A lot of people have already been debating for the past couple of years if MMA veteran Dan Henderson should retire. This is because one of the oldest active fighters in the UFC lineup has faced six terrible losses out of his eight fights recently.
Henderson has been in the MMA industry for more than 16 years with experiencing any knockout loss. But recently, 45-year-old Henderson, who has a current record of 31-14 MMA and 8-8 UFC, has been knocked out during the first round by contender Vitor Belfort during UFC Fight Night 77. Out of his past six fights, Henderson has also been stopped by strikes on three different bouts.
The two-division Pride champ and legendary former Strikeforce has managed to built his impressive track record since his professional debut last June 1997. However, with a total record of 15 knockdowns during his competitions in the UFC/Strikeforce/PRIDE/WEC, UFC Tonight host Kenny Florian says it’s time to hang the gloves.
“I don’t think there’s any shame in losing to a guy like Vitor Belfort, but Dan Henderson has to start thinking about retiring at this point because he’s taken a lot of damage, especially if you look at the last several fights he’s had in the UFC. He’s been fighting some tough guys, and yes he’s had some wins and won by knockout, but I would like to see him transition. Maybe get a job with the UFC or something,” Florian said during a recent episode of FOX Sports 1 program.
Henderson’s credentials are truly one of a kind. During his prime, he was able to win over big names like Fedor Emelianenko, Mauricio Rua, Wanderlei Silva, Michael Bisping, and even Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira.
Since he came back and joined the UFC lineup last November 2011, the MMA veteran has faced a couple of terrible losses. When he went against former UFC champions Rashad Evans and Lyoto Machida two years ago, he dropped competitive split decision. Aside from this, he lost over current UFC champion, Daniel Cormier, Vitor Belfort (twice), and even Gegard Mousasi.
Daniel Cormier won over Henderson last May 2014 during the UFC 173 event; it was indeed one of the most lopsided fights the UFC has ever had. Cormier had the advantage of being the stronger and bigger fighter than Henderson, so he was able to ‘toss’ the MMA veteran around before finally ending the bout with a submission in the third round.
With all of these losses piling up, Henderson then decided it was time to move down to the middleweight division, hoping that this will help him get back on his feet and start winning fights. Unfortunately, things didn’t go as planned. Even though Henderson knocked out contender Tim Boetsch in just under 28 seconds and sparked a light of hope for the veteran, his loss to Belfort zapped all that hope out.
Even though Henderson revealed that he has still one fight remaining on his UFC contract, Daniel Cormier admitted that he doesn’t want to see his former contender take any more damage inside the octagon. He also said that Henderson should take the hint and choose to walk away from competition before he gets any more injuries.
“In Dan’s mind he was going to actually take his time before he attacked Vitor, but then Vitor actually threw the head kick. It wasn’t set off any punches or anything. The chin, the reflexes – it might be time for him to hang it up,” Cormier said.