I Am Legend: Grizzled Veteran Dan Henderson Battles the Odds Once More At UFC Fight Night 68

By Raphael Garcia

The question “why do you fight?” has been posed to most individuals that compete in the sport of mixed martial arts. With that question comes a variety of answers: money, titles, recognition, a desire to be the best. Yet what happens when a person achieves all of those goals? Dan Henderson is in that position, but he continues to step into the Octagon and face some of the best competitors in the sport. For a man who has achieved nearly everything that this sport has to offer, “why?” is a question that is becoming more and more difficult to answer. However, one must wonder if that question even needs to be answered.

The facts are clear: Dan Henderson is a 44-year-old fighter that will be a first-ballot Hall of Famer whenever MMA finally creates an official shrine to those that have competed in this sport. During that time he’s been one of the best competitors that this sport has ever seen. He’s also defeated fighters who were considered the world’s best at different points in their careers. There aren’t too many fighters alive that wouldn’t love to have a career that mimics what Henderson has done in 18 years of competition.

However, the facts also remain clear that Henderson is well past his prime. He has one victory in his last six fights. That lone win came against Mauricio “Shogun” Rua, when he defeated the Brazilian at UFC Fight Night 38. In fact, that Shogun win is the only win for Henderson in nearly four years, and the widespread opinion by MMA fans is that Rua is on the tail end of his career also. This hurts anyone’s ability to put any real stock in this win.

That means that tonight’s UFC Fight Night 68 main event could be a major turning point for Henderson’s career. He’s facing Tim Boetsch, who is at the fringes of Top 15 at middleweight. But for “Hendo,” this is the first time in recent memory that Henderson will compete without being ranked in any division within the organization, or by many mainstream MMA outlets. MMA Oddsbreaker sees Henderson as a +170 underdog heading into this fight.

There was a time in which no one would ever believe that Henderson would lose to a fighter such as Boetsch. Unfortunately for Hendo, that time isn’t now.

Win or lose, many observers will attempt to push Henderson out of the sport. Some will say that this decision is for his own good, others will say that he’s too old, but the real point should be that he has nothing left to prove. Henderson competes because he seems to thrive off of the challenge. For him, that is more than enough of a reason to continue to step on the gas.

But win or lose, the Retirement Question will come during the post-fight interview and press conference. Henderson will probably give a non-answer, as he usually does. So instead of wondering why he hasn’t walked away from the sport, we media and fans should enjoy the idea that we are still able to watch Henderson defy the odds.