Former Pride middleweight champion Dan Henderson has confirmed he will retire from mixed martial arts after his scheduled fight against Michael Bisping at UFC 204 on November 12.
The 45-year-old appeared on the Talking Brawls Podcast with Niall McGrath and Petesy Carroll of SevereMMA.com and said regardless of the Bisping result, he’ll be taking his leave of the Octagon:
That is my plan, win or lose I’m ready mentally to retire.
My body could still probably go another two, three years more. I’ve put it through enough. I’m ready to take it a little bit easier, but still be involved in MMA doing something a little bit different than fighting.
[…]
I’m pretty sure it will be a pay-per-view and I’d expect that it happens relatively soon, possibly in the next couple of days. We should be able to get it figured out. I’m waiting to hear the exact date, and where but I’m almost positive it will happen, there’s no reason why it shouldn’t at this point.
Henderson made his UFC debut at UFC 17 in May 1998 and has fought for several other promotions including Strikeforce and Pride.
He made his return to the Ultimate Fighting Championship with a defeat to Quinton “Rampage” Jackson in 2007 and has since fought 17 times for the promotion, including a knockout defeat of Hector Lombard at UFC 199 in June.
The MMA veteran stunned an Inglewood, California, crowd with his surprise second-round knockout of Lombard, which in turn led to the opportunity of a rematch opposite reigning middleweight champion Bisping.
The pair first clashed at UFC 100 in July 2009, when Henderson knocked the Brit out with a punch that earned multiple Knockout of the Year nominations and was recently celebrated by MMA Junkie’s Chamatkar Sandhu:
While the UFC 204 rematch isn’t yet official, Henderson also shared rumours the fixture could end up in Bisping’s hometown: “I think I’ve heard a number of things, but I believe it could be in a stadium over there in Manchester.”
There is the potential for Henderson to retire as the UFC middleweight champion if he does manage to score another victory over Bisping, and ESPN presenter Maximiliano Bretos ranks “Hollywood” as one of the greatest ever:
That being said, Bisping looks to be in the form of his life after notching a first-round knockout of Luke Rockhold at UFC 199 to capture the middleweight belt at last after years of trying.
In a tale of two UFC veterans, age may finally begin to play a factor with Henderson, who has lost six of his last nine fights, with four by early stoppage.
Henderson was a Pride champion at both welterweight and middleweight and became the first combatant ever to hold belts in multiple weight divisions for the promotion. He was also a light heavyweight champion in Strikeforce and beat combat legend Fedor Emelianenko in 2011.
Mixed martial arts fans will cherish Henderson’s next and last appearance all the more now because of what it represents: the departure of a fighting icon who helped grow the sport from its roots up.
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