Hendo: This belt definitely probably means the most to me
I was excited for the fight and the chance to fight someone like ‘Feijao,’ Strikeforce’s new light heavyweight championship Dan…
I was excited for the fight and the chance to fight someone like ‘Feijao,’ Strikeforce’s new light heavyweight championship Dan Henderson told Sherdog.com following the win. I felt like the belt was just the cherry on top, and I love cherries.
Whether I’m hurt or not, I can never remember what I do to set things up half the time, said Henderson of the knockdown in the first. He definitely knocked me down, but I felt like I had my wits about me the whole time. Luckily, I recovered fast, and he didn’t land any more shots.
I’m not trying to go through his power. He would definitely out-bench me. So I’ll definitely cheat a little bit and get better position, said the new champion of his second round performance. It’s been my style throughout my whole career to not really fight through people’s power and use my technique to stay in better position and still stay fairly strong at the same time.
[The belt] definitely looks good around [my waist], so hopefully I’ll keep it there for a few fights. I definitely want to fight. I will be fighting before June or July, then probably take the summer off and fight near the end of the year. And I will definitely be hanging on to this belt.
“It’s been a while since I won a new belt, and this one definitely probably means the most to me because I’m 40 years old, and inside, I felt like I could still compete with the top guys. That’s something I needed to prove to myself tonight. And I think I accomplished that for myself and hopefully the fans too.”
“Throughout most of my wrestling career … and my MMA career, I had the belief it’s mostly about positioning and technique, and that kind of saves a lot of strength and energy. If you’re in the right position, you won’t need as much as strength. That may have been the case tonight.
“I’m not saying I’m weak or anything. I don’t feel weak against real big and strong guys because of that reason, I think. Mentally, I’ve never felt weak or outmatched in any weight class.”
“I always feel better at 205. I’m not even the biggest 185-pounder, but my body feels good when I don’t have to cut weight. If I keep good position, I really don’t need to be that strong.”
But champion or not, Henderson wants big and meaningful fights. He feels a duty to defend his new light-heavyweight belt, but if the right middleweight matchup comes along, he’s all ears.
“There are always those matchups. So yeah, I’m not opposed to cutting weight again.”
The F(eijao) Bomb in the first round:
And the H Bomb in the last round:
Watch the entire third round!
