Championship (2x), the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship, and the Strikeforce Middleweight Championship.

Henderson was the first mixed martial artist to compete in two separate weight classes concurrently in a big MMA tournament.

At the time of his release from UFC 204, he was the youngest fighter on the UFC roster at that point.

Henderson is widely regarded as one of the best mixed martial arts fighters of all time, winning a total of twenty-one MMA world champions across four major MMA tournaments (UFC, PRIDE FC, Strikeforce, and RINGS).

Personal life

Henderson grew up on a ranch in Apple Valley, California. He began wrestling at a young age and was spotted as a tenacious competitor. When he entered high school, he joined Victor Valley High with his brother Tom. The wrestling team was coached by Sam Gollmyer and assisted by their father Bill Henderson and Joe Barrios. He is of Native American, English, Scottish, and French descent. After being diagnosed with low testosterone levels in 2007, Henderson had previously been prescribed testosterone replacement therapy (TRT). However, TRT has no longer been allowed to participate in UFC competition since 2014. Henderson said he stopped using TRT "cold turkey" after TRT was barred.

Henderson was coached by Bob Anderson, a retired California Jets team. Victor Valley captured the team championship in 1987 and finished second at the California State Wrestling Championship. He finished fifth in the state finals and several months later won national championships in both freestyle and Greco Roman at the Junior Nationals in Cedar Falls, Iowa.

Alice (Bergevin) LeJune, "Henderson's grandmother, as well as the Confederated Tribes, is an active member of the Confederated Tribes and owns property on the Umatilla Indian Reservation, according to the Confederated Umatilla Journal in March 2007. Henderson is 1/16 of Walla Walla Native American, according to all. "Now I know I'm Walla Walla," Henderson said in the interview. It's refreshing to find some of those things out. I am Indian, and I suspected I had some, but I had no idea what tribe or how much money was used to determine how much it was. It would be useful to inform my children about their roots, "it would be helpful."

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Wrestling career

Dan Henderson was born in Downey, California, and he grew up in Apple Valley, California. He competed in freestyle wrestling, but he is best known for his efforts in Greco-Roman wrestling.

He attended Victor Valley High School in Victorville, California, and earned gold at the California State Wrestling Championships in 1987 and 1988. In 1987, he came in second, and fifth in 1988. He was a member of the 1987 Victor Valley High School wrestling team state champions. Henderson won both Greco-Roman and freestyle wrestling in 1988.

Henderson left high school but promise to wrestle a season at Cal State Fullerton (CSUF) and Arizona State University (ASU). He qualified for the 1993 NCAA championships.

Henderson was the university national champion in 1991, 1993, and 1994 in Greco-Roman wrestling. In 1993, 1994, 1995, and 1997, he was the national champion at the senior level. In the 1992 and 1996 Summer Olympics, he represented the United States and placed 10th and 12th, respectively.

Henderson appeared in the World Wrestling Championships in 1994 and 1997, placing 12th and 7th respectively. A bronze medal at the 1995 Pan American Games and a gold medal in the 2000 Pan American Championships are among the notable performances. In the final of the tournament, Henderson defeated Luis Enrique Méndez.

Henderson was unable to qualify for the 2000 Olympics. He reached the world team trials finals in 2001, but Matt Lindland was defeated by him, and after that, he concentrated on an MMA career.

Henderson served as an assistant wrestling coach at Cerritos College in the 1990s.

Mixed martial arts career

Henderson began training in mixed martial arts when he joined the Real American Wrestling team in 1997 (RAW).

Henderson made his MMA debut in 1997, following in the footsteps of other wrestlers who were finding success in the sport. Henderson was the first Henderson to compete at the Brazil Open Lightweight Tournament, which had a weight limit of 176 pounds. It was a one-night tournament with four participants. Henderson took the championship after two quick finishes.

Henderson's second MMA tournament, as well as a four-man tournament, was held in one night less than a year ago. This time, however, the weight limit was 199 pounds. Henderson's on-again off-again relationship with the UFC, which will span nearly two decades, will begin at UFC 17. He defeated Allan Goes and Carlos Newton in tightly fought contests to win his second MMA tournament title. Henderson's jaw was ripped off by a punch delivered in their fight, but he kept fighting through it.

Henderson's third MMA tournament took place eight months later. This time, there were 32 fighters on the track, but there was no weight limit for any of the fighters. The tournament will be held over the course of two nights. The first two rounds were held in late 1999, while the final three were held in early 2000. Henderson met Gilbert Yvel, Antônio Rodrigo Rodrigo Noregol, and Renato Sobral, among other notable participants. Despite being overweight at 199 pounds and often being outweighed by more than 30 pounds, Henderson retained all five of his battles and became the Rings: King of Kings Tournament 1999 champion.

In late 2000, Henderson began competing in the Pride Fighting Championships. He competed in three tournaments for the organization, winning the Welterweight (183 pounds) tournament at Pride Shockwave 2005 by beating Murilo Bustamante by a split decision. At Pride Bushido 9, where Henderson defeated both Ryo Chonan and Akihiro Gono in the first two rounds of the eight-man tournament. He was also named the Pride Worlderweight Championship as a result of his tournament win.

Henderson lost a decision in a rematch against Kazuo Misaki in 2006. It was the first time he had lost a fight to an opponent under the age of 205 pounds. Henderson's last Pride bout was a rematch with Wanderlei Silva at Pride 33 in Las Vegas, Nevada, on February 24, 2007, when the former champ defeated him to become the Middleweight Champion (205 pounds), while still holding his Welterweight crown. Henderson was the first MMA fighter to hold titles in two separate weight classes concurrently in a large MMA club. Henderson went 13–5 with Pride, with eight victories coming by stoppage.

Henderson returned to the UFC on September 8, 2007 in London, England, to face light heavyweight champion Quinton "Rampage" Jackson. Jackson dominated the later rounds and took the Pride middleweight championship in a close fight that saw Henderson insist his will early.

Henderson will face UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva to unify the Pride welterweight (183 lb) and UFC middleweight (185 lb) championships on November 17, 2007, according to UFC middleweight (183 lb) and UFC middleweight (185 lb) championships. On March 1, 2008, UFC 82 took place in Columbus, Ohio, and was hosted at the Nationwide Arena. Henderson dominated the first round but was defeated by submission at 4:52 of the second round by rear naked choke.

Henderson started his inauspicious debut in the UFC with a win over Rousimar Palhares at UFC 88, who eventually won by unanimous vote. It was his first UFC victory in ten years of battle. "Hopefully I don't have to wait that long before I win my next round," Henderson said after the match.

Henderson competed in the light heavyweight division against Rich Franklin, the former UFC Middleweight champion, in Dublin, Ireland, on January 17, 2009. Henderson won the fight by a split decision in the third round, which many, including Franklin, believed was deliberate. On season 9 of The Ultimate Fighter, he was later chosen to lead Team USA, with Michael Bisping assisting Team United Kingdom.

The reality TV show, which sparked a feud between the two coaches that lasted until their fight, premiered on Spike TV and premiered in Las Vegas on June 20, 2009.

Henderson defeated Bisping out of the first round at UFC 100 in Las Vegas, Henderson, and Bisping, culminating in Henderson becoming the first man to knock Bisping out and circling to Henderson's right. Henderson was resurgent from being considered for a championship shot at UFC Middleweight Champion Sam Carter as a result of his victory. Henderson received a $100,000 reward for "Knock Out of the Night" and is considered one of the best knockouts in the game's history.

Henderson arose from the melee with a flying forearm-drop to the undefended Bisping's head right before referee Mario Yamasaki ended the match at 3:20.

"I struck him hard," Henderson said immediately after the war, but I got the last blow in just to scare him a little bit." Henderson said in jest that Henderson had made the remark in jest, that Henderson had not made the comment directly, but Henderson explained afterwards by saying, "If you're in the heat of the moment, the ref hadn't stopped me yet," she said. I only struck him twice, once on my feet and another on the ground. I didn't keep going back to school. After the ref tried to stop me, I didn't go back, it was nothing like that. It was a reaction of mine to continue going until I was stopped, but you know, it did feel good."

After his deal with Strikeforce came to an end, Dan Henderson signed a four-fight, 16-month contract. Henderson made his Strikeforce debut on CBS against Jake Shields on April 17, 2010. He was also scheduled for a light heavyweight match against Gegard Mousasi and expressed an interest in meeting Fedor Emelianenko at some point during his contract. Henderson's debut to Strikeforce was to Jake Shields. Despite paining Shields and knocking him down in the 1st round, Henderson went on to lose by unanimous vote. The bulk of the last rounds were played on the ground, where Shields dominated the battle by grappling. (49-46, 49–45, 48–45).

On December 4, 2010, Henderson took on Renato Sobral at Strikeforce: Henderson vs. Babalu. At 1:53 of the first round, Henderson gained the fight by KO at 1:53.

Henderson defeated Rafael Cavalcante in the Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Championship at Strikeforce 32. Henderson lost Cavalcante with his famed right hand in the third round after two rounds, with the score tied 19-19, but referee Dan Miragliotta called the contest off at the 0:50 mark.

On July 30, 2011, Henderson defeated Fedor Emelianenko at Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Henderson. Many had hoped that Henderson would catch Fedor at a catch weight, but Strikeforce later announced the match as a heavyweight match. "It's difficult for me to gain weight," Henderson said. I did weightlifting and a lot of eating; I'm not sure what else I'm supposed to do. "I'm not going to be outmatched or small in there." In order to qualify for the heavyweight division, he had to scales weighing at least 206 pounds, and weighed in at 207. Fedor weighed in at a bit below his ideal weight, with the scale reading 223 pounds. At 4:12 of the 1st round, Henderson defeated Emelianenko via KO. This was the last fight on Henderson's Strikeforce deal. Henderson said he would re-sign to protect his Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Championship.

Dana White, a UFC133 pre-fight press conference, speculated that Henderson would return to the UFC for a third go-around. "We'll see what happens," White said in Philadelphia on Thursday. "Hendo and I have a long history with dealing." We'll see if we can figure out something and bring him right back to the UFC." "I think the biggest fight they could promote is probably a title unification with whoever is the champion in the UFC," Henderson said later.

Henderson took on Mauro Rua on November 19, 2011 in his third appearance in the UFC. He was victorious by a unanimous vote. Both fighters were awarded Fight of the Night awards, and many saw it as one of the best fights in UFC history.

During the post-fight press conference of UFC 145, UFC President Dana White revealed that Henderson will be the next opponent for Light Heavyweight Champion Jon Jones.

The brawl between Jones and Jones was supposed to take place on September 1, 2012, at UFC 151. Henderson, on the other hand, pulled out of the match due to a knee injury, and the remainder of the fight card was postponed.

On February 23, 2013, Henderson met Lyoto Machida at UFC 157. He lost the match by a split decision.

In the main event at UFC 161, Henderson defeated Rashad Evans on June 15, 2013. He lost by split decision.

At UFC Fight Night 32, Henderson defeated Vitor Belfort in a rematch on November 9, 2013. Henderson defeated Belfort in their first match in 2006 at Pride 32 by a unanimous vote. In the first round, he lost the fight due to strikes, marking the first time in his MMA career that he had been barred from fighting. Henderson's was the last fight of his UFC contract. Henderson revealed to UFC Tonight on January 22, he had signed a new, six-fight deal with the UFC.

A rematch with Maurciu Rua was scheduled to take place on March 23, 2014 at UFC Fight Night 38. Despite losing the first two rounds after being knocked down by Rua, Henderson bounced back in the third round and claimed the fight via TKO due to punches. Henderson's win also earned him his third Fight of the Night bonus and his first appearance of the Night bonus.

Henderson, who made his return to the cage on May 24, 2014, met a much larger Daniel Cormier at UFC 173. After being out-wrestled and stranded on the bottom for the majority of the game, he lost the fight via submission (technical submission/rear-naked choke).

Henderson will face Gegard Mousasi on January 24, 2015 in the co-main event at UFC on Fox 14. In the first round, he lost via TKO.

In the main event at UFC Fight Night 68, Henderson met Tim Boetsch on June 6, 2015. He beat him out of the first round by a knockout at 28 seconds.

In the main event at UFC Fight Night 77, Henderson met Vitor Belfort in a rubber match. He lost the match by a combination of head kick and punches.

On April 16, 2016, UFC on Fox 19 will show a rematch with Lyoto Machida at Middleweight. Machida revealed the use of a prohibited drug during an out-of-commotion sample collection last week, according to the United States. Machida said he was unaware that the drug was banned both in and out of competition. Henderson was therefore suspended from the fight, and Henderson was re-booked for another event at a later date.

Henderson was rescheduled to meet Héctor Lombard at UFC 199 on June 4, 2016. He won the fight by a head kick and a reverse elbow, earning him a Performance of the Night bonus as well as becoming the first fighter to knock Lombard out cold.

In a rematch on October 8, 2016, Henderson took on then UFC Middleweight Champion Michael Bisping. Despite losing in both the first and second rounds of the tournament, he ended up losing the back-and-forth battle by unanimous vote. Both fighters received the Fight of the Night trophy for their efforts. Henderson resigned from fighting at the conclusion of the war.

On July 5, 2018, Dan Henderson and Mauricio Rua were inducted into the Fight Wing of the UFC Hall of Fame at the UFC Fan Expo, alongside Mauro Rua for their 2011 fight.

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