By Michael David Smith
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After the 1996 Olympics,
Dan Henderson was a world-class athlete looking for a way to make a living. He had just competed in Greco-Roman wrestling in Atlanta, and he knew he wasn't ready to retire as an athlete at age 26, but he also knew there was no professional Greco-Roman wrestling circuit.
So he decided to take a shot at mixed martial arts, a sport so obscure that when he told people he was doing it, most didn't know what it was. Even those who had heard of it were only vaguely aware of what it was; some people called it Ultimate Fighting, some called it vale tudo, some called it no holds barred, and some called it savagery unfit for an Olympian.
But Henderson entered the Brazil Open in 1997, and that began an MMA career that has seen him fight professionally on four continents, and an MMA career that continued on Saturday with his victory over
Rich Franklin in the main event at
UFC 93.
The 38-year-old Henderson will now serve as a coach on Season 9 of
The Ultimate Fighter, and I hope that exposes him to a new generation of MMA fans who don't realize just what a tremendous career Henderson has had. He's one of the all-time greats of the sport, and he deserves a great deal of credit for where the sport is today.
Henderson won a four-man middleweight tournament at UFC 17 in 1998, and then he began a long stretch of his career fighting in Japan. During that stretch, he earned victories over many of the sport's greatest competitors, including
Gilbert Yvel,
Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Renato "
Babalu" Sobral, Renzo Gracie, Murilo Rua,
Vitor Belfort and
Wanderlei Silva.
Now Franklin's name can be added to that list. Henderson, who is the only fighter to simultaneously hold a major promotion's belts in two different weight classes, has had one of the most impressive careers in the history of MMA. Let's hear it for Henderson.
My favorite sights of UFC 93:1.
Chris Lytle and
Marcus Davis hugged at the start of the third round, after they had just pounded on each other for 10 minutes. Then they pounded on each other for five more minutes and hugged again. A show of class.
2. The
picture of UFC President
Dana White posing with
Alistair Overeem, a Dutchman who fights in Japan and is one of the best heavyweights in the world. I'd love to see White sign Overeem to fight in the UFC.
3. The look of sheer joy on the face of
Tom Egan, the only Irishman fighting on yesterday's Dublin card, as he received a huge ovation from the local fans. Yes, the 20-year-old Egan lost in the first round and showed that he's not ready for UFC-caliber competition yet. But it was good for the event to have a local boy on the card, and he obviously enjoyed the experience.
Awards:
Knockout of the Night: Dennis Siver got the award for his knockout of Nate Mohr, which didn't make the pay-per-view broadcast.
Submission of the Night: Alan Belcher had the event's only submission, catching
Denis Kang in a surprise guillotine. This isn't the first time Belcher has won a fight like that; if you go to
UFC.com right now you can watch the video of Belcher catching Sean Salmon in a guillotine at UFC 71.
Fight of the Night: In a surprise decision, the UFC awarded two Fights of the Night: to Lytle and Davis, and to
Mauricio "Shogun" Rua and
Mark Coleman. My own opinion is that Lytle-Davis was the real Fight of the Night, and Rua and Coleman probably got the award because the UFC wanted to throw some money their way after both of them had long absences from the sport while they dealt with injuries.
Siver, Belcher, Lytle, Davis, Rua and Coleman all got $40,000 bonuses.
Quotes of UFC 93:
"I've got to thank God for this opportunity. God and the UFC, Dana, Lorenzo Fertitta, Frank Fertitta, for giving me this opportunity." -- Marcus Davis, seeming to equate the bosses of the UFC with God after beating Chris Lytle.
"Take away the loss to Jason Day back at UFC 82 and Alan Belcher would be on about a two-year unbeaten streak." UFC play-by-play man Mike Goldberg. So take away his loss, and he's on a winning streak?
Musical NotesBelcher has a Johnny Cash tattoo covering his left upper arm. Any guesses about his entrance music?
Good CallAlthough it's disappointing to Franklin that he was injured by both a head butt and an eye poke, referee Dan Miragliotta correctly recognized that both were unintentional, and not fouls on Henderson's part. To his credit, Franklin made clear that he realized it was accidental, too.
Bad CallI have to question the judge who gave Franklin all three rounds of yesterday's main event. The other two judges gave Henderson two out of three rounds (as did I), so Henderson won a split decision. But that outlier third judge has some explaining to do.
Ground GameRousimar Palhares showed off his world-class jiu jitsu as he rolled with
Jeremy Horn for three rounds, but it was disappointing that Palhares (perhaps affected by a hand injury) wasn't able to finish Horn off. We know Palhares is great on the ground, but if he's going to have a great MMA career, we need to see him actually pull off a submission and not settle for a one-sided decision win.
Stock UpIrish MMA fans. The folks who filled up the O2 Arena in Dublin came across as knowledgeable and passionate, and I think it's safe to say the UFC will be back.
Stock DownDenis Kang. He was once considered among the sport's elite middleweights, but the bottom line is that even after more than 40 professional fights, Kang hasn't learned enough submission defense. An experienced MMA fighter like Kang should have done a better job of avoiding Belcher's guillotine choke.
Fight I want to see next:Rich Franklin vs. Wanderlei Silva. This match-up is a great demonstration of how deep the UFC's light heavyweight division is: Neither Franklin nor Silva is close to a title shot, and yet they're both among the sport's most popular fighters. A fight between Ace and the Axe Murderer, with its UFC vs. Pride subtext, is one the fans would love to see. Joe Silva, make it happen.
Read More: alanbelcher, alistairovereem, chrislytle, dana white, danawhite, danhenderson, denis kang, deniskang, dennissiver, jeremyhorn, marcusdavis, markcoleman, richfranklin, rousimarpalhares, shogun rua, shogunrua, tom egan, tomegan, ufc 93, ufc93, front page, Alan Belcher (MMA), Alistair Overeem (MMA), Chris Lytle (MMA), Dan Henderson (MMA), Dennis Siver (MMA), Jeremy Horn (MMA), Marcus Davis (MMA), Mark Coleman (MMA), Rich Franklin (MMA), Rousimar Palhares (MMA)
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