Dan Henderson Says He’s “Almost Ready” To Retire
Dan Henderson is heading into the final fight of his UFC contract when he takes on Hector Lombard at UFC 199 on June 4, 2016 and it just may very well be his last. In a recent interview with MMAJunkie, ‘Hendo’ admitted if negotiations don’t improve that it could be the end of his fighting career:
“I’m definitely capable of keeping on and still competing at a high level, but I’m almost ready to retire, and depending on how things play out after this fight with negotiations, yeah, it could be my last,”
Henderson also expressed that fighting for another promotion, if negotiations fall through with the UFC, is very much a possibility:
“Or maybe I’ll still fight. I don’t know yet. I’m at that point where I’m about ready, but definitely, I know in my heart I’m still capable of doing it and if I do decide to keep going on I’ll make sure I do it well.”
‘Hendo’ then went on to discuss his previously scheduled opponent in Lyoto Machida, who was force out of the bout after testing positive for a banned substance:
“When they told me what had happened with Lyoto they had already had this on the books with Hector Lombard, June 4th, in L.A.,” he said. “Just to soften the blow they already had that arranged.
“Instead of fighting a guy that runs all the time I got a guy that runs at you the whole time – at least for the first few minutes.
“It’s a totally different style, just a completely different fighter I’m training for. It is what it is I think it’s – the fight with Hector Lombard is definitely something the fans will enjoy more than watching Machida run around the whole time.”
Henderson (31-14) is coming off of an upsetting first round loss to Vitor Belfort back in November in Brazil, where Belfort ended Henderson’s night early with a devastating head kick.
Lombard (34-5-1(2)) is coming off a third round TKO loss to Neil Magny in March that saw the Cuban gas out early in the bout after returning from over a year out of competition after he served a year-long suspension for testing positive for a banned substance.
UFC 199 takes place live from The Forum in Inglewood, California on Saturday, June 4th, on pay-per-view.
