Despite a second consecutive loss, Dan Henderson reportedly isn’t thinking about retirement, according to Ryan McKinnell of MMA Weekly.
Henderson lost to Rashad Evans on Saturday night in a split decision, as Hendo was narrowly edged by Suga, 28-29, 29-28 and 29-28. That defeat comes on the heels of a split-decision loss to Lyoto Machida on Feb. 23.
Having lost back-to-back fights and now owning 10 losses in his career, wouldn’t you think it’d be time for Henderson to start pondering retirement?
The 42-year-old told McKinnell that he has some trips planned with his kids this summer and is looking to fight again before the end of the year, which clearly suggests retirement is far from his mind.
Henderson may have held his own against Evans during certain moments of the fight, but there were other instances where Hendo just looked overmatched and overpowered. For example, in the final minutes of the fight, there were moments when Evans landed some solid punches and elbows on Hendo, which certainly helped in Evans earning his 18th career victory.
Henderson may not be retiring, but his hopes of getting a shot at UFC’s most premier fighter, Jon Jones, are probably gone.
McKinnell suggests that a move to the middleweight division could be an option for Henderson, as the MMA Weekly writer cites a 2008 match vs. Anderson Silva as evidence that Hendo has fought at that weight before.
Henderson hasn’t impressed me enough of late to even think about him continuing to compete let alone getting a shot at Jones, but he has continued to make things interesting in his past two fights.
At this rate, I don’t think there’s much to be gained for Henderson, but if he’s this passionate about the sport, no one’s going to stop him from continuing to fight.
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