Dan Henderson

Scouting report

Born in Downey, California, Dan Henderson's Greco-Roman wrestling base carried into the light heavyweight division across PRIDE, Strikeforce, and the UFC; he held the PRIDE Middleweight (205-pound) and Strikeforce Light Heavyweight titles during his career. His November 2011 fight with Mauricio Rua at UFC 139, a five-round decision win, was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame's Fight Wing. Henderson's light heavyweight card carries an 84 Boxing and 81 Wrestling, with an 84 Overall rating at its peak.

Peak ratings

By edition

Dan Henderson, the Olympic wrestler with the H-bomb

Dan Henderson wrestled at two Olympics before turning to MMA, and he held titles in Pride at two weights. He knocked out Fedor Emelianenko in 2011 in Strikeforce and Michael Bisping in 2009, and he beat Mauricio Rua in a five round war in 2011. Vitor Belfort knocked him out in 2013, and in 2014 he stopped Rua in the third round in Natal. Cormier submitted him later that year. Draft him for a veteran with real power.

Henderson by attribute

Wrestling that lets him pick the fight

At 90, Wrestling is his best rating, and it works with his 88 Boxing. He can control where a fight happens and land the right hand when he wants. Against opponents who rely on takedowns, he can force them to stand and take his power.

Kickboxing and BJJ trail the rest

Kickboxing and BJJ are tied at 76, his lowest ratings. He leans on the overhand right and wrestling, which is a narrow set of tools. A clever opponent can use kicks or a submission attempt to disrupt that plan, so keep that in mind when building around him.

Scouting report

Dan "Hendo" Henderson fought out of Team Quest in Temecula, California, bringing a Greco-Roman wrestling background — he competed at the 1992 and 1996 Olympics — into MMA. His overhand right, nicknamed the "H-Bomb," knocked out Michael Bisping in the first round at UFC 100 in July 2009. Henderson also held middleweight (183-pound) tournament gold in PRIDE. His UFC 4 (2012) middleweight card rates him at 84 Boxing and 81 Wrestling, translating his international wrestling pedigree and one-punch power into an 82 Overall score.

Peak ratings

Henderson at 185, the last stretch of a very long career

By the time Henderson returned to middleweight in 2015, he was in his mid forties and had been fighting for almost two decades. He had won the Pride welterweight tournament in 2005 by beating Murilo Bustamante in the final, and he had already challenged Anderson Silva for the middleweight title in 2008, winning the first round before being choked in the second. The 2015 return to 185 opened with a first-round TKO loss to Gegard Mousasi. Five months later he knocked out Tim Boetsch in 28 seconds. Vitor Belfort beat him in their rubber match, then Henderson knocked out Hector Lombard in 2016 with a head kick followed by a reverse elbow. He retired after a title fight against Michael Bisping.

The middleweight card, number by number

The right hand that would not retire

At his peak Boxing is 85, ahead of Strength and Durability, both at 84. The 28 second knockout of Boetsch and the Lombard finish show the right hand still worked late in his career. Henderson did not need to win rounds to be a threat. Against Bisping in his final fight he dropped the champion in the first and second rounds and nearly finished him, and both men earned Fight of the Night. Draft him for the moment when a fight is one punch from being over.

Kickboxing at 70 and a short list of tools

Kickboxing is 70, the lowest rating, with BJJ at 72 and Cardio at 74 just above it. What is left is the right hand and the wrestling, and the results at middleweight show the limits of that. Mousasi stopped him in the first round, Belfort knocked him out with a head kick and punches in their rubber match, and Bisping took the last fight on the scorecards. He was 46 at the time.