Dan Henderson[UFC]:Profile

Daniel Jeffery Henderson, (born August 24, 1970) is an American mixed martial artist and former Olympic wrestler, who competes as a middleweight and light heavyweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. He was the last Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Champion and was the last Welterweight 183 lb (83 kg; 13.1 st) and Middleweight 205 lb (93 kg; 14.6 st) champion of Pride Fighting Championships. He was the only mixed martial artist to concurrently hold two titles in two different weight classes in a major MMA promotion.

Born      Daniel Jeffery Henderson August 24, 1970 (age 42) Downey, California, U.S. Other names     Hendo, Dangerous, Hollywood Nationality         American Height 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) Weight                 205 lb (93 kg; 14 st 9 lb) Division               Heavyweight Light Heavyweight Middleweight Reach    71 in (180 cm) Stance Orthodox Fighting out of Temecula, California Team     Team Quest (1999 - present) RAW (1997 - 1999) Wrestling            Olympian Greco-Roman Wrestling NCAA Division I Wrestling Years active        1997 – present (MMA) Mixed martial arts record Total      38 Wins      29 By knockout       13 By submission   2 By decision         14 Losses   9 By submission   3 By decision         6 University           Cal State Fullerton Arizona State University Spouse                 Alison Children              3 Notable school(s)            Victor Valley High School

 Henderson is also the UFC 17 Middleweight Tournament Winner, the 1997 Brazil Open Lightweight Tournament Champion, the RINGS King of Kings 1999 Tournament Winner, and the 2005 PRIDE Welterweight Grand Prix Champion. He is known for having extremely devastating knockout power in his right hand and never being knocked out or stopped due to strikes in 37 professional fights over his 15 year career. As of December 2012, Henderson is ranked the #2 light heavyweight by Sherdog.

   

Contents 1 Background     2 Mixed martial arts career         2.1 Early career and Ultimate Fighting Championship         2.2 PRIDE Fighting Championships         2.3 UFC return         2.4 Coaching The Ultimate Fighter and aftermath         2.5 Strikeforce         2.6 Third UFC Run     3 Personal life     4 Team Quest     5 Championships and awards         5.1 Mixed martial arts         5.2 Amateur wrestling   6  Filmography

Background

Dan Henderson was born in Downey, California and grew up in Apple Valley, California. He attended Victor Valley High School in Victorville, California, and earned medals at the California State Wrestling Championships in 1987 and 1988. He was a member of the 1987 Victor Valley High School wrestling team state champions. Henderson went on to wrestle at both Cal State Fullerton and Arizona State University, participating in the 1993 NCAA championships. He represented the United States in the 1992 and 1996 Summer Olympics in Greco-Roman wrestling.

Mixed martial arts career

He began training in mixed martial arts in 1997, when he joined the Real American Wrestling team (RAW).

Early career and Ultimate Fighting Championship

In his first year of MMA competition, Henderson won the Brazil Open, a four-man heavyweight tournament. Just one year later, he won the UFC 17 tournament, defeating Allan Goes and Carlos Newton. In his next MMA fights, Henderson competed in an open-weight tournament, facing heavyweights for the first time in his professional career. The tournament consisted of notable competitors such as Renzo Gracie, Jeremy Horn, Valentijn Overeem, Alistair Overeem and former UFC Heavyweight Champion Maurice Smith. Henderson defeated five opponents over the course of two events to claim the 1999 RINGS King of Kings title. He won two fights on October 28, 1999 in Tokyo, Japan, to qualify for the finals, and then beat Gilbert Yvel, Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira and Renato Sobral on the evening of February 26, 2000, to win the tournament.

PRIDE Fighting Championships

This section requires expansion. (November 2011)

Henderson later began competing in Pride Fighting Championships, fighting primarily in the middleweight (205 lb) division. In Pride, Henderson competed against many of the sport's elite fighters, including Wanderlei Silva, Renzo Gracie, Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira, Ricardo Arona, Murilo Rua, Murilo Bustamante, Yuki Kondo, Ryo Chonan and Akihiro Gono.

When Pride began its Bushido brand, Henderson won their first welterweight 183 lb (83 kg; 13.1 st) tournament, defeating Ryo Chonan and Akihiro Gono by knockout, and then defeating Bustamante by split decision in the finals to capture the welterweight title. At Pride Bushido 10, Henderson defeated Kazuo Misaki by unanimous decision after hurting him with strikes on numerous occasions. Henderson later entered the second Pride Welterweight Grand Prix, losing by decision in a rematch with Misaki.

Henderson's final Pride bout was a rematch with Wanderlei Silva at Pride 33 in Las Vegas, Nevada on February 24, 2007, where he scored a knockout victory to become Middleweight Champion, while still holding his Welterweight title. Henderson became the first fighter to simultaneously hold titles in two different weight classes in a major MMA organization.

UFC return

On September 8, 2007, Henderson returned to the UFC to face light heavyweight champion Quinton "Rampage" Jackson at UFC 75 in London, England. In a closely contested fight that saw Henderson impose his will early, Jackson controlled the later rounds and won a five-round unanimous decision to retain his title and gain the Pride middleweight title.

On November 17, 2007, it was announced during the post fight at UFC 78 that Henderson would fight UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva to unify the Pride welterweight (183 lb) and UFC middleweight (185 lb) championships. UFC 82 took place on March 1, 2008 and was held at the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio. Despite winning the first round, Henderson lost via submission at 4:52 of the second round by rear naked choke.

Henderson bounced back from his inauspicious start in the UFC with a victory over Rousimar Palhares at UFC 88, winning by unanimous decision. It was his first win in the UFC in over ten years. After the bout, Henderson laughed and said, "Hopefully I don't have to wait that long before I get my next win."

Henderson returned to the light heavyweight division to face former UFC Middleweight champion Rich Franklin on January 17, 2009, at UFC 93 in Dublin, Ireland. Henderson won the fight via a split decision following an eye-poke in the third round that many, including Franklin himself, thought was intentional. He was subsequently selected to lead Team U.S. on season 9 of The Ultimate Fighter, with Michael Bisping coaching the opposing Team UK.

Coaching The Ultimate Fighter and aftermath

The reality TV show, which spawned a feud between the two coaches that continued until their fight, aired on Spike TV and premiered on April 1, 2009, with the live finale on June 20, 2009 in Las Vegas.

On July 11, 2009 at UFC 100 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Henderson and Bisping settled their differences with their fists, culminating with Henderson becoming the first man to knock Bisping out, doing so in the second round with a right hook to the jaw as Bisping was circling to Henderson's right. This win put Henderson back into contention for a title shot at the UFC Middleweight Champion. The knockout punch also won Henderson a $100,000 bonus for "Knockout of the Night", and is considered one of the greatest knockouts in the history of the sport.

Controversy arose from the fight due to Henderson immediately following up his knockout punch with a flying forearm-drop to the prone Bisping's head shortly before referee Mario Yamasaki ended the fight at 3:20.

After UFC president Dana White said Henderson had made those comments in jest, Henderson clarified stating, "When you're in the heat of the moment, the ref hadn't stopped me yet, who knows what's going to happen, if he's going to recover. I really only hit him twice, once on my feet, once on the ground. I didn't keep going. I didn't go after him after the ref tried to stop me, it was nothing like that. It was a reaction of mine to keep going until I was stopped—and you know, it did feel good though."

Strikeforce

Dan Henderson signed a four-fight, 16-month deal with Strikeforce on December 5, 2009, after his contract expired with the UFC. Henderson made his Strikeforce debut on April 17, 2010 at Strikeforce on CBS against Jake Shields. He was also eyed for a light heavyweight match against Gegard Mousasi, and expressed interest in eventually fighting Fedor Emelianenko at some point during his contract. Henderson lost his Strikeforce debut to Jake Shields. Despite hurting Shields and knocking him down in the 1st round, Henderson went on to lose by unanimous decision. The majority of the last rounds were spent on the ground where Shields controlled the fight via grappling. (49–46, 49–45, 48–45).

Henderson faced Renato Sobral on December 4, 2010 at Strikeforce: Henderson vs. Babalu. Henderson won the fight via KO at 1:53 of the first round.

Henderson defeated Rafael Cavalcante via third round TKO for the Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Championship at Strikeforce 32. After two rounds in which all three judges had the score tied 19-19, Henderson dropped Cavalcante with his famed right hand in the third before referee Dan Miragliotta called the fight off at the 0:50 mark.

Henderson fought Fedor Emelianenko on July 30, 2011 at Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Henderson. Many had speculated that Henderson would meet Fedor at a catch weight, but Strikeforce later confirmed the fight as a heavyweight bout. Henderson said, “Its tough for me to gain weight. I did weightlifting and plenty of eating; I don’t know what else I’m supposed to do. I’m not going to feel outmatched or small in there.” He had to step on the scales weighing at least 206 pounds in order to qualify for the heavyweight division, and weighed in at 207. Fedor weighed in a bit below his normal weight, with the scale reading 223 pounds.Henderson defeated Emelianenko via KOat 4:12 of the 1st round. It was also noted that this was the last fight under Henderson's current Strikeforce contract. Henderson expressed that he would like to re-sign in order to defend his Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Championship.

Third UFC Run

Shortly after the UFC 133 pre-fight press conference, Dana White commented on the potential to bring Henderson back to the UFC for a third go-around. “We’ll see what happens,” White said on Thursday in Philadelphia. “‘Hendo and I have had some history in dealing. We’ll see if we can figure something out and get him back in the UFC.” Later Henderson commented, “I think the biggest fight they could promote is probably a title unification with whoever is the champ in the UFC.”

Henderson faced Maurício Rua on November 19, 2011 at UFC 139 for his third run in the UFC. He won the bout via unanimous decision. The back and forth action earned both fighters Fight of the Night honors, and was described by many as one of the greatest fights in UFC history.

UFC President Dana White announced during the post-fight press conference of UFC 145 that Henderson would be the next opponent for Light Heavyweight Champion Jon Jones.

The bout with Jones was expected to take place on September 1, 2012 at UFC 151. However, Henderson withdrew from the fight citing a knee injury, and the remainder of the fight card was cancelled.

Henderson faced Lyoto Machida on February 23, 2013 at UFC 157. He lost the bout via split decision.

Henderson is expected to face Rashad Evans on June 15, 2013 at UFC 161.

Personal life

Dan Henderson is part Welsh, Scottish, French and Native American. He grew up on a ranch in Apple Valley, California. He started wrestling at a young age and started being noticed as a relentless competitor. When he entered high school he placed on the wrestling team with his brother Tom at Victor Valley High, which was coached by Sam Gollmyer and assisted by their father Bill Henderson and Joe Barrios. Henderson has been prescribed testosterone replacement therapy after being diagnosed with low testosterone levels in 2007.

Henderson was coached by Bob Anderson, of the California Jets (now a defunct organization). He placed second at the California State Wrestling Championship in 1987 and Victor Valley won the team title. In 1988, he placed fifth in the state finals and several months later won national crowns in both freestyle and Greco Roman at the Junior Nationals in Cedar Falls, Iowa.

According to the March 2007 Confederated Umatilla Journal: "Henderson's grandmother, Alice (Bergevin) LeJune, is an enrolled member of the Confederated Tribes and owns land on the Umatilla Indian Reservation. From all accounts, Henderson is 1/16 Walla Walla Native American." In the interview Henderson commented: "Now I know I'm Walla Walla. It's refreshing to find some of those things out. I look Indian and I knew I had some, but I didn't know what tribe or exactly how much. It will be good to be able to tell my kids about their heritage."

Team Quest

Dan Henderson is an owner of Team Quest Fitness Gym located in Murrieta, California.

As of February 28, 2011, Henderson is in litigation over the Team Quest trademark with former teammate Matt Lindland.

Championships and awards

Mixed martial arts

    Ultimate Fighting Championship

        UFC 17 Middleweight Tournament Winner

        Fight of the Night (Two times)

        Knockout of the Night (One time)

        2011 Fight of the Year vs. Maurício Rua on November 19

        2009 Knockout of the Year vs. Michael Bisping on July 11

    Pride Fighting Championships

        Pride Middleweight Championship (One time; Last)

        Pride Welterweight Championship (One time; First; Last)

        2005 Pride Welterweight Grand Prix Champion

        First combatant to win Pride championships in multiple weight classes

        First combatant to simultaneously hold multiple Pride championships

    Strikeforce

        Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Championship (One time, Last)

        Oldest combatant to win a Strikeforce championship (40 years, 194 days)

    Fighting Network RINGS

        RINGS King of Kings 1999 Tournament Winner

    Brazil Open Fight

        Brazil Open 1997 Lightweight Tournament Winner

    World MMA Awards

        2009 Knockout of the Year vs. Michael Bisping on July 11

    ESPN

        2011 Fight of the Year vs. Maurício Rua on November 19

        2011 Round of the Year vs. Maurício Rua on November 19; Round 1

    Inside MMA

        2011 Fight of the Year Bazzie Award vs. Maurício Rua on November 19

    Wrestling Observer Newsletter

        2011 Fight of the Year vs. Maurício Rua on November 19

    MMAFighting

        2011 Fight of the Year vs. Maurício Rua on November 19

    Yahoo! Sports

        2011 Fight of the Year vs. Maurício Rua on November 19

    MiddleEasy

        2011 Frate Trane of the Year

    Inside Fights

        2009 Knockout of the Year vs. Michael Bisping on July 11

    FIGHT! Magazine

        2009 Knockout of the Year vs. Michael Bisping on July 11

    Bleacher Report

        2009 Knockout of the Year vs. Michael Bisping on July 11

    Black Belt Magazine

        2007 MMA Fighter of the Year

               

Amateur wrestling

    International Federation of Associated Wrestling Styles

        2000 Henri Deglane Challenge Senior Greco-Roman Bronze Medalist

        2000 Pan American Championships Senior-Greco Roman Gold Medalist

        1999 Nordvest Cup Senior Greco-Roman Bronze Medalist

        1998 Henri Deglane Challenge Senior Greco-Roman Bronze Medalist

        1998 Pan American Championships Senior Greco-Roman Bronze Medalist

        1998 FILA Test Tournament Senior Greco-Roman Gold Medalist

        1998 Tropheo Milone Tournament Senior Greco-Roman Gold Medalist

        1998 Vehbi Emri Tournament Senior Greco-Roman Silver Medalist

        1997 Concord Cup International Senior Greco-Roman Silver Medalist

        1997 Gold Medal Challenge Senior Greco-Roman Gold Medalist

        1996 World Cup Senior Greco-Roman Silver Medalist

        1995 Pan American Games Senior Greco-Roman Bronze Medalist

        1995 Sunkist Kids International Open Senior Greco-Roman Gold Medalist

        1994 World Cup Senior Greco-Roman Silver Medalist

        1994 Pan American Championships Senior Greco-Roman Silver Medalist

        1990 FILA Wrestling World Championships Junior Greco-Roman Gold Medalist

        1984 Pan American Championships Senior Greco-Roman Silver Medalist

    National Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum

        Lifetime Service to Wrestling Award (2010)

   

Filmography

Year       Title       Role       Notes

2006       The King of Queens        Priority Plus Driver         TV Series (Episode: "Fight Schlub")

2005       Cubed   Himself                TV Series

2012       Dragon Eyes       Beating Police Officer   Film