Barring a win over former light heavyweight champion Lyoto Machida at UFC 157, Dan Henderson may go down as the UFC’s best fighter to never wear a belt.
The 42-year-old “Hendo” squandered his only other opportunities to wear UFC gold in back-to-back fights in 2007 and 2008. Henderson first dropped a unanimous decision to Quinton “Rampage” Jackson at UFC 75 in a bout that unified the Pride and UFC middleweight and light heavyweight belts. He then got choked by Anderson Silva at UFC 82 in a fight that unified the Pride and UFC welterweight and middleweight straps.
In what fans have dubbed a de facto title eliminator bout, Hendo will have to conjure up one of his signature performances if he intends to get through the unpredictable Machida.
Here’s a look at three reasons to pull for Hendo at UFC 157.