Daniel Jeffery Henderson (born August 24, 1970) is an American former Olympic wrestler and current mixed martial artist fighting for Strikeforce and was the last Welterweight 183 lb (83 kg; 13.1 st) and Middleweight 205 lb (93 kg; 14.6 st) champion of the 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. Henderson is the UFC 17 middleweight, Pride 2005 welterweight and 1999 RINGS King of Kings tournament champion. Henderson also owns the Clinch Gear MMA apparel brand. He holds notable victories over Carlos Newton, Renzo Gracie, Gilbert Yvel, Murilo Bustamante, Michael Bisping, Renato Sobral, Rich Franklin, Vitor Belfort, Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira, and Wanderlei Silva.. Henderson is ranked as the #5 middleweight in the world by Sherdog.com and as the #6 middleweight in the world by MMAweekly.

Biography

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. 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.

MMA career

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

Early career and UFC

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 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, Antônio Rodrigo Nogueira and Renato "Babulu" Sobral on the evening of February 26, 2000, to win the tournament.

Pride FC

Henderson later found a home with the Pride Fighting Championships, competing 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 one-punch 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.

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 highly-touted Brazilian jiu jitsu ace 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 controversial split decision following an unintentional eye-poke in the third round and 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. Dan received a high-end Land Rover for being coach on the show, along with Bisping.

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."

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. Immediately after the fight, Henderson addressed the issue of the final blow to the knocked-out Bisping, saying "Normally I'm not that way in fights. I know if the guy's out, I tend to stop. I knew I hit him out and I think that one was just to shut him up a little bit."

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. Henderson, who also fights at light heavyweight, is being eyed for a matchup against Gegard Mousasi. Henderson has also expressed interest in eventually fighting World Alliance of Mixed Martial Arts (WAMMA) Heavyweight Champion Fedor Emelianenko at some point during his new contract. Henderson lost his Strikeforce debut to Jake Shields by Unanimous Decision. 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).

If Jake Shields leaves Strikeforce, due to completing the last fight on his contract, Henderson will take part in a multi-night single-elimination tournament to determine the next Strikeforce Middleweight Champion.

Personal life

Dan Henderson is part English, 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 their father Bill Henderson, Sam Gollmyer and Joe Barrios.

Dan was also 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.

He has three children with his wife Alison He now lives in Temecula, California and is currently associated with Team Quest where he trains with fellow fighters Matt Lindland and Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou. He is currently training fighters such as newcomer Albert Mercado, Krzysztof Soszynski, Phil Davis, Dave Kohn, Tyron Woodley, Jake Morris, and Justin Nelson. Henderson has also made guest appearances on television shows such as The King of QueensThe Best Damn Sports Show Period, Inside MMA and Rome is Burning.

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."

Clinch Gear

Henderson owns the Clinch Gear MMA apparel brand,which he acquired in January 2007 after wearing Clinch Gear shorts in many of his fights in the preceding two years. He has grown the product line to include 11 colors of performance board shorts in two styles, including the Primo Hendo signature model.

Team Quest

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

Mixed martial arts record

Professional record breakdown

33 matches 25 wins 8 losses

By knockout 12 0

By submission 1 3

By decision 12 5

Loss 25–8 Jake Shields Decision (Unanimous) Strikeforce: Nashville 2010-04-17 5 5:00 Nashville, Tennessee, U.S. For Strikeforce Middleweight Championship,

Strikeforce debut

Win 25–7 Michael Bisping KO (Punch) UFC 100 2009-07-11 2 3:20 Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. Middleweight bout, Won Knockout of the Night Honors

Win 24–7 Rich Franklin Decision (Split) UFC 93: Franklin vs. Henderson 2009-01-17 3 5:00 Dublin, Ireland Light Heavyweight bout

Win 23–7 Rousimar Palhares Decision (Unanimous) UFC 88: Breakthrough 2008-09-06 3 5:00 Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Middleweight bout

Loss 22–7 Anderson Silva Submission (Rear-naked Choke) UFC 82: Pride of a Champion 2008-03-01 2 4:50 Columbus, Ohio, U.S. For UFC Middleweight Championship, Won Fight of the Night

Loss 22–6 Quinton Jackson Decision (Unanimous) UFC 75: Champion vs Champion 2007-09-08 5 5:00 London, England For UFC Light Heavyweight Championship

Win 22–5 Wanderlei Silva KO (Punch) Pride 33: The Second Coming 2007-02-24 3 2:08 Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. Won Pride Middleweight Championship

Win 21–5 Vitor Belfort Decision (Unanimous) Pride 32: The Real Deal 2006-10-21 3 5:00 Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S. PRIDE Middleweight Bout

Loss 20–5 Kazuo Misaki Decision (Unanimous) Pride Bushido 12 2006-08-26 2 5:00 Nagoya, Japan PRIDE 2006 WW Grand Prix Quarterfinal Round

Win 20–4 Kazuo Misaki Decision (Unanimous) Pride Bushido 10 2006-04-02 2 5:00 Tokyo, Japan

Win 19–4 Murilo Bustamante Decision (Split) Pride Shockwave 2005 2005-12-31 2 5:00 Saitama, Japan PRIDE 2005 WW Grand Prix Final Round, Won Pride Welterweight Championship

Win 18–4 Akihiro Gono KO (Punch) Pride Bushido 9 2005-09-25 1 7:58 Tokyo, Japan PRIDE 2005 WW Grand Prix Semi-Final Round

Win 17–4 Ryo Chonan KO (Punches) Pride Bushido 9 2005-09-25 1 0:22 Tokyo, Japan PRIDE 2005 WW Grand Prix Opening Round

Loss 16–4 Antonio Rogerio Nogueira Submission (Armbar) Pride Total Elimination 2005 2005-04-23 1 8:05 Osaka, Japan PRIDE 2005 Middleweight Grand Prix Opening Round

Win 16–3 Yuki Kondo Decision (Split) Pride Shockwave 2004 2004-12-31 3 5:00 Saitama, Japan

Win 15–3 Kazuhiro Nakamura TKO (Injury) Pride 28: High Octane 2004-10-31 1 1:15 Saitama, Japan

Win 14–3 Murilo Bustamante TKO (Punches) Pride Final Conflict 2003 2003-11-09 1 0:53 Tokyo, Japan

Win 13–3 Shungo Oyama TKO (Strikes) Pride 25: Body Blow 2003-03-16 1 3:28 Yokohama, Japan

Loss 12–3 Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira Submission (Armbar) Pride 24: Cold Fury 3 2002-12-23 3 1:49 Fukuoka, Japan

Loss 12–2 Ricardo Arona Decision (Split) Pride 20: Armed and Ready 2002-04-28 3 5:00 Yokohama, Japan

Win 12–1 Murilo Rua Decision (Split) Pride 17: Championship Chaos 2001-11-03 3 5:00 Tokyo, Japan

Win 11–1 Akira Shoji TKO (Strikes) Pride 14: Clash of the Titans 2001-05-27 3 3:18 Yokohama, Japan

Win 10–1 Renzo Gracie KO (Punches) Pride 13: Collision Course 2001-03-25 1 1:40 Saitama, Japan

Loss 9–1 Wanderlei Silva Decision (Unanimous) Pride 12: Cold Fury 2000-12-09 3 5:00 Saitama, Japan PRIDE FC debut

Win 9–0 Renato Sobral Decision (Split) RINGS: King of Kings 1999 Final 2000-02-26 2 5:00 Tokyo, Japan Won RINGS King of Kings 1999 Tournament

Win 8–0 Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira Decision (Split) RINGS: King of Kings 1999 Final 2000-02-26 3 5:00 Tokyo, Japan RINGS King of Kings 1999 Tournament Semifinal

Win 7–0 Gilbert Yvel Decision (Unanimous) RINGS: King of Kings 1999 Final 2000-02-26 2 5:00 Tokyo, Japan RINGS King of Kings 1999 Tournament Quarterfinal

Win 6–0 Hiromitsu Kanehara Decision (Split) RINGS: King of Kings Block A 1999-10-28 2 5:00 Tokyo, Japan RINGS King of Kings 1999 Tournament 2nd Round

Win 5–0 Bakouri Gogitidze TKO (Strikes) RINGS: King of Kings Block A 1999-10-28 1 2:17 Tokyo, Japan RINGS King of Kings 1999 Tournament 1st Round

Win 4–0 Carlos Newton Decision (Split) UFC 17: Redemption 1998-05-15 1 15:00 Mobile, Alabama, US Won UFC 17 Middleweight Tournament

Win 3–0 Allan Goes Decision (Unanimous) UFC 17: Redemption 1998-05-15 1 15:00 Mobile, Alabama, US

Win 2–0 Eric Smith Submission (Guillotine Choke) Brazil Open '97 1997-06-15 1 0:30 Brazil Won Brazil Open 1997 Lightweight Tournament

Win 1–0 Crezio de Souza TKO (Strikes) Brazil Open '97 1997-06-15 1 5:25 Brazil