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.
Make no mistake—Henderson is a legend and has perhaps the best chin in history, but at some point that advantage has to fall victim to age.
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.
Outside of a loss to Anderson Silva that we can all understand and a match stopped by a doctor, Belfort has not been defeated by strikes in more than a decade.
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.
Belfort cannot only employ the same strategy as Machida and Evans, he can also use his elite submission game, which saw him almost get Jon “Bones” Jones to tap in late 2012 to an armbar—a move that has seen Henderson tap twice.
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.
However, times have changed since then, and Henderson has chosen to forgo his Olympic wrestling background in favor of big hits and a defense complemented by a strong chin.
As a result, the stubborn Henderson will lose his third straight bout on Saturday. He is facing a veteran who can match him power strike for power strike and also abuse an opening that others have highlighted in recent victories over Hendo.
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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