Dan Henderson is a pioneer of the sport and has accomplished just about as much in MMA as a fighter possibly can. He was a two-division champion in Pride and was the Strikeforce light-heavyweight champion and has notable victories over Michael Bisping, Wanderlei Silva, Shogun Rua and all-time great Fedor Emelianenko. It’s been mentioned that if there was a Mount Rushmore for MMA, Dan Henderson’s face would have to be there with all the accomplishments that he has had in his career.
Coming into the bout in Sweden against Gegard Mousasi, Dan Henderson has lost four out of his last five fights. He is 44 years old and many are wondering if he still possesses the same skills that he has shown throughout his career. Due to changes in the rules of the state athletic commissions he can no longer use the testosterone replacement therapy that he used in the past. If we watch him in the octagon, we can see he has quite simply not been the same fighter, as he was in the past, in his latest bouts.
Despite the deterioration of some of his other skills, Henderson will always possess a dangerous right hand in his arsenal and this can change fights. This dangerous right was seen when he fought Mauricio “Shogun” Rua last March. Henderson was clearly being outclassed by Rua in the early stages of the fight, and on at least a couple of occasions it appeared a knock out was imminent. The fight cards were certainly looking like they were headed in the direction of a win for Rua, One devastating overhand right from Henderson changed the momentum of that fight and he was able to pound Rua to the mat and get the victory.
Henderson is also an Olympic-level wrestler, but it was back in 1992 and 1996 that he was able to compete in the Greco-Roman event at the Olympics. Henderson has used wrestling in some of his earlier fights, but today he mainly tries to keep the fight on his feet and focuses on his striking. In his last fight, Henderson went against Daniel Cormier, who is also a former Olympian in wrestling. Henderson was literally thrown around like a ragdoll by Cormier. He looked like a fighter who was quite simply overmatched. Henderson only weighed 199 lbs in that fight and we can guess that Cormier was likely in the range of 220 lbs on fight night, after re-hydrating following his weight cut. This may be one of the main reasons that Henderson is back to fighting at Middleweight, as he can fight guys who are closer to him in size. There are actually a few welterweights that are bigger than Henderson before their weight cuts.
Hendeson will most likely come into this fight with a power and wrestling advantage over Mousasi. Mousasi will come in a with a diverse striking, speed and submission advantage. Mousasi comes in as a (-500) favorite against Henderson(+350). Some experts have said that Mousasi should just use his footwork and coast to a decision, but one thing is for sure “Henderson is there to fight.” Henderson has never came to a fight tentative and has never lacked aggression. His mental toughness has broke men in the cage and you can never count Henderson out. We will see it Saturday night in Sweden and this fight between Mousasi and Henderson is an absolute must-see. Some say it is a must-win for Henderson to silence the doubters who think he should walk away from the sport.
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