MMA greats collide in the Octagon on Saturday at UFC Fight Night 32, but it is Vitor “The Phenom” Belfort who will score a major victory and make history as the first to knock out Dan Henderson.
Belfort has been on a hot streak as of late, taking out two Top 10 middleweights in his last two bouts. The 43-year-old Henderson has been on a major slump and has lost both recent fights to Lyoto Machida and Rashad Evans on the scorecards.
That time is now.
Henderson is an elite striker capable of a knockout with one swing, but his stubborn strategy of standing still, taking major hits and landing some of his own is going to backfire in a big way against Belfort.
This bodes horribly for Henderson as his fists are his major weapons. He is as predictable as it gets with his big right hand, and it has cost him the last two bouts because his opponents were able to pick and choose their spots while avoiding a surefire knockout.
Therein lies perhaps the biggest problem for Henderson—opponents only lands about half of their strikes thrown at Belfort.
Alas, at this point in his career based on recent behavior, bank on Belfort to stick with what works. His newly discovered kick game sent both Michael Bisping and Luke Rockhold to the canvas for a nap. Both fighters have a better defense than Henderson, who relies on an iron chin to compensate for his weak defense.
It would be erroneous to omit that Henderson beat Belfort way back in 2006 via decision.
The Phenom is set to make history. In one way, Henderson has decided this for himself in his refusal to change. In another way, it’s simple logic. Even the best chins degrade with age, and Hendo has shown to be too predictable in the past.
Belfort will be the first to knock out Henderson—potentially for good.
Note: All pertinent info courtesy of UFC.
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