Dan Henderson is one of the few Mixed Martial Artists who can still bring out a full A-Game despite being considered “old school” in age. But with the fact of him not having posted up that many losses as late—and his highlight reel of knockouts—the most difficult thing to believe with Henderson is that he is anywhere close to peaking or peaked.
Henderson’s ability to fight past the prime he hasn’t even hit yet is reason enough why I must question myself for asking what I am about to ask. How much fight does Henderson have left in his tank coming into his UFC 139 bout with Mauricio “Shogun” Rua, the former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion, who is not even in his thirties yet?
I have a theory for most things—the most common theory relating to why people pick fighters to win even though they don’t like them—and I also have a theory as to why someone would honestly ask this question.
It really has nothing to do with how much fight Henderson has left in him, because everyone and their mothers that resemble Jayden Jaymes in a ring girl outfit all know that Henderson will give you a fight if you pay to see a fight, whether he wins or loses.
In other words, Henderson has enough fight left in him to put Shogun away before the fight hits Round 3, and some are entitled to the opinion that Henderson has the ability to sonic-boom any chin despite his age, but that’s just it.
It’s not the pattern Shogun more-or-less created in his UFC run of losing one upset, then posting up a two-fight win streak before dropping one and winning another before restarting it all over again. Because if any man can put Shogun out, frozen cold without any question of rust or injury (apart from a shook jaw), it’s Henderson.
The reason people question how much fight he has left is because in fight years, 40 means “they should stick to training guys,” and that’s probably one of the top five most asinine things that I’ve ever heard in this sport.
Henderson will always have much to offer the sport, but whether you like the guy or not, you can’t act like Henderson has nothing left.
He has more left in his tank than anyone else would want you to believe, and that’s why I bludgeon this ridiculous question in itself. In doing so with an arguable, educated answer, I also let any doubters of Henderson realize that this is not a fight that Shogun cannot lose, despite his patterns.
He got back on a roll against Forrest Griffin in Rio at UFC 134—arguably one of the best cards of this year—but what’s stopping Henderson from laying Shogun out for 25 seconds?
Maybe it’s me underestimating Shogun or maybe I’m over-hyping Henderson.
Then again, maybe it’s because it’s not November 19th yet, so we still don’t know for sure about Henderson.
After all, we never know what’s going to happen in a fight before fight night, now do we?
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