Dan Henderson Calls Out Anderson Silva: Who Knows What He Was Taking
Former two-weight Pride FC champion and storied UFC/Strikeforce veteran Dan Henderson made a spectacular comeback from two straight losses at UFC Fight Night 68, with a trademark knockout against Tim Boetsch. ‘Dangerous’ Dan would have likely got his walking papers from the promotion had he lost, making the 28-second finish all the more convincing. Having been in the game since 1997, it is only a matter of time for Hendo, but with his win over ‘The Barbarian’, he proved there’s at least a few fights left in the tank.
With a number of interesting rematches possible in the promotion where Henderson has fought on and off his whole career, Hendo tells Frank Trigg about what might lay ahead for him. Check out the video from MMA OddsBreaker on Youtube:
“”I would like a fight with two or three guys at middleweight that I think the fans would like to see me fight; Rematches with Anderson Silva, Vitor (Belfort) and I’d like to fight Mousasi because I didn’t really get a chance to fight the first time. It would be a little different fighting (Vitor) here in the states, rather than in Brazil where his doctor is head of the athletic commission. We’ve seen changes already in Vitor (physically)”
It seems like Hendo’s wit hasn’t got slower with time, as he flat out slates the former champion and two-time opponent ‘The Phenom’. Henderson’s own fling with the now banned TRT (testosterone replacement therapy) was well documented too it should be noted, but he received far less bad press during the controversial treatment’s life span in MMA. The subject then turned to another former opponent and potential middleweight rematch, Anderson Silva and his failed drug test:
“Who knows what (Silva) was taking when he was champion, I have no idea, obviously he’s been doing something to get caught. Who knows how he’ll bounce back. I’m sure there is some sort of steroid where they’re are ahead (of the drug testing curve) of the doctors. I’ve been asking for random testing for years, it seems like it’s moving towards that.”
It was a much darker age in mixed martial arts even when Silva and Henderson first fought, ‘The Spider’ was the champion, but looking back at it now seems strange. There were a lot of fighters that were clearly juicing their heads off, and we’re lucky not to have witnessed a steroid-fuelled murder during this history of the promotion.
All said and done, Dan Henderson has fought through nearly two decades of GOATs, champions, steroid cheats, controversy, TRT, numerous promotions, and is still standing. One of the last of his era, would the ageing veteran be able to pull out a H-Bomb against the likes of fellow legends Vitor Belfort or Anderson Silva in a rematch?
