Dan Henderson
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Biography
Dan Henderson (born August 24, 1970) is originally from Apple Valley, California and went to Victor Valley High School in Victorville, California, where he twice earned medals at the California State Wrestling Championships. He went on to wrestle at Cal State Fullerton and Arizona State University, participating in the 1993 NCAA championships. After completing his collegiate eligibility, he moved to the international circuit, competing for the United States in the 1992 and 1996 Summer Olympics in Greco-Roman wrestling.
MMA career
He began training in mixed martial arts in 1997, when he joined the Real American Wrestling team (RAW). In his first year of MMA competition, Henderson won the Brazil Open, a four-man heavyweight tournament (June 15, 1997). Just one year later, he won the UFC 17 tournament, defeating Allan Goes and Carlos Newton. In his next MMA foray, 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, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira and Renato "Babulu" Sobral on the evening of February 26, 2000, to win the tournament.
Henderson later found a home with the PRIDE Fighting Championships, competing primarily in the middleweight (205 lbs.) division. In PRIDE, Henderson competed against many of the sports elite fighters including Wanderlei Silva, Renzo Gracie, Antonio 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) tournament, defeating Ryo Chonan and Akihiro Gono by knockout, and then defeating Murilo 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 on February 24, 2007, where he scored a knockout victory to become middleweight champion, while still holding his welterweight title. Henderson is the first fighter to simultaneously hold titles in two different weight classes in a major organization.
On September 8, 2007, Henderson returned to the UFC to face light heavyweight champion Quinton Jackson at UFC 75 in London, England, losing by unanimous decision after five rounds.
On November 17, 2007, it was announced during the post fight at UFC 78, Henderson would fight UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva to unify the PRIDE welterweight (183 lbs.) and UFC middleweight (185 lbs.) championships. UFC 82 took take place on March 1, 2008 and was held at the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio. Silva defeated Henderson via submission at 4:52 of the second round due to a rear naked choke.
Henderson defeated Rousimar Palhares at UFC 88 by unanimous decision. It was his first win in the UFC in over ten years. Henderson laughed and said "hopefully I don't have to wait that long before I get my next win."
Henderson's next fight was a return to the 205lb division against former UFC Middleweight champion Rich Franklin on January 17, 2009 at UFC 93 in Dublin, Ireland. He won by split decision and is expected to lead Team USA on season 9 of The Ultimate Fighter, with Michael Bisping coaching the opposing Team UK.
Mixed Martial Arts Record
| 31 matches | 24 wins | 7 losses |
| By knockout | 10 | 0 |
| By submission | 1 | 3 |
| By decision | 13 | 4 |
| Draws | 0 | |
Gallery
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