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Despite Losing Close Career Finale, Dan Henderson Goes out as Only ‘Hendo’ Can

When it was over, when the final horn sounded and the lights went up on the Manchester Arena in England, no one could really be sure what they had just witnessed. A 46-year-old man as UFC world middleweight champion? Maybe.
Over the course of five rou…

Over the course of five rounds, Dan Henderson dropped Michael Bisping twice, setting off flashbacks to the first match between them.

Back then, in 2009, Henderson had authored what is largely considered one of the most devastating knockouts in mixed martial arts history, a shattering right hand followed up by a flying jackhammer for added style points.

This, at UFC 204, was not that. But it was close. Thisclose. So close to the end, to the storybook finish that so many wished for him. Henderson himself later said that in that moment, he allowed himself to dream it, if only for a second. The only difference this time around was Bisping’s heart and unwillingness to lose in front of his countrymen. Each time he fell, Bisping rose and fought on, resetting himself and adding up points through volume. Each time Bisping rose, Henderson regrouped for another wind and another attempt to add to his magnificent highlight reel.

By the end, Bisping was bleeding from all over the head, and Henderson looked much as he did when he first stepped foot in the cage 30 minutes earlier.

It was one of those fights. Henderson’s power vs. Bisping’s output. Throw in the emotional stakes of a retirement fight, and it made it difficult to objectively evaluate what was truly happening.

Certainly, there was a large group that felt Henderson won. But the three cageside judges felt differently.

“I came up a little short, but not bad for an old man,” Henderson said in his post-fight interview right afterward. “I wish they judged the fight based on how you look after the fight.”

If they did, there would have been no contest.

In the end though, it doesn’t matter. I mean, it matters in the sense that Henderson doesn’t get the UFC championship, the one major belt that managed to elude him through a near 20-year-career. But it doesn’t matter in that it doesn’t change a single thing about how the fight world views his career.

In the end, Henderson belongs on MMA‘s Mount Rushmore. In the end, Manchester was cheering him. The fight world was cheering him. Even Bisping was cheering him.

“This guy is incredible,” Bisping said. “At his age? He just kicked my ass, man. After all the trash talking, you gotta respect the guy, he’s a legend.”

At 46, it’s over for Henderson. He reaffirmed that after the fight after waffling a few times during fight week. Though the end came with the struggles that befall most professional fighters—he lost seven of his last 10 bouts—his legacy is left unaffected.

With career wins from 183 pounds all the way up to heavyweight; with championships in multiple organizations; with a career that spanned from the wild west early days of the sport to its slick and modern prime, Henderson is—as Bisping says—a legend, and is near the front of the conversation as the greatest American mixed martial artist ever.

That was reaffirmed by this bout. If we’re being honest, the objective possibilities for Henderson in this fight were never strong, essentially boiling down to the landing of the “H-Bomb” that became his late-career trademark.

“Puncher’s chance” is a term meant for a night like this, for a fight like this.

It almost happened.

In this year of the impossible, the improbable and the downright bizarre, it would have made some kind of karmic sense if Henderson retired as the UFC champion.

New York finally passed MMA; the UFC was sold to a new ownership team; CM Punk fought in the UFC; Brock Lesnar returned; the booking strategy has gone straight cash, first, last and always.

Hell, this fight itself was bizarre because of the circumstances surrounding it. For one thing, Henderson, who came into the bout ranked No. 13 in the division, only got it because of a fan push on social media; for another, to cater to North American pay-per-view audiences, the match started at 4:50 a.m. local time.

Yes, you read that right. Old man Hendo had to cross eight time zones from California to go across the pond and fight a man nearly a decade younger than him in his hometown, and at a time when 99 percent of the local population is deep in REM sleep.

That’s a hell of a task for anyone, but if anyone was going to do it, why not a legend?

He almost did it.

“Before this fight, I had accomplished enough in the sport and was satisfied with that,” he said in the post-fight press conference. “There was one more thing I wanted to do. I really worked my ass off in training camp and thought I did enough to get it done. I’m frustrated I didn’t get it done, or that I didn’t get credit for it. I know there’s no changing it. I have to live with it.”

At least there’s plenty of good to live with too.

Thirty-two career wins.

Knockouts of Fedor Emelianenko, Hector Lombard, Mauricio Rua and Bisping.

UFC tournament champion and RINGS King of Kings in the 1990s, PRIDE welterweight and middleweight champion in the 2000s, Strikeforce light-heavyweight champion in the 2010s.

His talent crossed divisions, his success spanned generations.

Regardless of what the judges had to say about Saturday night, Henderson can leave with his chin high. He knocked Bisping down twice. He knocked the breath out of us. He may not have left the champion, but like every other time, he left us thinking, Man, can that guy fight.

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The Question: Will Vitor Belfort or Gegard Mousasi Rise from Middleweight Pack?

The UFC middleweight division was thrown into upheaval when Michael Bisping captured the championship on short notice back in June. Since then, there has been little movement among the division’s Top 10, but the picture will gain some clarity after Saturday night’s UFC 204. Before Bisping attempts to defend the belt against Dan Henderson in the night’s main event, contenders Vitor Belfort and Gegard Mousasi square off in an attempt to clear the logjam and vault closer to the front of the pack.

For veteran observers of the sport, this is an intriguing matchup that was long debated and imagined and for several reasons. Both have held multiple titles in multiple organizations. Both are among the top finishers in the sport. And both have their own respective styles that when taken together, are quite the contrast: The fifth-ranked Belfort is a coiled ball of muscle who fights in angry bursts, while the ninth-ranked Mousasi always appears serene and unperturbed even while perpetrating in-cage barbarity.

So what are the stakes, and what’s likely to go down? Joining me to discuss it is my colleague, MMA Lead Writer Chad Dundas.

Mike Chiappetta: Chad, with apologies to the headliners, this matchup is the one I’m most anticipating on Saturday night. Partly because it’s a pairing that could have happened on a couple of previous occasions (notably the ill-fated Affliction 3), partly because they are just so different.

While Belfort’s big and flashy blitzes are far more storied in MMA, Mousasi’s cerebral and systematic decimations to me are in some ways more impressive. He’s rarely done it on physicality alone; instead, he relies on superior fight IQ, beating opponents on adaptability one detail at a time until it becomes an avalanche of advantage.

To me, Mousasi is one of the criminally underrated fighters of all time. He’s won fights in divisions ranging from middleweight to heavyweight, captured belts in Strikeforce and DREAM, and has stopped opponents in 32 of his 39 victories.

To be candid, I’d like to see him move up the ranks and get an opportunity at a UFC title, and Belfort is a fair bellwether. Mousasi has won four of his last five, and a win over Belfort can propel him a few spots forward in a congested division.

Belfort’s possibilities upon victory are both interesting and vague. On one hand, he has fairly recent wins over both Bisping and Henderson; on the other, he is now 39 years old and has lost two of his last three.

What do you think, Chad, who has more to win? Who has more to lose?

Chad Dundas: Considering their positions on the official UFC rankings—where Mousasi is No. 9 and Belfort No. 5—and where they are in their respective careers, I think Mousasi has the most to gain here. It’s hard to believe, in fact, that 13 years and 39 bouts into his fighting life, he’s still just 31 years old.

At 4-1 in his last five fights, you get the feeling Mousasi is just waiting for his chance to break out in the UFC. Frankly, considering how things have gone at middleweight during the second half of this year, that time might be now.

With Luke Rockhold still rebounding from his surprising title loss to Bisping, Chris Weidman and Jacare Souza both easing back into action after injuries, and Yoel Romero returning from suspension, this seems like a pretty good time to strike. A convincing win over Belfort would put Mousasi in great position to make his move during 2017.

That said, things are still pretty murky. If Bisping triumphs over Hendo, he’ll likely face either the victor of UFC Fight Night 101’s Rockhold vs. Souza or UFC 205’s Weidman-Romero bout. That would leave a victorious Mousasi in a good spot to face the odd man out in a de facto title eliminator.

If Hendo wins and retires with the belt as he’s currently threatening to do, then the Rockhold-Souza winner and the Weidman-Romero winner likely fight for the vacant title. In that case, Mousasi might fight either loser or perhaps Bisping, again in a title eliminator.

So either way this shakes out, Mousasi might be sitting pretty if he defeats Belfort.

What about the Young Dinosaur, though, Mike? What does he stand to gain if he can blitz Mousasi with one of his trademark early striking flurries?

Chiappetta: This is a much more difficult question to answer than it should be. A win over Mousasi would be a meaningful win, but frankly, it’s only going to get Belfort as far as his popularity and usefulness to the UFC will take him.

Historically, he has been a key building block for the UFC in Brazil. He’s headlined or co-headlined six events there since the start of 2012, and you can imagine the UFC wants to get as much mileage out of him as possible before he retires or the wheels fall off.

Could a win get him a title shot?

In the current era of money fights, it’d be easy for the UFC to spin things in that direction. As previously noted, he’s got wins over Bisping, Henderson and Rockhold. But if Jacare can win next month, he’ll have a strong case, as would the winner of the Weidman-Romero match.

In some ways, it may come down to the UFC schedule. If the promotion has a Brazil event and it needs a headline act, would it be a shocker to see it go to Belfort? Not really. Then again, it may realize it’s time to turn the page and give Jacare a chance to headline in his home country, which is something he’s never done under the UFC banner.

I guess this takes us to the part where we debate the actual outcome. I find it interesting and somewhat surprising that according to Odds Shark, Mousasi is a -300 favorite despite being lower in the rankings of the two.

The key on his end is to stifle Belfort’s early aggression by crowding him, removing his space and sapping him of his explosion. Mousasi is a clever striker who capitalizes on mistakes, and if Belfort tires, Mousasi is more than capable of taking over and even putting him away.

Here’s an interesting stat: Belfort hasn’t been to a decision in over nine years. Mousasi doesn’t necessarily want to take it that deep, but as the younger, fresher fighter, a longer fight will trend in his favor. The fact that he’s wanted this fight so long also serves as motivation for bringing the best out of Mousasi. All things considered, I think the betting line is right on.

How do you see it playing out, Chad?

Dundas: It’s pretty easy to like Mousasi here—and by utilizing the tried-and-true blueprint laid out by Randy Couture as early as UFC 15. He’ll weather Belfort’s early storm, drag him into deep water and either finish him late or pile up enough points to score a unanimous decision.

It’s a game plan tailor-made to suit Mousasi’s more cerebral, stick-and-move philosophy. It’s also a strategy that should be getting easier to employ as the 39-year-old Belfort becomes less and less dangerous, even early on in his fights.

The book on how to beat Belfort has been out there for years—since Couture first scripted it way back in 1997. Perhaps if it were 2013—when Belfort was tearing up the middleweight division to the tune of three consecutive head kick knockouts—we’d have reason to fear for Mousasi’s safety.

But since the UFC took Belfort’s testosterone replacement therapy toys away from him in February 2014, he hasn’t been the same guy. After sitting out all of that year, he returned looking somewhat less than his best. He’s gone 1-2 since then and has given every impression his career in on the wane.

A win over Mousasi might well prove otherwise, but give me the younger, better guy here. Mousasi wins and makes the next few months in the middleweight division even more interesting and competitive than we thought they were going to be.

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Ol’ Gunslinger Dan Henderson Hunts Hollywood Ending in Last Glorious Shootout

The long and storied history of Dan Henderson is written on his 46-year-old face. Scarred cheeks, flat nose, cauliflowered ears, he is the “after” photo of what a legendary MMA career looks like.
Thing is, even at his age, he’s not done yet…

The long and storied history of Dan Henderson is written on his 46-year-old face. Scarred cheeks, flat nose, cauliflowered ears, he is the “after” photo of what a legendary MMA career looks like.

Thing is, even at his age, he’s not done yet; there is at least one more night left in his career. Even after all he’s experienced, the best night of them all might still be ahead of him.

At Saturday night’s UFC 204, one of the greatest American fighters ever to strap on gloves will throw leather for the final time. The ol’ gunslinger has repeatedly said that win or lose, he’ll walk away after the final shootout.

“I guess eventually I’ve got to say I’m done, and really there could be no better ending than to finish on top,” he said during a recent media scrum interview (h/t MMA Heat). “I definitely have put my years in. After 20 years, haven’t you seen enough of me already?”

Yes. Also, he has given more than enough of himself to the sport. Still, what a Hollywood ending it would be if he were to walk out on top. “Improbable” wouldn’t begin to describe it. Impossible? Miraculous? Something like that.

At 46 years, 48 days old (to be exact), he would be the oldest to win a UFC championship in history, topping his former teammate Randy Couture by over two years.

A 46-year-old with losses in six of his last nine fights should not be fighting for a UFC belt. But after fans bombarded the UFC on social media, here we are.

As a UFC middleweight title matchup, Michael Bisping vs. Dan Henderson is ludicrous.

As a showdown, it’s theater.

The first time around, you remember what happened.

Most likely, you can picture it.

Henderson feeds Bisping an inside left kick/left jab combo over and over, funnels him toward the trap, and then, Kaboom! The last inside leg kick sets up the H-Bomb, and it detonates on target, becoming one of the most iconic knockouts in MMA history—the kind that upon viewing the first time, shocks your spine straight.

At the time, Henderson might have been closing in on another UFC title opportunity, but instead, he bolted for a bigger contract with then-rival promotion Strikeforce.

There, he won another belt to add to his collection, joining the PRIDE welterweight and middleweight belts.

But with that, his chances for winning UFC gold seemed left behind. When he returned in 2011, he was 41, and his division belonged to the transcendent Jon Jones. Things seemed about over when Henderson lost three in a row in 2013 and then again when he was finished in back-to-back bouts with Daniel Cormier and Gegard Mousasi. It’s hard to ignore such streaks when the owner is comfortably into middle-age.

Yet through it all, Henderson has exuded the same stoic confidence and the same come-get-some comportment that instantly makes him one of the most feared people upon entering a room.

You hear him talk, you see what he drives, you look at his countenance and it all seems perfect. This man is a Clint Eastwood character in real life.

“I hope he gets aggressive with me because I want him to come forward,” Henderson said during the media scrum. “He moves well and backs up a lot and moves side to side well, but I like it when they come at me.”

That last phrase: that’s the message, and that’s what he really wants to say. You can see it in the hint of smile on his face—the twinkle in his eye.

I like it when they come at me.

Isn’t that exactly what you’d expect from the ol’ gunslinger? After all, this is a man who has won bouts from 183 pounds to heavyweight, who spanned multiple generations and who once won three fights in a single night against opponents who outweighed him by as much as 50 pounds. He is a man who knocked out Mauricio “Shogun” Rua, Wanderlei Silva and Fedor Emelianenko.

And mostly, he’s done it by anchoring himself to the mat and firing. Like a showdown. Like a cowboy.

Most of the time, that kind of approach has worked in his favor.

Henderson has knocked opponents down or out with any variety of strikes: straights, hooks, jabs, uppercuts. Even a ridiculous reverse elbow invented on the fly. The man who started his career as a grinding, Greco-Roman style wrestler with two stints in the Olympics has transformed into one of the most dangerous and cunning knockout artists ever—his right hand an all-time weapon of the sport.

This is the draw of Henderson; it’s also the danger.

MMA is not a young person’s sport for good reason. The body is more pliable in youth; it is faster to adapt and recover; it is easier to push.

As willing as Henderson is to firefight, it doesn’t change the reality that hides just below the surface. He is a compromised fighter.

Despite his recent insistence that he could fight four or five more years if he wanted to, his bouts now bring with them a certain level of unease.

His chin, once an impenetrable block of granite, has been chipped away over time. Never knocked out in his first 39 pro fights, he has been KO’d in three of his last four losses and all within the last three years. Beyond that, he’s been knocked down seven times in his last seven fights, according to FightMetric.

This is partly a function of the top opposition he’s faced, but it’s also an eventuality of time. You fire enough bullets, and you’re bound to take a few back.

Henderson is already an extreme outlier in terms of age. Of the 60-plus middleweights on the current UFC roster, only 41-year-old Anderson Silva is within five years of his age.

Still, no one can discount the possibility that Henderson may win. Regardless of his recent troubles, he has won two of his past three, and both Hector Lombard and Tim Boetsch can attest that Henderson still has the trigger hand and firepower to end things in a flash—the same things Bisping remembers so well.

A similar outcome in the rematch would add another extraordinary chapter to Henderson’s legacy, which is mostly brilliant but also complicated. For a few years, Henderson was one of the many fighters who used testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) with the permission of state athletic commissions, and he did some of his best work during the time. Still, he was one of the few who spoke candidly about his usage.

Further, since the end of the TRT era and the arrival of the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency to handle testing, Henderson has been among the most tested fighters on the roster, passing all 15 of his tests over the last two years, according to the USADA official website.

Soon enough, all of that will be left to history to pore over and examine. The ol’ gunslinger will move on, leaving a trail of bodies in his wake.

Bisping‘s already on that list. A repeat performance would only add a fine polish to what Henderson has accomplished. A win isn’t a necessity, it would just be … poetic. Like theater. Like a Western. Henderson has the stage every fighter dreams of. Fight, win, walk away on top. With the championship in hand and into the sunset.

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Ol’ Gunslinger Dan Henderson Hunts Hollywood Ending in Last Glorious Shootout

The long and storied history of Dan Henderson is written on his 46-year-old face. Scarred cheeks, flat nose, cauliflowered ears, he is the “after” photo of what a legendary MMA career looks like.

Thing is, even at his age, he’s not done yet; there is at least one more night left in his career. Even after all he’s experienced, the best night of them all might still be ahead of him.

At 46 years, 48 days old (to be exact), he would be the oldest to win a UFC championship in history, topping his former teammate Randy Couture by over two years.

A 46-year-old with losses in six of his last nine fights should not be fighting for a UFC belt. But after fans bombarded the UFC on social media, here we are.

As a UFC middleweight title matchup, Michael Bisping vs. Dan Henderson is ludicrous.

As a showdown, it’s theater.

The first time around, you remember what happened.

Most likely, you can picture it.

At the time, Henderson might have been closing in on another UFC title opportunity, but instead, he bolted for a bigger contract with then-rival promotion Strikeforce.

There, he won another belt to add to his collection, joining the PRIDE welterweight and middleweight belts.

Yet through it all, Henderson has exuded the same stoic confidence and the same come-get-some comportment that instantly makes him one of the most feared people upon entering a room.

You hear him talk, you see what he drives, you look at his countenance and it all seems perfect. This man is a Clint Eastwood character in real life.

That last phrase: that’s the message, and that’s what he really wants to say. You can see it in the hint of smile on his face—the twinkle in his eye.

I like it when they come at me.

And mostly, he’s done it by anchoring himself to the mat and firing. Like a showdown. Like a cowboy.

Most of the time, that kind of approach has worked in his favor.

This is the draw of Henderson; it’s also the danger.

MMA is not a young person’s sport for good reason. The body is more pliable in youth; it is faster to adapt and recover; it is easier to push.

As willing as Henderson is to firefight, it doesn’t change the reality that hides just below the surface. He is a compromised fighter.

Despite his recent insistence that he could fight four or five more years if he wanted to, his bouts now bring with them a certain level of unease.

This is partly a function of the top opposition he’s faced, but it’s also an eventuality of time. You fire enough bullets, and you’re bound to take a few back.

Henderson is already an extreme outlier in terms of age. Of the 60-plus middleweights on the current UFC roster, only 41-year-old Anderson Silva is within five years of his age.

Soon enough, all of that will be left to history to pore over and examine. The ol’ gunslinger will move on, leaving a trail of bodies in his wake.

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Alex Oliveira’s Upset of Will Brooks Marred by Repeated Unprofessional Conduct

By any objective analysis, Alex Oliveira’s victory at UFC Fight Night: Dodson vs. Lineker was the most meaningful of his career.
In defeating Will Brooks, he scored his first career win over a ranked UFC opponent. Brooks, a former Bellator …

By any objective analysis, Alex Oliveira’s victory at UFC Fight Night: Dodson vs. Lineker was the most meaningful of his career.

In defeating Will Brooks, he scored his first career win over a ranked UFC opponent. Brooks, a former Bellator lightweight champion, entered the bout sitting at No. 11. And for emphasis, Oliveira stopped him on strikes, halting a nine-fight win streak.

For the 28-year-old Brazilian, it should have been a shining moment for him, a transcendent one that signaled his arrival as a force to be reckoned with.

Instead, he left to a chorus of well-deserved boos.

Oliveira’s masterclass in how to ruin the best night of your pro career in two simple steps was spurred by his unrelenting unprofessionalism over the final two days of fight week, beginning with his failure to make weight.

In a fight that was contracted at the lightweight limit of 155 pounds, Oliveira missed in embarrassing fashion, topping the scale at 161.5. He later chalked up his weight-cut struggles to the long travel time from Brazil to Portland, Oregon, according to MMAjunkie. That is, an excuse, yes, but it’s not a valid one.

Fighters travel from their home cities to event venues across the globe nearly every week. Saturday night’s event was the 30th of the UFC’s 2016 calendar. To date, out of the 600-plus fighters who have stepped on a UFC scale this year, only nine have missed weight. Moreover, no fights have gone forward with a greater weight disparity between opponents.

Not surprisingly, Brooks was upset by Oliveira’s weight issues, posting a video of his reaction while cutting his last pound.

“This is your job,” he said. “Be a professional. Make weight. This is my problem with guys who don’t get that it’s entertainment, but it’s also a profession. It’s serious business. I sacrifice a lot to get here, but I’m still in the sauna, and he’s 5.5 pounds over.”

Apparently, Oliveira didn’t take this or anything Brooks said as valid criticism. Instead, after finishing Brooks with ground strikes 3:30 into the third round, he taunted his downed opponent with a crotch chop, a chin flick and a few choice words.

Still clearly hurt, Brooks rose up and threw his mouthpiece at Oliveira, though he was restrained by referee Herb Dean.

It was an unfortunate scene, one that would have easily been avoided by Oliveira simply celebrating his own achievement instead of rubbing salt into the wounds of the man he already defeated. To complete the weekend of poor choices, Oliveira declined to apologize for the taunting, saying Brooks “deserved even more.”

Memo to Oliveira and the rest of the UFC roster for when you miss weight—here are the only acceptable responses: your opponent gets to be pissed, and you get to be apologetic. That’s it.

If anything, Oliveira should have been thankful to Brooks.

While the Brazilian claimed to be angered by Brooks “insulting” him, he apparently missed the part where Brooks offered him an opportunity to make money.

Brooks could have declined the match altogether, citing the severe weight disparity. Oliveira could have made the trip for no reason and flew back home without making a dime.

The situation has happened before—and fairly recently. In August, Justin Scoggins’ camp informed opponent Ian McCall that he wasn’t going to be able to make the 125-pound flyweight limit and proposed a catchweight. McCall, once burned by a compromise with John Lineker in the exact situation, declined such a bout this time around.

After missing weight so badly, that same outcome was possible and beyond Oliveira’s control. His fighting fate was in Brooks’ hands.

Brooks could have done the same thing, simply made weight and collected his fight purse. Instead, he gamely took the bout, and Oliveira only had to deal with a 20 percent purse deduction.

Somehow, whatever Brooks said was worse than Oliveira missing weight by 5.5 pounds? No.

The sad part for Oliveira is that it not only upstages his win, but it also overshadows his personal story.

This is a man who had to overcome long odds to make it to the top rungs of MMA. According to a Sherdog profile of him, he came from poverty, dropping out of school at the age of nine to work and help ease the family’s financial burdens. He had to endure the murders of two brothers along the way and didn’t even begin training for MMA until the age of 22.

It is, by any measure, a triumphant display of beating the odds, yet it’s a story that will recede into the background. Observers can generally excuse one foolish action, but with his fight week display, he buried himself.

The title of “fan favorite” isn’t likely in his future, but if he’s OK with that, at least Cowboy can just buy a black Stetson to complete a villain’s uniform. If he’s not OK with it, at least he can soothe himself with the outcome. He won. The problem is, because of his behavior, it’s not worth what it should be.

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With Cris Cyborg, All the Drama Is Outside the Cage, and That Needs to Change

When it comes to Cris “Cyborg” Justino, all of the drama of fight week ends the moment she beats the scale. That’s the real fight; everything that comes afterward is a formality.
When the fighter’s weight cut is more drama…

When it comes to Cris “Cyborg” Justino, all of the drama of fight week ends the moment she beats the scale. That’s the real fight; everything that comes afterward is a formality.

When the fighter’s weight cut is more dramatic than the fight, there is a problem. Why are we torturing an athlete for no reason? In the past, there was at least the lure of a superfight with Ronda Rousey.

Rousey is not the bantamweight champion anymore. She’s had zero presence in the Octagon in 2016. Yet this bogus 140-pound catchweight that has been invented solely for Justino persists under the guise of some future fight that is no closer to happening than when it was first broached three years ago.

Enough with the senseless madness.

Either let her fight at her preferred weight of 145 pounds or move on from the Cyborg business. There is no reason to continue the current path. Yes, Cyborg completely decimated another foe—Lina Lansberg—on Saturday, and yes, it was a spectacular sight. But what exactly did it do for her career other than slightly increase her visibility?

Cyborg hasn’t lost in 11 years, yet the UFC matched her with someone who was essentially unknown to UFC fans before Saturday. Atop that, it booked the match to essentially favor Lansberg by forcing Justino to shred her body to almost intolerable levels of pain.

It’s easy to look at a number and shrug it off. Five more pounds? Is it that hard? This video of Cyborg reaching the catchweight limit, and then collapsing into tears of relief and exhaustion, does more to humanize that struggle than any words.

“It’s crazy s–t,” her boxing coach Jason Parillo said in the video. “What we do is we all sit in a room, and watch a human being bring themselves close to death.”

You would like to think there is some incredible payday at the end of such a road, but, no, Cyborg is still traveling the rainbow in hopes of the (perhaps mythical) pot of gold.

To be fair, Cyborg missed her chance to push herself further in that direction, declining to request a specific opponent for her next time. When she could have called any star’s name, she instead played it cool.

“I already have two belts at home,” she said in her post-fight interview. “I just want to put on superfights for my fans and make them happy.”

A general statement like that isn’t exactly going to get the fight world buzzing, especially when everyone is anticipating the “R” word.

At least later, on the Fox Sports 1 post-fight show, she addressed Rousey when directly asked about her.

“I want Ronda to come back,” she said. “When you lose, you shouldn’t give up, you should come back for your fans. Let’s make this fight for women’s MMA. It’ll be amazing.”

It wasn’t a riveting monologue, but it was something to build on.

There was a time a few years ago when Cyborg was seen as the villain by those who value the theater of the sport, and while Rousey’s popularity has endured even through her long break, Cyborg has certainly won over a large amount of fans, both through her light personality and her good-faith effort at compromise, taking two fights at a lower weight.

That’s something. A laudable something, even if neither of Cyborg’s opponents (the first was Leslie Smith, Justino’s UFC debut opponent) were ranked in the top 15 of the promotion’s 135-pound division. Both are competent fighters, but not among the best in the division, meaning fans that aren’t familiar with Cyborg can’t use the matchups as meaningful measuring sticks for her immense talent.

They are fights for the sake of fights, and they’re not building up her equity as much as they are building up her name.

For now, she has settled into the UFC’s “special attraction” role, a position that in the modern era previously (and briefly) belonged to such names as James Toney, Brock Lesnar, CM Punk and the late Kimbo Slice. Cyborg, though, isn’t making the kind of money they made, and she isn’t getting the types of opportunities they had. Sure, she enjoyed the experiences of performing in featured bouts in her home country, but her treatment still leaves something to be desired.

By comparison, Toney was matched with Randy Couture, a much more legitimate opponent than he deserved. Lesnar fought Frank Mir right out of the gate. Punk had camera crews following his every move and was featured on pay-per-view despite lacking any kind of MMA background. Slice was featured on an entire TV season before debuting.

Cyborg? She just shows up and lays waste to whatever body stands in front of her. What does a lady have to do to get a top-10 opponent, anyway?

Despite her relative anonymity, Lansberg was game, making it about midway through the second in pure survival mode before being stopped on ground strikes.

Supposedly, her experience in muay thai—she’s had nearly 50 fights, according to AwakeningFighters.com—would give her a chance to stay even with Cyborg in the standup, but that theory was laid to waste with a quickness, with Cyborg controlling every position, from distance to the clinch.

In total strikes, according to FightMetric, she landed 100 to Lansberg’s 24. She took Lansberg down twice. She passed guard four times. It all came so easy. Which leads us back to everything that came before it. If we learned one thing over the last UFC fight week, it is that Cyborg tortures herself as much as she tortures opponents.

Right now, her most meaningful opponent is the scale. Right now, her out-of-the-cage situation is more interesting than what she does inside it. These are problems, and until something changes, Cyborg’s true potential as a gate attraction and as a fighter are being squandered.

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