Dan Henderson

Daniel Jeffery Henderson (born August 24, 1970) is an American Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) fighter and was the last Welterweight (183 lb.), and Middleweight (205 lb.) champion of the PRIDE Fighting Championships. He is a co-founder of Team Quest, along with Matt Lindland and Randy Couture, and owns the Clinch Gear apparel brand, which produces loose-fit board shorts for use in MMA, wrestling and other combat sports. He has a professional MMA record of 22-7 as of March 2008, and is the only MMA fighter to ever hold titles in two weight classes at the same time in a major Mixed Martial Arts promotion. He is currently competing in the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

Henderson is originally from Apple Valley, California and went to Victor Valley High School in Victorville, California, where he twice earned medals at the California State Wrestling Chamionships. He went on to wrestle at Cal State Fullerton and Arizona State University, participating in the 1993 NCAA championships. After completing his collegiate eligibility, he moved to the international circuit, competing for the United States in the 1992 and 1996 Summer Olympics in Greco Roman wrestling. He now lives in Temecula, California.[1]

He has notable wins over Wanderlei Silva, Vitor Belfort, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Renato Sobral, Kazuo Misaki, Kazuhiro Nakamura, Renzo Gracie, and Murilo Bustamante.

MMA training

Henderson, who started wrestling at the age of 5, competed on the 1992 and 1996 U.S. Olympic Greco-Roman wrestling teams.

He began training in mixed martial arts in 1997, when he joined the Real American Wrestling team (RAW). Currently, Henderson trains with Team Quest, which includes fellow fighters Matt Lindland and Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou. Henderson cross-trains in Boxing, Muay Thai, Wrestling, Judo, and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu.

MMA career

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

Henderson later found a home with the PRIDE Fighting Championships, competing primarily in the Middleweight (205 lbs.) and Heavyweight divisions. In PRIDE, Henderson competed against many of the sports elite fighters including Wanderlei Silva, Renzo Gracie, Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Ricardo Arona, Murilo Rua, Murilo Bustamante, Yuki Kondo, Ryo Chonan and Akihiro Gono.

When PRIDE began its Bushido shows, Henderson won their first Welterweight (183 lb.) Grand Prix, defeating Ryo Chonan and Akihiro Gono by knockout, and then defeating Bustamante by split decision in the finals. 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 on February 24, 2007, where he scored a remarkable knockout victory to become Middleweight Champion. Henderson is the first fighter to simultaneously hold world titles in two different weight classes in a major organization.[2]

On September 8, 2007, Henderson returned to the UFC to face light heavyweight champion Quinton Jackson at UFC 75 in London, England, losing by unanimous decision after five hotly contested rounds.

On November 17, 2007, it was announced during the post fight at UFC 78, Henderson would fight UFC Middleweight Champion Anderson Silva to unify the Pride Welterweight (183 lbs.) and UFC Middleweight (185 lbs.) championships. UFC 82 took take place on March 1, 2008 and was held at the Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio. Silva defeated Henderson via submission at 4:52 of the second round due to a rear naked choke.

Personal life

Dan Henderson grew up on a ranch in Apple Valley California. He started wrestling at a young age and started being noticed as a relentless competitor. One of his close friends growing up was Mathew Clifton, who he always managed to get in trouble with. 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 Barney Henderson. He placed fifth at the California State Wrestling Championship in 1987, and Victor Valley won the team title. In 1988, he placed second in the state finals and several months later won national crowns in both freestyle and Greco Roman at the Junior Nationals in Fargo, North Dakota. He went on to meet His wife, Alison, and had three children. Henderson has made guest appearances on television shows such as The King Of Queens, Best Damn Sports Show Period and Rome is Burning.

Trivia

• He has used the song Wake Up by Rage Against the Machine as a theme.

Ethnic background

Henderson describes his ethnic background as "English, French & Native American". 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.[3]

King of Queens appearance

Dan appeared in one episode of the television show King of Queens, together with other MMA fighters: Randy Couture, Quinton "Rampage" Jackson, and Frank Trigg.[4] One of the gags of the episode capitalized on the fact that Dan has lost his upper front teeth.

Team Quest

Dan Henderson is the owner of Team Quest MMA Fitness Center in Murrieta, California [5]

Clinch Gear

Henderson also owns the Clinch Gear 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 five colors of performance board shorts, including the Primo Hendo signature model. Clinch Gear also produces complementary apparel and is the exclusive distributor of Team Quest apparel and training products. In September 2007, Clinch Gear provided the uniforms for the U.S. National Grappling, Sombo and Beach Wrestling teams at the World Wrestling Games in Antalya, Turkey. [6]

External links

• Official site
• Professional MMA record for Dan Henderson from Sherdog
• Clinch Gear
• Dan Henderson at the National Wrestling Hall of Fame
• Greatest Pride Fighting Knockouts, video of match with Ryo Chonan, retrieved on February 16, 2007