Win, Lose, Or Draw, Dan Henderson Will Fight On After UFC Fight Night 68
A mixed martial arts (MMA) legend and former champion in multiple organizations, Dan “Hendo” Henderson has lost five out of his last six bouts, with three of those loses coming by way of stoppage, and at age 44, many are calling for the former Olympian to retire.
However, “Dangerous” Dan is still going as he is set to meet Tim Boetsch in the main event of this weekend’s (June 6, 2015) UFC Fight Night 68 from the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans, Louisiana.
Speaking on last night’s edition of UFC Tonight (via FOX Sports), Henderson said that although he may put more pressure on himself coming off of a few loses, that this weekend is just another fight. Possibly somewhat surprisingly, he also added that he has three fights left on his contract including this weekend’s bout, and win, lose, or draw, he plans on honoring that contract:
“It is just another fight, but at the same time I put pressure on myself to win every fight, probably a little more coming off a couple of losses for sure. I never tell myself if I lose I’m done. I’m going to definitely finish out my contract and see where things go after that. My body feels great so I’m going to keep going,” Henderson said.
“I’ve got this fight and two more on my contract so I’ll be here at least another year”
“Hendo” continued on, stating that his recent run of loses, specifically his last loss where he suffered a TKO loss to Gegard Mousasi, is what motivates him for his upcoming bout against Boetsch. Henderson described his previous fight as frustrating due to the fact that an inexperienced referee stopped the fight too early in his mind:
“It’s frustrating. It wasn’t necessarily the eye cut when you have a referee in there that’s that inexperienced or green that stops a fight the way he did, it just frustrating,” Henderson said. “That helps motivate me for this fight for sure.”
Despite being unsuccessful as of late, Henderson, too his dispense, has taken on a who’s who list of former champions and MMA legends. Boetsch may not fit that criteria, but “Hendo” knows he has a very tough, and game opponent in front of him, and he’s definitely not taking “The Barbarian” lightly:
“I think there’s a fine line between guys that are on that (championship) level and guys that are capable of beating guys that are on that level. He’s one of those guys that hasn’t been overly consistent and hasn’t beaten the top guys, but he’s definitely capable,” Henderson said. “He’s beaten some pretty good guys out there and given other guys a pretty tough time.
“He’s a guy I’m definitely not taking lightly. He’s dangerous with his power and capable of putting me on my back. So I have to be really careful out there with that.”
Originally scheduled to be the co-main event, Henderson and Boetsch were moved to the main event when Daniel Cormier vs. Ryan Bader fell through due to “DC” getting the call to challenger for a title. Now being a five-round fight, Henderson knew he had to make sure his conditioning and cardio was on point, and he believes that he’s ready for a five-round slugfest if need be:
“I’m ready for five rounds with him,” Henderson said. “Obviously an extra two rounds changed things. Probably puts this win on cardio and conditioning more than other things, but I still had enough time that I got ready just fine. I feel my conditioning is right where it should be for a five round fight.”
Does “Dangerous” Dan have anything left in the tank, or will this weekend prove to be the end of an illustrious and legendary career?
