LOS ANGELES — Dan Henderson knows that at this stage of the game, he’s going to be asked before every fight how much longer he wants to get hit in the face for a living.
He’s 43, after all, and will turn 44 on August 24. He’s also one of the very few fighters remaining from the pre-Unified Rules, one-night-tourney era who is still competing in relevant fights.
Henderson will fight Daniel Cormier in the co-main event of UFC 173 on Saturday in Las Vegas, in which the winner could very well get a shot at the light heavyweight title currently held by Jon Jones.
So how long does Hendo want to go? He’s not committing to a timetable. But he explained to reporters at a downtown media luncheon on Monday that he wants to be done at a younger age then his fellow wrestler-turned-MMA champion from the early days, Randy Couture.
“I don’t want to be in there quite as long as Randy was,” Henderson said.
Couture, the five-time UFC champion, was Henderson’s age, 43, when he came out of retirement to defeat Tim Sylvia for the heavyweight title at UFC 68. Couture retired for good at age 47 after a knockout loss to Lyoto Machida at UFC 129 in 2011.