Dan Henderson is a legend in the sport and has paved his way to championships, led by his notorious right hand. The H-Bomb certainly has brought great highlight reels to his career, but now, as time goes on, he is working to solidify his legacy as one of the most versatile and successful MMA fighters of all time.
He is currently 29-8 and is now back in the UFC, and has already put on one of the best fights in UFC history against Shogun Rua.
He now stands at a crossroads where he must make a decision.
His reputation, status, and statistics put him in a position to choose two different paths. He can choose to fight for the Middleweight title again, and try to dethrone Anderson Silva (or Chael Sonnen), or he can face the rising young talent of Jon Jones at Light Heavyweight.
It seems pretty clear that whichever division Hendo chooses, Dana White and Joe Silva are throwing him straight into a title shot. Justifiable and a great business move either way, it seems Hendo is not sure yet though which one he wants.
It is a tough choice, considering both fights are against a top three pound-for-pound fighter in the world. Here are some things to consider when thinking what you would do in Hendo’s shoes.
First, if he returns to the 185 division, he may very well be facing Anderson Silva, who is arguably the greatest fighter there has ever been so far. This is not to say Sonnen won’t be champion, but Silva has earned the right to be the assumed champion whenever anyone talks about one day fighting for the Middleweight belt.
The wildcard is how age is affecting both these days, since both are in the upper tiers of where fighters usually choose to retire. By the time this fight would happen, age shouldn’t matter too much, since both have shown in their recent fights that they are very much still on their game.
The other factor is that Silva and Hendo have faced each other before, and Silva finished him via rear naked choke in the second round. Worthy to note though, Hendo did make Silva lose the first round by holding him on the ground, which no one had really done to Silva at that point. That meeting was in 2008, and both fighters have improved and changed, so it would be interesting to see.
It is also good to look at the aftermath as well. If Hendo becomes champion at MW, this route seems to not offer as many fan-exciting fights for the future, and many would want Hendo to move to LHW anyway. It would be great to see Hendo vs. Bisping again, or have him face Chael Sonnen, (possibly Wanderlei or Le) but after that there are not too many fights many fans would perceive as exciting PPV worthy challenges. The moment Hendo wins the MW title, fans will want him to face Jones (or whoever is champ at LHW).
So Hendo’s second option is going to LHW and facing Jon Jones (or Rashad Evans). For this purpose, let’s say Jones remains champ after his fight with Evans.
Hendo has a wrestling pedigree to shadow Jon Jones, and the experience to match. Jones is a young and explosive fighter, and would prove to be a challenge to deal with the reach in order to pull of an H-Bomb. Hendo is no stranger to title shots and the pressure, but like Silva, you don’t know what Jones is like until you actually step into the cage with him.
At LHW, Henderson is left with many more matchups that are “exciting” on paper. He could face Evans, Machida, Shogun again, Rampage again, avenge his loss to Lil Nog from back in 2005 in Pride, Bader, and others. Typically, Hendo has found more success at LHW, making this weight class presumably more attractive.
If he faces Silva or Jones, beating them will be history-making is its own right. The MMA world would get turned upside down and a great shift in rankings would start.
If he beats Silva, he will be known as the man who finally dethroned the most dominant UFC champion ever. If he beats Jones, he is the one that brought a halt to the hype train of the youngest UFC champion ever, who many felt was on a track to surpassing the accomplishments of Silva. Either way, his fame and notoriety would skyrocket.
Either way, Hendo will want to make his choice carefully. Perhaps he is holding off to see which title fight will be easiest to go into, and to gauge how the respective champions are fighting these days. Henderson has held belts in Strikeforce and Pride, but never had UFC gold around his waist. This is a chance for him to finally prove his worth as a champion with yet another title shot. Whichever he picks, he will certainly be giving it his all and put on a great fight.
Which Title Shot Should He Take?
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