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Dan Henderson's Career

8K views 83 replies 31 participants last post by  kantowrestler 
#1 ·
Okay, so I just watched Dan Henderson on inside MMA. I will begin with, I'm a huge Hendo fan, so I may be a little biased. But I was thinking, does anyone else's career compare to his? I'm not saying he's the GOAT or anything, but if you actually look at his career, it's unreal.

First he was a two time California state wrestling champion, all-american at Arizona State, then a two time U.S Olympian, no medals, but still a two time Olympian. Then he starts his pro MMA career. Has a couple fights, then wins the UFC 17 Middleweight tournament by beating Calos Newtom. Then wins the Rings King of Kings Tournament, knocking off Babalu, Gilbert Yvel and Big Nog.

Goes to Pride, not going to go over his Pride career, it's pretty well known. Wins the 183lb championship in Pride and beats Vitor Belfort by UD and Wanderlei Silva by brutal Hendo Hop, in back to back fights winning the LHW title in Pride. Making him the only man to hold two titles in two weight classes at once.

Comes to the UFC with the collapse of Pride, has two title fights in the UFC, granted both losses, but still against Rampage and A. Silva, not exactly bad losses. Has a close victory over Rich Franklin. Becomes a coach on TUF and gets one of the most brutal KO's I've ever seen on Michael Bisping.

Now he's going to have a title fight against Jake Shields in SF at MW and possibly another title fight at LHW against Mousasi. Did I mention Dan's 39 with 32 professional fights and he's never been knocked out.

So, he may not be the GOAT, but does anyone else have a resume quite like Dan Henderson?
 
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#2 ·
Some love for Dan :)

Dan had one of the most successful career's in this sport, but get's only small recognisance. He is already 39 and still fights in his prime. Look at guys like Wandy who are still younger, but already struggle a lot more then him.

Dan deserves a lot more fame and recognition! Look at guys like Randy or Tito who don't even come close at what this guy achieved, but are a lot more famous then him. The UFC thought he wasn't worth the money and let him go without a tear..

He will get a new spring after he beats Jake on CBS and his Legendary status will continue to grow.
 
#4 ·
It bothers me sometimes that guys like Tito get this crazy hype around them when Dan only gets respect from the hardcore MMA fans. I was glad when he got that huge KO at 100 because it's got people talking about him finally. I'm not even going to get started on the UFC letting him go.....hahah
 
#37 ·
..I'm with you on that. Hendo is a already a living legend. He left the UFC with a HUGE bang sporting one of the most brutal KO's ever. I can't wait until The SF MW belt is strapped around his waist. He's fought the toughest fighters and I kinda feel sorry for Jake Shields because he's reign will be over. It's almost impossible to not like Dan Henderson...
 
#5 ·
i like dan.

the ufc didnt let him go. he wanted more then he is worth.

accomplishments are great but the UFC doesnt make $ off accomplishments, they make $ off of gate and PPV sales.

Hendo isnt a big draw. Blame the fans, not the UFC.
 
#6 ·
Dan may have left for more money, but he was supposed to get a rematch with Silva after he KO'd Bisping and they just gave it to Belfort when he beat Franklin at a catchweight. I think that contributed to it also.
 
#8 · (Edited)
Got you on the embed :thumbsup:



Cool video man, +rep for Hendo.

The one thing I always remember when I think Dan Henderson, is oddly enough, I seen an interview with Frank Shamrock once where they played word association and when they said Dan Henderson, Frank said "scary" that's all you need to know about Hendo.
 
#9 ·
If Dan Henderson somehow got signed by UFC again...and then fought and beat A. Silva, he would definitely be in the top 5 of all time in my opinion. I still think Hendo is 2nd best middleweight in the world, behind Silva, at the moment.
 
#10 ·
I think, in spite of his accomplishments, Tito and Randy are more recognized because Hendo has more split decision victories than any MMA fighter I know. That means a lot of his fights could have easily gone either way. He wasn't dominant enough, he was lucky to have won all those fights.
 
#12 ·
well i dont think it was luck it was just the way he fought (lay and...you know the rest) that made his wins split decisions. but if you look at early on he really used his wrestling as opposed to now where he relies on his right hand.Hes had a good career with some big wins and competitive losses.

he was never a real dominant fighter but guys feared him because he could beat anybody put in front of him with his skill-set.
 
#11 ·
All i know that when a friend of mine played this childish game of who would you wanna be if you were a fighter.. he picked GSP and my pick was Dan.. then he looked at me smiling and said you know he has never been knocked out.. of course that can still happen but i don't care..
 
#13 · (Edited)
Hendo > Fedor

he just fought top guys all the time. he came to the UFC when the top guys did and kept fighting them.

all he was missing is a UFC belt. But so is Fedor. But Fedor didnt have 2 belts at once and fight top guys since Pride shutdown like Dan has.

Yea, i said it.

Ppl put too much value on records. Rocky Marciano isnt the greatest boxer ever either and he was undefeated.

The greatest, fight the greatest, win way more then they lose. Think Ali.

Dan is prob my GOAT right now but it will change very soon.

dont worry, everybody knows im flame retarded. but your hard pressed to find somebody who has fought at a higher level with better results over a long period of time in different weight classes...... then Dan Henderson.

He may not KO everybody and he may sqweak out some wins, but thats part of the sport, he knows how to use the rules to his advantage.

Anderson could make a LHW run and surpass him soon.

GSP could make a MW run.

BJ... etc etc.

Even if my boy..... Cain won the belt, was longest defending HW Champion in UFC history. He would be hard pressed to beat the feats of Dan Henderson. Being in the weakest division is hardly being the GOAT. Even if Cain does it.
 
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#15 ·
The thing I always say when people say something about Dan and decisions is the greatest always find a way to win, he may have gone to the judges and he may have been given a couple lucky ones. But he won and it's not like the guy has never finished anyone, he has mauled some guys, long before he KO'd Wand he was brutal in Pride.

Plus when you fight top guys, you're not going to finish everyone you get in with, it's not easy to KO elite fighters.
 
#24 ·
OK, if you two want it that way, let's get back to Hendo. Imagine if he had lost all those split decisions which could've easily happened. Would he still be eligible for GOAT and would you still appreciate him that much?

And I did read your post Alizio, and I don't think you are fair to Marciano. It's not his fault if the HW division was a bit weaker when he was on top. The fact is, he didn't duck anyone and he defeated everyone in his path. 49-0-0, 43 KO's. That alone ranks him among the very best ever.
 
#28 ·
Dan Henderson has 9 split decision wins on his record. He's got (essentially) zero submission skills and more than half of his wins are by decision.

When he beat Vitor, Vitor's sister had just been kidnapped in Brazil and he had no composure because of it, just had to mention that in there.


I think Dan is one of the most "solid" fighters - not well rounded, but solid - in the world. There's nobody he wouldn't give problems too. But I don't consider him elite and he's maybe a little overrated.


I mean... like everyone else said. What if his 9 split decisions had gone the other way?


Plus some people said he's going to walk through SF's MW division. A mid-tier SF fighter in Misaki beat Henderson at arguably Henderson's prime, and yet SF's champions are going to get crushed by him. :confused03:
 
#29 · (Edited)
I don't agree with much of that, but I see your point on everything except for Dan being overrated. I really hope that's a joke, Dan is never in the conversation about GOAT or even in the talk when MW comes up. The only time he ever gets talked about is when people are discussing who could possibly beat Silva and even then it's not much of a mention, it's just maybe Hendo could have in a rematch.

I'm sorry, but you don't hold two titles in two divisions if you aren't a great fighter. It's as simple as that, yes he's won a lot of decisions and it's 8 split decisions btw not 9, but so has Jon Fitch, does that mean Fitch isn't a great fighter? And if you ask me Dan has easily fought tougher competition.

Dan is going to run right through SF, there just isn't the ability at MW in SF. Dan wants another title before he retires, he's driven and Jake Shields style plays right into Dan's game. Shields doesn't have great stand-up and I don't see him taking Dan down very easily or staying on top if he does take him down.

Vitor's sister was kidnapped almost three years before he fought Dan Henderson, so nice try. That was sad about Vitor's sister though, either way. Vitor also tested positive for steroids after that fight.
 
#35 ·
Henderson - fought most champs in most weight classes!!!

Nobody fought more major org champions from more weight classes then Hendo!


HW champs: Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (2x)
LHW champs: Wanderlei Silva (2x)
Quinton Jackson
Vitor Belfort
Babalu (Strikeforce)
Yuki Kondo (if you count Rings champs)
MW champs: Anderson Silva
Rich Franklin
Murilo Bustamante
Kazuo Misaki (grand prix winner)
WW champs: Carlos Newton

Legend!
 
#36 ·
Nobody fought more major org champions from more weight classes then Hendo!


HW champs: Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (2x)
LHW champs: Wanderlei Silva (2x)
Quinton Jackson
Vitor Belfort
Babalu (Strikeforce)
Yuki Kondo (if you count Rings champs)
MW champs: Anderson Silva
Rich Franklin
Murilo Bustamante
Kazuo Misaki (grand prix winner)
WW champs: Carlos Newton

Legend!
Yeah, no one can say they've done that, not even the all powerful Fedor, he's fought the best and beaten a lot of them too. Only two guys I would really liked to have seen him fight that he didn't, Nate Marquardt and I would have loved to have seen Henderson v Shogun especially if it had been in Pride.
 
#40 ·
Hey bumping this thread just because we can add SF LHW to his resume.

And I've been thinking a younger Hendo could have given Jones problems, not anymore sadly, he's 40, but I think Henderson is the prototype to beat Jones.

Ability to end a fight with a single punch, great clinch work and wrestling, granite chin and great cardio.
 
#44 ·
Hendo has to be in the top 10 of all time greats in MMA. And hes still kicking ass at the age of 40(?). Whilst he has had a few lucky decisionds go his way (Franklin, Nog) hes still been and continues to be a superb fighter.
 
#45 ·
Hendo has to be in the top 10 of all time greats in MMA. And hes still kicking ass at the age of 40(?). Whilst he has had a few lucky decisionds go his way (Franklin, Nog) hes still been and continues to be a superb fighter.
More than a few. But he is a great fighter, especially considering his age.
 
#48 ·
Hendo has had a truely impressive career. He is probably my favorite fighter next to rich. Hendo is got to go down as one of the all-time greats having successful fights against top guy in 3 weight classes. Holding the pride belts in 2 weight classes at the same time and I got a feeling he will be the strikeforce LHW champ for a while now unless he go's back to the ufc. Hendo is one of the greatest of all time and seems to be a good guy as well. One of my favorites for sure.
 
#51 ·
randy will be more know because his fights were more shocking and exciting. He was always seen as the underdog in most of his fights but he rose to the occasion and won most of the time.

he wasnt suppose to beat rizzo but he did he wasn't suppose to beat chuck but he did he wasn't suppose to beat titio but he spanked him and he beat vitor as well. Then no one expected him to beat big tim but he did and the after that he dominated GG which no one was expecting.
the situation he was in was just more exciting.

hendo is still one of the all time greats and has had a career as good or better than randy's.
 
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