Under the Microscope: Analyzing Middleweight Greats

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Dan Henderson

* Middleweight Record: 8-4
* Opponent Winning Percentage: .721
* Longest Winning Streak: 9
* Record in Major Middleweight Title Fights: 2-2
* Finish Percentage: 38
* Finished Percentage: 50
* Notable Victories: Michael Bisping, Rousimar Palhares, Kazuo Misaki, Murilo Bustamante, Carlos Newton
* Career Accomplishments: UFC 17 middleweight tournament winner; Pride welterweight champion; 2005 Pride welterweight grand prix winner; two-time UFC “Performance of the Night” bonus winner

CASE FOR: Though the majority of Henderson’s fights took place above middleweight, the Team Quest icon had an uncanny ability to make his few forays in the 185-pound division more significant than the average middleweight’s entire career. With the Pride championship and an early iteration of the UFC championship on his mantle, Henderson certainly rocks the hardware to throw his name in this discussion, but his most pronounced argument took place via one of the most resounding knockouts the sport has ever seen against Michael Bisping. His fiercest foe to date has been Father Time, but had he stuck around at 185 during the first four decades of his life, there is no doubt Henderson would be at the forefront of the middleweight Mr. Rushmore.

CASE AGAINST: His lack of total fights is disconcerting, for starters, but perhaps the greater hitch to his G.O.A.T. claim is his pedestrian record in title fights. Sure, it is a great accomplishment to make it to The Big Dance, but to be great, you actually have to win there, something Henderson did less than most fighters on this list. Moreover, despite the resounding H-Bomb of a right hand, Henderson had surprising difficulty putting away his opponents; and, of course, there is the absence of a true UFC title on his ledger, which is required reading to be considered the greatest. It would be nice to be able to say that there is still time for Henderson to make his case, but given his age and the apparent reality that a light breeze could potentially comatose him, it is simply a false hope at this point. Is he one of the greatest fighters the sport has ever seen? Definitely. Greatest middleweights? Not quite.

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