UFC Vet Dan Henderson Denies Reported Return to Middleweight

[Swinny]

UFC vet Dan Henderson denies reported return to middleweight

Dan Henderson may eventually return to the middleweight division, but the UFC light heavyweight said it’s not a done deal.

Following a report in which one of Henderson’s coaches said the fighter would return to 185 pounds, the 43-year-old suggested it was less of a plan and simply a possibility.

As he wrote on Twitter:

Dan Henderson ✔ @danhendo
It's funny how rumors get started. If you have read that I will be returning to middle weight. Not true, but always a possibility.

Henderson (30-12 MMA, 7-6 UFC), who’s competed at middleweight and light heavyweight in recent years (and even moved up to heavyweight for a 2011 win over Fedor Emelianenko), most recently suffered a submission loss to Daniel Cormier in May at UFC 173. The bout came just two months after Henderson scored a “Fight of the Night†and “Performance of the Night†win over Mauricio Rua.

Henderson didn’t cut any weight for the Cormier fight and tipped the scale at just 199 pounds for the light heavyweight bout.

The loss moved Henderson, a former two-division champ for PRIDE and a 205-pound Strikeforce titleholder, to 1-4 in his past five fights. However, aside from Cormier, a top contender at 205 pounds, all of Henderson’s other losses came to former UFC champions, including Lyoto Machida and Rashad Evans, who both won via split decision.

Henderson is currently ranked No. 8 in the USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie MMA light-heavyweight rankings.

Henderson has no definite plans for his next fight but could return before year’s end.

MMAJunkie

 

[The Great Cochrane]

Quite honestly, 205 is Hendo's made weight class.

185 is where most of his key losses have come from, considering they were to Lyoto Machida (who now fights at 185 and I doubt anyone would demand a rematch), Rashad Evans (who might very well make the drop soon), and Vitor Belfort who's a 185 killer. For him to drop down to 185 would be ludacris at this point.

Hendo has more then enough competition left for him at 205 despite losing to Daniel Cormier. He can still find a way to make the division interesting with guys like Phil Davis and would definitely be a good test for OSP should he get past Ryan Bader... A slugfest between Hendo and Glover Teixeira would be memorable for certain.

Guys like Jones, Gustafsson, and Anthony Johnson.... well... maybe not so much lol. But he might build momentum with one of the guys I'd mentioned earlier! Personally I never get bored of watching Hendo fight, he's always got a puncher's chance.

 

[Swinny]

I don't know, I'd say 195 would be Hendo's made weight class if it existed. He still seems to small at 205 compared to some of the beasts there like Cormier and seems to deplete himself too much at times at 185. But when you look at his record at 185 the only guy he lost to in that weight class in the UFC was Anderson, so it would be interesting to see him back there to see what he can do there at this point in his career because he hasn't been looking great at 205.

But you make a good point though that his losses at 205 are against top contenders now at 185 (and a potential future one in Rashad) but I don't see him being a contender at either weight class so I don't know if he'd have to deal with any of them anyway.

It kind of comes down to who his next opponent will be more than anything.

 

[The Great Cochrane]

I have to admit, I would love to see a Hendo Vs Weidman match. But the UFC wouldn't have it unless he beats a guy at 185. And personally, there's nobody that I think would make a better fight that he's already faced. Rockhold or Jacare maybe, but I don't think those fights have enough marketing power for Hendo. He's there to fight the best.