This past week, news broke that legendary UFC fighter Dan Henderson, now 44 years old, is looking for one more fight in the octagon. Shortly after the word became public, Middleweight stud Ronaldo ‘Jacare’ Souza threw his name into the mix as a potential opponent.
It is a smart move by Jacare, who is an undefeated 4-0 and probably the No. 1 contender at middleweight after his decisive win over Gegard Mousasi back in September. He is an interesting match for Henderson in that he is a high-level opponent with a considerable resume, and Henderson motivated in preparing for him. Jacare gets to add the scalp of a legend to his resume, and he gets to avoid being inactive while he waits for UFC Champion Chris Weidman to heal up. With Weidman slated to take on Vitor Belfort upon his return, Souza was looking at a long layoff between fights if he was just going to wait around for the title shot.
Why Henderson would return at this point is a bit of a mystery, perhaps simply answered by the call of his competitive nature, and a fire that is not out yet. Henderson has gone 1-4 in his last five UFC outings, and he has become increasingly one dimensional in his fighting, relying on landing his one big right hand to finish fights. Against ‘Jacare’, who is at 30 years old probably in his prime right now, he may not get a chance to get his punch off, as ‘Jacare’ is likely to pull the trigger on the aggression throughout the fight. Henderson may even get taken down at this ponit, as ‘Jacare’ is not a great technical wrestler, but he has the drive and competitive nature that make him dangerous even playing Henderson’s game.
The bout is going to depend on Henderson’s ability to hurt ‘Jacare’ and then finish. That Henderson has shown he tires as fights drag on, especially in the type of grinding, attrition oriented affair this fight will likely be, he will enjoy his best chance in the opening round. If he cant get the job done in the first five minutes, this match will be all ‘Jacare’.
Check out this blast-from-the-past feature on Dan Henderson from the UFC…
