Dan Henderson’s one regret

Dan Henderson may be the greatest fighter in the history of mixed martial arts. He started wrestling as a child and went on to represent the USA in the 1992 and 1996 Olympics. He started MMA in 1997 and went on to win the PRIDE FC 183 & 205-pound belts, and the Strikeforce light heavyweight championship, among many others.

Now 46, he fights for the UFC middleweight championship in a rematch with Michael Bisping at UFC 204 on October 8, 2016, at the Manchester Arena in Manchester, England. He says that win, lose, or draw, this is his last fight.

And in an interview with Dave Doyle for MMA Fighting, Hendo mused about the one that got away.

“There’s only one that really, Jon Jones, you know?” said Henderson. “I trained to fight him, got ready to fight him, got hurt and I didn’t get a chance to test myself against him, you know? That would have been a fun moment to see how I do against Jon Jones. He’s since then done even better. He’s screwed up a little, too, but he’s still arguably the best pound for pound guy out there.”

Henderson is referring to UFC 151, when he injured a knee and pulled out of a scheduled fight with Jones. The UFC offered Jones a replacement fight against longtime middleweight contender Chael Sonnen, which was rejected. An incensed UFC president Dana White then cancelled the event, blaming Jones squarely for the failure.

Now it is Hendo dropping to middleweight, and he revealed why.

“Over the years, it’s gotten harder to keep my body in the shape I need to,” said Henderson. “That’s why I dropped back down to middleweight, because it’s harder to go against the heavier guys. Having DC’s fat ass on top of me really didn’t help. When he was on top of me, I decided to go down to another weight class.”