Dan Henderson: the Olympic wrestler who held two PRIDE titles at once | Ultimate Fighter Reunion

Why fans still care

DAN HENDERSON won a UFC tournament and titles in PRIDE and Strikeforce, and many of his biggest wins came from his right hand, which fans call the H-Bomb.

He fought into his mid-40s. At 45 he knocked out Héctor Lombard, and at 46 he dropped Michael Bisping twice in a UFC title fight.

Early life

He was born on 24 August 1970 in Downey, California, and grew up in the Victorville area of the High Desert. His father, Bill, started him wrestling at five and coached him for most of his life. He wrestled for two years at Cal State Fullerton, then left to train for the Olympics. His sister, Selanée, played professional golf.

Getting started

He wrestled Greco-Roman at 82 kg for the United States, finishing 10th at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics and 12th at Atlanta in 1996, with bronze at the 1995 Pan American Games. He made his MMA debut at the Brazil Open on 15 June 1997, winning two fights in one night on about two weeks’ notice. He told UFC.com his goals were still in wrestling. After he missed the 2000 Olympic team and fell short at the 2001 world team trials, he committed fully to MMA.

Career chapters

1. 1992 and 1996Wrestles at two Olympics
2. 1998Wins the UFC 17 middleweight tournament
3. 2000Wins the RINGS King of Kings 1999 tournament
4. 2005Wins the PRIDE welterweight grand prix
5. 2007Knocks out Wanderlei Silva for the PRIDE middleweight title
6. 2009Knocks out Michael Bisping at UFC 100
7. 2011Wins the Strikeforce title, stops Fedor Emelianenko and beats Shogun Rua
8. 2016Fights for the UFC title at 46, then retires

UFC 17, RINGS and PRIDE 1998 to 2007

On 15 May 1998 at UFC 17 in Mobile, Alabama, he won a four-man middleweight tournament, beating Allan Goes and then Carlos Newton on a split decision; UFC.com says he broke his jaw late in the Newton fight. He won the RINGS King of Kings 1999 tournament, with three wins on the final night in Tokyo on 26 February 2000. In PRIDE he knocked out Renzo Gracie in 2001. In 2005 he won the welterweight grand prix, knocking out Ryo Chonan and Akihiro Gono on one night in Tokyo and beating Murilo Bustamante in the final. On 24 February 2007 at PRIDE 33 in Las Vegas he knocked out Wanderlei Silva with a right hand and left hook in the third round to win the middleweight title, and held both PRIDE titles at once.

UFC title fights and UFC 100 2007 to 2009

He lost a five-round decision to Quinton Jackson at UFC 75 in London in 2007. On 1 March 2008 at UFC 82 in Columbus he challenged Anderson Silva, Who’s Who number 13 in front of 16,431, won the first round and was submitted in the second. He coached Team USA on The Ultimate Fighter 9 against Michael Bisping, Who’s Who number 9, and at UFC 100 on 11 July 2009 he knocked Bisping out in the second round with a right hand and earned a US$100,000 bonus.

Strikeforce and Shogun 2010 to 2011

He lost to Jake Shields in 2010, then on 5 March 2011, aged 40, stopped Rafael Cavalcante in the third round to win the Strikeforce light heavyweight title. On 30 July 2011 at the Sears Centre in Hoffman Estates, Illinois he stopped Fedor Emelianenko, Who’s Who number 40 with an uppercut from underneath late in the first round. On 19 November 2011 at UFC 139 in San Jose he beat Shogun Rua on a unanimous decision in five rounds. SI reported it was the first UFC non-title fight to go the full 25 minutes, and UFC.com picked it as its 2011 Fight of the Year in its year-end awards.

Last run 2013 to 2016

He lost to Lyoto Machida, Rashad Evans, Vitor Belfort and Daniel Cormier, and beat Rua again in 2014. He had used testosterone replacement therapy under a Nevada exemption until the commission banned the therapy in February 2014, and it licensed him again in May 2014. On 4 June 2016 at UFC 199, aged 45, he knocked out Héctor Lombard with a head kick and an elbow. That earned a title fight with Bisping at UFC 204 in Manchester on 8 October 2016. He dropped Bisping in the first and second rounds but lost a unanimous decision, then retired.

Style, technique and the corner

How he fights

He was a wrestler with a heavy right hand. He told UFC.com in 2013, “I hit hard, I’m a good wrestler, and I’m a good Greco guy.” UFC.com says fans call any landed Henderson right hand an H-Bomb. In 2013 he trained with southpaw partners including Luke Rockhold and Tarec Saffiedine for Machida. UFC.com puts his UFC striking accuracy at 47 per cent.

Teams and gyms

He opened his first gym in Murrieta in 2003 and Dan Henderson’s Athletic Training Center in Temecula in 2012.

Stories people still tell

1. One night in Tokyo.

   At Bushido 9 in 2005 he knocked out Ryo Chonan in 22 seconds, then Akihiro Gono later the same night.

2. Watching it back.

   After UFC 139 he said he had to watch the fight to appreciate how exciting it was.

3. Hendo’s Barrel House.

   In 2025 he opened a 32,000 sq ft gym, brewery, distillery and steakhouse in Temecula.

Legacy

He held titles in PRIDE and Strikeforce and won the UFC 17 tournament, but went 0-3 in UFC title fights. Daniel Cormier has called him the best fighter never to win UFC gold. He published an autobiography, Hendo: The American Athlete, in 2023, and he is a father of three children and a stepdaughter.