Dan Henderson’s KO loss to Vitor Belfort at UFC Fight Night 32 could be the last time we see the 43-year-old inside the Octagon.
His fight against “The Phenom” in Brazil on Saturday was the last on his UFC contract, and in the year when he’s lost three in a row, that does not bode well for his future.
There’s no doubt that he has earned his spot among the luminaries of the sport, after winning some of the most respected titles in mixed martial arts—except, of course, the UFC strap.
That fact alone could drive him and the UFC to stay in business together. After all, he’ll continue to be a recognisable fighter living off his past glories for some years to come. And after coming so close to two title shots last year, he would never want to end his career on such a melancholic note.
But other factors are coming into play.
For one, a title shot is now beyond him. The UFC is packed with emerging talent, and the promotion is busy shuffling its roster to make way for new blood in the sport. In that shuffle, fighters who have no chance of making a title run are being discarded in favour of a talent pool so rich that there is no shortage of fighters to headline cards.
In the middleweight division, Belfort, Lyoto Machida and Ronaldo Souza are part of a long list of men lining up to take a shot at Chris Weidman’s belt—and that’s after Anderson Silva gets his rematch at the end of the year.
In the light heavyweight division, Henderson is now being sucked into a black hole that swallowed up Tito Ortiz, Quinton Jackson and Forrest Griffin earlier this year. They too remained bankable stars but had no place left in a title run.
Another factor is how old Henderson is beginning to look inside the cage. When he fought Machida and Rashad Evans earlier this year, he carried none of the threat or aggression that saw him go on the remarkable late-career surge in 2011, when he won the Strikeforce light heavyweight title and then staged the fight of the year against Mauricio Rua in his return to the UFC.
In the process, he also TKO’d MMA legend Fedor Emelianenko inside the first round while fighting as a heavyweight.
Performances like that caught the attention of UFC promoters, who were quick to arrange a title shot at 205 pounds between Henderson and champion Jon Jones. Based on the performance we saw at UFC Fight Night 32, “Bones” would have eaten him alive.
As in the Machida and Evans fights, we saw an overly tentative and somewhat lackadaisical Henderson step inside the Octagon. While his previous two losses this year were three-round snoozefests, Belfort put him to sleep for the first time in his career on Saturday.
Coming in with his “H-bomb” cocked—a vicious right hand that served no purpose on the night—Hendo faked and faked again without any heed to the threat in front of him. As a result, he caught an uppercut to the chin that took out his legs right from under him.
His forlorn attempts to stand back up only highlighted the fact he was fighting a much bigger and stronger man. Mercifully, after a second knockdown, the ref stopped the fight moments later.
At this point, whether he continues to rejuvenate his body with testosterone replacement therapy, or the remarkable weight loss and health supplement Garcinia Cambogia extract, it will still all be an uphill battle for the fighter.
There’s every chance that even after three losses, the UFC will offer him a new contract. His previous losses were hardly the one-sided affairs we saw on Saturday, and if Hendo really wants it, the UFC is unlikely to deny him a new deal.
But the question for both parties will be: why?
Considering all that he’s achieved in his career, being a bit player in the UFC will suit nobody. What’s more, he has proved to be a tough negotiator. In 2009, while riding a three-fight win streak, he left for Strikeforce over a dispute with his employers. On his return, he became one of the highest-paid fighters in the promotion.
Against Machida, he made $250,000 just for showing up.
He’ll never make that kind of money again with the UFC. Nor will he be given the big-money fights he’s looking for.
That leaves him in a difficult spot. Because even if he is offered a contract, it’s unlikely the two parties will agree to the terms.
At this point, it’s probably best for the UFC to let him seek opportunities elsewhere.
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