Henderson finds latest opponent already knocked out
UFC veteran Dan Henderson was shocked to learn he had company when he returned to his room in Sao Paulo, Brazil, after dinner this week.
A man who Henderson had never met was passed out, apparently intoxicated, on the couch in Henderson’s room.
“It was surprising, interesting and entertaining all at the same time,” Henderson said, reflecting on the incident over the phone the following day.
Henderson briefly documented the stranger’s nap for social media before calling hotel security.
“It was just a drunk guy that ended up in the wrong room,” Henderson said. “Security came up and tried to ask him his name, trying to find out what room he was in. They were nice about it. They weren’t rude to him or anything. he was harmless, just pretty drunk and sitting on my couch.”
He’s not expecting to dispatch of Vitor Belfort quite as easily when the middleweights fight for the third time in the main event of an Ultimate Fighting Championship card on Saturday night.
“Sometimes it’s (as simple as just landing one right hand),” Henderson said of his signature punch. “But I don’t think Vitor’s one of those guys that’s easy to finish, especially with one shot. He’s dangerous and I have to make sure I’m careful with him. I know the fans expect this to be a pretty entertaining shootout of guys who punch hard.”
Henderson should have Belfort well-scouted. He earned a unanimous decision victory over Belfort on a Pride Fighting Championships card in 2006, but Belfort evened the score with a first-round knockout on a UFC card in 2013.
“This is a fight I asked for because I wasn’t happy with my last fight against Vitor,” Henderson said. “I know there won’t be a fourth fight with him and I don’t want to waste this opportunity. I want to finish this trilogy on top.”
It’s an intriguing matchup beyond the fact both Henderson and Belfort have been competing at the highest levels of the sport for nearly 20 years.
Both fighters previously competed under therapeutic-use exemptions for testosterone replacement therapy. The treatment was banned in 2014.
Henderson, a former U.S. Olympic wrestler, has been among several former users who have largely escaped criticism.
The same can’t be said of Belfort, one of the most polarizing figures in the sport. A former UFC light heavyweight champion, Belfort tested positive for elevated testosterone after the first fight against Henderson and has often been accused of abusing his TRT exemption.
Belfort has been defiant in the face of questioning about the subject, making him a target of fans and media alike.
“As a fighter, he’s one of the best there is. He’s been around a long time. He’s very well-rounded, dangerous and skilled,” Henderson said. “As a person, I’ve known him a long time but not really personally. I think in some of the ways he’s represented the sport, it hasn’t been the greatest. He’s tested positive for PEDs more than once. I can’t get behind him in that way. I’m not a fan of that.
“It doesn’t sit well with me that he doesn’t represent our sport the way he should and he’s capable of.”
Henderson hopes to win the rubber match against Belfort, which would mark the first time he had won consecutive fights since 2011. He snapped a two-fight losing streak, and a run of five losses in six fights, with a knockout of Tim Boetsch in June.
The 45-year-old, who has long shrugged off retirement talk, downplayed the significance of the win in terms of his psyche.
“I wouldn’t say i needed a win to keep going. I just felt for a few years I had some bad luck and some tough losses all at the same time,” he said. “They were just kind of stacked together and it didn’t reflect very well on my record. I still had the confidence in myself. It wasn’t something that rejuvenated me. It was just nice to have one go my way and do what I’m capable of doing. I was still quite confident in my capabilities.
“But it was nice to get a win.”
Henderson said his wrestling background laid the foundation to be able to handle adversity in the cage.
“I came from a background where I competed my whole life,” he said. “There’s always losses, there’s always wins. For whatever reason, things don’t always go your way. I know to just stay with it and I have the confidence that I’ll get back where I want to be.”
The event airs live on Fox Sports 1 (Cable 329) on Saturday, starting with the preliminary card at 5 p.m.
Light heavyweights Glover Teixeira and Patrick Cummins meet on the six-fight main card, which begins at 7.
Contact reporter Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com or 702-224-5509. Follow him on Twitter: @adamhilllvrj
