The pinnacle of a fighter’s career is the day he wraps the gold around his waist. You can see it in their face. Some collapse with emotion others jump for joy. All the blood sweat and tears to find yourself atop your division, living the dream. To really feel like you have hit the top in this sport though there is only one belt that every fighter dreams of – UFC Gold.
WHAT DOES HENDERSON vs BOETSCH SIGNIFY
Dan Henderson fights this weekend against Tim Boetsch. It’s a middleweight bout that does little for the rankings; Boetsch being nothing more than a journey man now seems like a big step down in competition for Henderson and it looks like the first signs of Henderson’s downward spiral. You could say it’s a sad occasion. Having seen him beaten so easily in his last few fights, it does look like the sport is starting to pass him by and at the age of 44 that’s not a bad thing. Henderson says he is still pushing towards the title and this late in his career the sort of drive someone like Henderson possesses is hard to fathom. It’s the sort of drive that has made him one of, if not the most decorated fighters never to hold a UFC title.
The term ‘future hall of famer’ is used often in this sport and the likes of BJ Penn, Anderson Silva and Georges St-Pierre have surly earned it, but what about Henderson? With the UFC being the biggest promotion on earth and having swallowed whole any other rival that existed since the dawn of the sport there is no other infrastructure to remember those that didn’t hit their highest highs while fighting for the UFC. If anyone falls into this category it has to be Henderson. I remember a few years back Fighters Only magazine did an open vote for their first MMA Icon addition, the winner – Tito Ortiz. Henderson has never won a FO award, never held a gold belt in the biggest promotion, and those new to the sport might only see him as the guy who got dumped on his head by Daniel Cormier.
I have asked myself this question before; there are many of the old generation of fighters that we remember fondly. The likes of Wanderlei Silva, Fedor Emelianenko, Igor Vovchanchyn, whose sheer name would strike fear into their opponents, and excitement in their fans. Some of these had the benefit of fighting in the UFC, some of them still do, and some have fallen out with the management and could easily succumb to the same fate as Frank Shamrock, cast out with the lepers. These are the icons that built this sport and if they don’t get on with Uncle Dana and the UFC then they don’t get immortalized in the hall of Fame. Why is their name not up there with Ken shamrock and Royce Gracie?
NOT ALL MMA ICONS GET TO WEAR UFC GOLD
Henderson has never held a UFC title, and it’s not for the want of trying. Having held the Welterweight and middleweight Pride belts (the equivalent of middleweight and light heavyweight) he was granted title fights in the UFC with the respective champions, Anderson Silva and Rampage Jackson. He never quite got there though, and even left for a period to fight in Strikeforce – adding their light heavyweight title to his trophy cabinet. When you add to that his early UFC tournament victories, his King of Kings championships, as well as being the first holder of 2 Pride belts simultaneously it’s not easy to find someone as decorated as he, especially someone who can boast the list of competition Henderson has faced. From Anderson Silva to Fedor Emelianenko, from Renzo Gracie to Murilio Bustamante. Henderson has faced them all.
It’s easy to look past his relaxed persona, he quietly goes about his life, and it’s really only when he has a fight coming up you even see his name in a news feed or on a message board, so it’s down to us, the fans to give him a voice. There are very few fighters that can hold a flame to Dan Henderson. Very few that have even earned the right to carry his banner let alone share a cage with him. It saddens me to see him face off against the likes of Tim Boetsch, but Henderson is a fighter foremost and the urge to compete courses through his veins like blood – blue blood. Title or not, Dan Henderson is more than a hall of famer he is MMA royalty.
Did I mention he was a 2 time Olympian too, No? Well..
Main Photo
