Given all that Dan Henderson has accomplished in his mixed martial arts career, the notion that he could ever be out of his depth inside the cage is completely counterintuitive. However, his scheduled bout with Daniel Cormier at UFC 173 seems, at least…
Given all that Dan Henderson has accomplished in his mixed martial arts career, the notion that he could ever be out of his depth inside the cage is completely counterintuitive. However, his scheduled bout with Daniel Cormier at UFC 173 seems, at least on paper, to verge on being a mismatch.
Hendo’s admirers are legion, so I imagine I’ll be getting a little pushback on that last point. Looking at where the 43-year-old is in his career, though, can a reasonable argument be made that he has a realistic shot against Cormier, who seems to be improving by the second?
Certainly, the former two-weight Pride champion always has a puncher’s chance; his overhand right could disintegrate even the most robust chin. One need only go back as far as Henderson’s most recent fight, against Mauricio “Shogun” Rua, for evidence of how quickly he can end a contest with a single swing of his right arm.
That being said, it’s all too easy to forget that Henderson had been dominated right up until the moment he almost decapitated Rua with what appeared to be a desperation shot.
Operating under the weight of a three-fight losing streak, for two-and-a-half rounds, it looked like Hendo was heading for his fourth straight loss, with the inevitable calls for his retirement soon to follow.
One right hand later, punctuated by a few follow-up shots, and all that came before was seemingly forgotten.
This inability to remember anything beyond the immediate past seems to be the plight of the fight fan—and sports fans generally. You are only as good as the last 10 seconds of your last fight. Everything else fades into irrelevance.
Imagining the recent version of Henderson taking on Cormier is something you might expect from the mind of a 1980s WWFbooker. It looks like a squash match designed for the purpose of putting one fighter over.
Examining the pair’s strengths and weaknesses, it’s hard to give Hendo the edge anywhere. Even his much-celebrated durability has seemingly deteriorated. It might not be as dramatic as Chuck Liddell’s plummeting punch resistance toward the end of his career, but there is no doubt that Henderson doesn’t absorb the shots quite like he used to.
Despite being 35 years of age, Cormier appears to be in his prime. His evolution as a fighter is staggering.
As a former Olympic freestyle wrestler, we expected him to rely on his base and achieve a certain amount of success. What we didn’t see coming was the rapid development of his striking. Cormier looks like he has been kickboxing since he was a child.
Where the ceiling is on his potential remains to be seen, but his career remains on an upward trajectory. A meeting with Jon Jones increasingly seems like an inevitability—assuming Alexander Gustafssondoesn’t do his Superman routine again.
Henderson, on the contrary, surely must be close to calling time on his legendary career. If his fight with Cormier is as one-sided as expected, Dana White and the UFC may end up making the decision for him.
Despite all of their past drama, even Daniel Cormier can admit that fans are witnessing a rare, once-in-a-lifetime kind of talent every time Jon Jones steps into the Octagon.
For the most part, the former Olympian has maintained a relatively objective …
Despite all of their past drama, even Daniel Cormier can admit that fans are witnessing a rare, once-in-a-lifetime kind of talent every time Jon Jones steps into the Octagon.
For the most part, the former Olympian has maintained a relatively objective view of the UFC light heavyweight champ. Back in August 2013, he told MMA Fighting that he only praises Jones’ fighting ability and the things he’s accomplished, not his personality.
There was once again plenty of praise to go around on Saturday night, following Jones’ remarkably one-sided victory over Glover Teixeira at UFC 172.
At the post-fight press conference, UFC president Dana White claimed Jones turned in his “best performance” yet and is well on his way to becoming one of the greatest fighters in MMA history. Cormier echoed White’s opinion during a random Q&A session on Twitter.
There has been talk in the past about Jones possibly moving up to the heavyweight division for a superfight with Cormier’s teammate, UFC heavyweight champ Cain Velasquez. During the UFC 172 media conference call, Jones made it clear that he plans on extending his stay at 205 pounds, due to a growing list of contenders.
But if he ever decided to make the leap, Cormier is fully confident the 26-year-old phenom has all the tools necessary to find success at heavyweight. He even made the bold claim that Jones was good enough to defeat a prime FedorEmelianenko.
Emelianenko, who went undefeated for a decade, is widely considered the greatest heavyweight in MMA history.
Whether Cormier’s comments are seen as bold or complete blasphemy, he is paying Jones the highest compliment with that prediction. He truly believes Jones would have defeated Emelianenko in a fight, but Velasquez, on the other hand, is a completely different story.
Fresh off his win over Teixeira, Jones will soon be heading back through another grueling training camp in preparation for his highly anticipated rematch with Alexander Gustafsson, likely slated for later this year. Fans are really getting behind the Swedish boxer, who came within a round of dethroning Jones last September. Will the second time be the charm?
Cormier certainly doesn’t think so, according to comments he made on Monday’s episode of The MMA Hour (via MMA Fighting):
No chance (Gustafsson beats Jones). Let me rephrase that. I’m not saying he doesn’t have a chance. I’m just saying that if I had to bet my money, or if I asked 10 people who wins this fight, nine out of those 10 people would say Jon Jones, because honestly, I believe that he’s better because he has more tools.
When you look at Jon on paper against a lot of people, he seems to match up well against every single one of us. He seems to hold the advantages against every single one of us. It’s the intangibles. It’s the things that you can’t measure on a piece of paper that it’s going to take to beat Jon Jones—the things that I believe I hold in spades.
Cormier can keep his cards close to his chest for now.
He is scheduled to fight Dan Henderson at UFC 173, and Jones still has to get past Gustafsson. For years, fans and analysts have pondered the extent of Cormier’s talent. There’s no doubt he’s a world-class contender, but is “DC” a future UFC champ?
Assuming the fight against Jones does come to fruition, it could only be a matter of time before the world finds out.
JordyMcElroy is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. He is also the MMA writer for Rocktagon.
Daniel Cormier will not take another fight after his UFC 173 showdown with Dan Henderson—unless it involves a shiny, golden belt.
The former Strikeforce heavyweight champion-turned UFC light heavyweight fighter feels that a win over Henders…
Daniel Cormier will not take another fight after his UFC 173 showdown with Dan Henderson—unless it involves a shiny, golden belt.
The former Strikeforce heavyweight champion-turned UFC light heavyweight fighter feels that a win over Henderson solidifies his status as the division’s No. 1 contender and that taking any fight that does not involve the strap does not interest him.
Beyond that, the UFC has already confirmed that he’s next—should he get past Hendo—and he does not want to deviate from that plan in any way.
“‘Daniel, you win, you’re in,’ that’s what I was told,” Cormier told MMA Fighting’s Ariel Helwani on Monday’s edition of The MMA Hour. “I’ve waited long enough. This will be my fifth top-10 win, and I’m not fighting anyone else.”
While Cormier (14-0) is relatively new to the sport of MMA, he’s a longtime competitor in wrestling and made the U.S. Olympic team in 2004 and 2008. This success on the mat led him to enter the sport of MMA late in life and now, at 35 years old, Cormier isn’t looking to prolong his chance at achieving the sport’s ultimate glory.
Because of that, he feels comfortable waiting for his chance at UFC light heavyweight championship, which is currently held by Jon Jones. Jones, however, just defeated Glover Teixeira at UFC 172 and is set to take on Alexander Gustafsson for the second time some time this year.
With no official timetable set for the Jones vs. Gustafsson rematch, Cormier may be out of action for a significant amount of time, should he wait his turn.
According to “DC,” that’s just fine.
“I’d wait. I’d wait for my title shot,” Cormier said. “If it took nine months, I’d wait nine months. It’s time for me to fight for the belt.”
Of course, Henderson can ruin all of this with one devastating right hand, his strongest attack which has been deemed the “H-bomb.” Cormier recognizes this challenge and he knows that the task ahead is a significant one.
“My favorite fight of all time is Dan Henderson vs. Shogun Rua, the first one,” Cormier said. “Dan laid under Shogun for four and a half minutes in the mount last time they fought in the fifth round, and he didn’t get finished…He did just enough to not get finished. Dan Henderson could potentially put me in that war…I could go down, I could be hurt very badly in this fight.”
Still, Cormier cannot help but fantasize about a matchup with Jones. It means fighting for the belt, showcasing his full arsenal of skills and a chance to defeat someone who is perhaps the greatest mixed martial artist of all time.
And for Cormier, it’s possible.
“It’s the things that you can’t measure on a piece of paper that it’s going to take to beat Jon Jones, the things that I believe I hold in spades,” Cormier said.
Whether or not this holds true remains to be seen, but one thing is for sure: If Cormier gets past Henderson, we’re going to find out for certain.
The UFC is one-third of the way through 2014, and we have already been treated to a healthy dose of MMA. There are still eight months left on the calendar, and that gives the UFC plenty more big fights to deliver to our screens.
The loss of GSP and And…
The UFC is one-third of the way through 2014, and we have already been treated to a healthy dose of MMA. There are still eight months left on the calendar, and that gives the UFC plenty more big fights to deliver to our screens.
The loss of GSP and Anderson Silva hurt the star power of the sport, but other figures are trying to fill the gaps. There was a small glimmer of hope that GSP would return by year’s end, but another knee injury will keep him out of action indefinitely.
There are still plenty of big fights to be had, and we take a look at 10 of those here. We tried to keep the matches realistic. Do not expect to see Brock Lesnar crack the list, although his return would be the biggest thing the UFC could hope for.
Fighters outside of the organization, rankings, scheduling issues and injuries will keep some of the big matches off of the table until at least 2015.
With a big roster full of talent, here are 11 of the biggest fights the UFC should make to end the year.
He shuffles forward on stiff legs, his arms occasionally jabbing out in slow, tired fashion. There is a man standing across the cage who advances and strikes him. A blow to the head. He staggers, but still shuffles forward, like something undead. Twice more he is struck in the head. With the third blow he goes stiff, like a corpse already in the grip of rigor mortis. He topples backwards like a stricken tree, to lay rigid and unmoving.
Sound familiar? Well, it should. It was the main event of UFC Fight Night in Abu Dhabi between Roy Nelson and Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira. (Watch the carnage here.) It was a fight that, bottom line, shouldn’t have happened. Nogueira has suffered the most knockdowns (8) in UFC heavyweight history, and his previous knockout losses to Frank Mir and Cain Velasquez proved that Big Nog’s formerly armor-plated chin was becoming vulnerable. So why put him in the Octagon with one of the most devastating right hands in the UFC?
This kind of thing has become common in MMA.
MMA promotions have made it a habit to put beaten and tired legends of the sport in fights that they can’t hope to win. Look no further than Nelson vs. Nogueira, Overeem vs. Mir, Cro Cop vs. Mir/Schaub/Nelson. The UFC assumes that fans want to see these fights, but really, only a certain kind of fan wants to see these fights — the same fans who would gladly watch George Foreman and Muhammad Ali go at it again. One more time. For old times’ sake.
He shuffles forward on stiff legs, his arms occasionally jabbing out in slow, tired fashion. There is a man standing across the cage who advances and strikes him. A blow to the head. He staggers, but still shuffles forward, like something undead. Twice more he is struck in the head. With the third blow he goes stiff, like a corpse already in the grip of rigor mortis. He topples backwards like a stricken tree, to lay rigid and unmoving.
Sound familiar? Well, it should. It was the main event of UFC Fight Night in Abu Dhabi between Roy Nelson and Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira. (Watch the carnage here.) It was a fight that, bottom line, shouldn’t have happened. Nogueira has suffered the most knockdowns (8) in UFC heavyweight history, and his previous knockout losses to Frank Mir and Cain Velasquez proved that Big Nog’s formerly armor-plated chin was becoming vulnerable. So why put him in the Octagon with one of the most devastating right hands in the UFC?
This kind of thing has become common in MMA.
MMA promotions have made it a habit to put beaten and tired legends of the sport in fights that they can’t hope to win. Look no further than Nelson vs. Nogueira, Overeem vs. Mir, Cro Cop vs. Mir/Schaub/Nelson. The UFC assumes that fans want to see these fights, but really, only a certain kind of fan wants to see these fights — the same fans who would gladly watch George Foreman and Muhammad Ali go at it again. One more time. For old times’ sake.
Let me preface this by saying that I am a HUGE Dan Henderson fan. I still sit and watch old clips of Henderson wasting some of the greatest welter-, middle-, light heavy-, and heavyweights of all time. Henderson knocking out Fedor Emelianenko with an uppercut from behind is still one of the greatest performances in MMA history in my book, but let’s be real — Dan Henderson, 43, is old to be fighting at the top level in the UFC. Sure, others have had success at that age, and Henderson just picked up another come-from-behind win over Mauricio “Shogun” Rua at UFC Fight Night Natal. However, Henderson lost three in a row before that, including a knockout loss via vicious head kick to Vitor Belfort.
Apart from being nearly a decade younger than Henderson, Daniel “DC” Cormier is coming off of, well, no losses. Ever. The former Strikeforce Champion is undefeated in 14 fights and, prior to his move down to light heavyweight, he was the #2 heavyweight in the world. You need only look at the purple face of Patricks Cummins after his 79-second bout with DC at UFC 170 to see how hard Cormier hits.
To beat the unbeaten Cormier, Henderson has to put on the best performance of his life. At 43 years old and after dropping TRT, that seems awfully far-fetched.
Henderson should have been given the chance to take his TRT-less body for a test drive before facing elite competition. And ideally, Henderson should have been offered a grappler as his next opponent, who, worst-case scenario, could have submitted him without damaging a brain that has already taken a beating. No one wants to see Henderson with Cro-Cop-esque twitches.
So why would the UFC put Dan Henderson in the Octagon with Daniel Cormier?
The UFC is sacrificing Dan Henderson as DC’s first legitimate test at light-heavyweight, because Henderson has name value and he draws viewers — not because the matchup is competitive. Watching Henderson fight is nostalgic. It reminds us of better days when we actually liked the LHW champ, Randy Couture was (literally) spanking Tito Ortiz, CagePotato was but a little CageSpud, Pride existed, and Don Frye was still shooting his mouth off…well, some things never change.
Someone (you know who you are) needs to comes to their senses and stop sacrificing legends for viewers. Put them in the Hall Of Fame where they belong and treat them with the respect they deserve.
There is an ingrained level of respect shared between athletes who compete across the spectrum of sports.
This certainly rings true when it comes to wrestling, but that element is uniquely amplified among those who have traveled the workman’s path beca…
There is an ingrained level of respect shared between athletes who compete across the spectrum of sports.
This certainly rings true when it comes to wrestling, but that element is uniquely amplified among those who have traveled the workman’s path because only another wrestler truly knows the sacrifice and perseverance the sport demands. And when two athletes in that realm have risen to achieve Olympic status, the shared respect reaches an entirely different level.
Daniel Cormier has always held a tremendous amount of admiration for Dan Henderson, but his motivation to become a UFC champion trumps all things. D.C. made the drop from heavyweight into 205-pound waters to make a run at the light heavyweight strap, and the former two-divisional Pride champion and MMA legend is now officially standing between him and his goal.
Cormier will put respect aside in order to impose his will when the two men meet next month at UFC 173, as the matchup between the undefeated contender and the resurgent veteran will serve as the co-main event for the UFC’s annual Memorial Day weekend event in Las Vegas.
“I have a huge amount of respect for Dan Henderson,” Cormier told Bleacher Report. “I’ve always liked the way he fights and he was very nice to me when I first started out with Strikeforce. I consider Dan Henderson a friend and more than just an acquaintance. I think he’s a great guy and the way he has competed since wrestling in the Olympic Games in 1992 and 1996 and the way he carried himself in Pride, Strikeforce and now the UFC; was a big deal for me. I have a ton of respect for Dan as an athlete and in general because he’s always been very nice to me.
“My goal of becoming champion is the most important thing without question. People get caught up in mind games about what they will and won’t do, but my intention to become champion. Nothing is going to stop that. Whether it be a guy like Dan Henderson—who I very much like in this world—to someone I really dislike; it doesn’t matter who it is because nothing is going to stop me. My goals are out there for me and I need them to happen. Dan Henderson is out there and he’s the guy I have to go through to get a championship fight then that’s what I’m going to do.
“Rashad Evans is a friend of mine and I was going to fight him and I was going to beat him,” he added. “I was going to win that fight and put myself in position to earn a title shot. I’m not going to allow friendships to stand in the way of what I want to accomplish for myself and my family.”
Throughout his rise in mixed martial arts, Cormier has been vocal about his pursuit of championship gold. The volume on that particular matter has been turned up over the past year-and-a-half as back-and-forth exchanges between the AKA staple and light heavyweight champion Jon Jones in interviews and on social media have made headlines across the MMA media landscape. Cormier has made no secret about his intention to become the 205-pound title holder, and he’s sought out the types of fights that would put him on the fast track to accomplish his goal.
While he was supposed to face former champion Rashad Evans in his light heavyweight debut back in February at UFC 171, Suga suffered an injury and was forced to withdraw from the bout.
The UFC tapped an unknown fighter in Patrick Cummins to step in on short notice—and Cormier promptly drubbed the Team Reign fighter in the first round of their tilt—but his opponent’s lack of name recognition created a situation where victory wasn’t going to warrant much more than a check mark in the win column.
Cormier was certainly keen to the circumstances at hand, but he sees the situation surrounding his bout with Henderson in a far different light. The 35-year-old believes defeating Henderson will be the final step he needs to take in order to get the opportunity he’s been on the hunt for.
“There is nothing standing between me and a title shot but Dan Henderson and that’s it,” Cormier said. “There have been other times where I’ve gathered knowledge and waited to see what happens, but now I know. In my mind I know if I beat Dan Henderson I will get the title shot. It’s what I’ve been wanting and what I’ve been begging for. I have text Dana so much asking, ‘Am I next? Am I next?’ that he has to be so pissed off with me calling and texting him all the time.
“I’m going to beat down your door until you give me what I want. Also, I’m not asking you to give me anything. I’m asking you to allow me to get what I’ve been working for. I’m asking for you to allow me to get what my resume shows I deserve. If I beat Dan Henderson and put him with Josh Barnett, ‘Bigfoot’ Silva, Frank Mir, Jeff Munson and Roy Nelson that will six of my 15 fights against guys who have hung around the top of the sport for a long time. That should certainly be enough to earn a title shot and guys have certainly gotten title shots of much, much less. I’m just asking what I believe will be rightfully mine if I get through Dan.
“I’ve continuously asked him for the big fight that will put me in position to get what I want,” he added. “Now, it’s only one fight—15 minutes—to give me exactly what I’ve wanted for the past five years, and I couldn’t imagine any situation where I’m going to let something stand in front of that.”
Although both Cormier and Henderson have shown multiple facets of their skill sets inside the cage, their respective wrestling credentials will be a major storyline in the lead up to the fight. That said, Hendo has used his grappling sparingly over the past several years as his signature “H-Bomb” of a right hand has leveled the opposition at a consistent rate and carried him to victory.
With Henderson’s overhand right being one of the most dangerous weapons in the light heavyweight division, it is certainly something Cormier has to be mindful of once the cage door closes. That said, Cormier is no stranger to facing opponents who have the ability to finish fights in a multitude of fashions, and he’s handled each challenge by putting the opposition right where he wants them. That is what he plans to do against Henderson as Cormier believes he will systematically defuse the “H-Bomb.”
“I fight the way I fight,” Cormier said. “I will go in there and fight smart and make Dan Henderson fight me where I want to fight. Whether that will be on the ground, in the clinch or at distance, I will make Dan fight me where I want the fight to be. But I don’t know where that is yet. My coaches are working on that and we are incorporating those things into my training right now.
“If you look at fights over the course of my career that’s what I have done time and time again. Jeff Munson has good jiu-jitsu and I had never been in there against a guy like that and made him stand up the entire time. ‘Bigfoot’ Silva is great when he’s on top and I made him stand up as well until I knocked him out. I only grappled with Josh Barnett from the top position because that is where I was better than him. I never gave Frank Mir a remote chance of getting to the ground. Roy Nelson is very good with his overhand right and I completely nullified it.
“I make them fight uncomfortable and then I just roll on them,” he added. “My coaches come up with a game plan, I follow it and eliminate any advantages these guys have. If it’s Dan Henderson’s right hand that people worry about, I’ll make it seem like he’s fighting with that right hand behind his back.”
Duane Finley is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. All quotes are obtained firsthand unless noted otherwise.
Given all that Dan Henderson has accomplished in his mixed martial arts career, the notion that he could ever be out of his depth inside the cage is completely counterintuitive. However, his scheduled bout with Daniel Cormier at UFC 173 seems, at least on paper, to verge on being a mismatch.