Strikeforce
Dan Henderson feels Strikeforce win over Fedor Emelianenko may be career favorite
Jul 31, 2011 - 8:10:53 PM Dan Henderson feels Strikeforce win over Fedor Emelianenko may be career favorite

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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

Dan Henderson has won a lot of fights in a lot of different ways throughout his 14-year MMA career, and he's beaten a lot of big name fighters in that time as well, but after Saturday night's first round finish of "The Last Emperor" Fedor Emelianenko, Henderson has a new favorite.

"It's probably right on top [of my list of favorite wins]," Henderson said after the event. "I admire Fedor as a competitor. He's very dangerous, and this means a lot more to me than some of the other wins I've had. I'm a huge fan of his, and I hope he continues fighting."

The fight itself was more of a slug fest than Henderson anticipated. He said after the fight he had prepared for a three round war, as neither of them had been stopped in their career, he doesn't get submitted often and he doesn't submit people. Still, Fedor came out swinging, leaving no choice for Henderson but to respond in kind.

Respond he did, as he landed a vicious uppercut from under Fedor's arm after a scramble at the end of the round, face-planting the former Pride legend into the canvas. As he landed a couple more punches and brought Fedor back to consciousness, referee Herb Dean stepped in. Some have come out of the event believing the stoppage was too early, but Henderson believes that it wouldn't have mattered if Dean stepped in there or not, as he would have finished it shortly thereafter.

"I felt that had ref [Herb Dean] not stepped in, I would’ve definitely not moved off the top of him and probably knocked him unconscious," he said.

The win was the 28th in Henderson's career, and in winning the fight he became the sole owner of one very interesting stat, as he's now the only person to have defeated both Emelianenko and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira.

The win was the final bout on Henderson's Strikeforce contract, and while he said he'd like to defend the Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Championship he won in March, it's up to the organization - and its new owners in Zuffa - as to whether he'll resign with Strikeforce or return to the UFC. Regardless of where he ends up Henderson's win on Saturday was an absolute high mark in a long and successful career.

Penick's Analysis: Henderson has some big wins under his belt, but when you take someone that Henderson has followed and been alongside in Pride, and have the fight play out the way it did, this is a huge accomplishment for Henderson. He's now set himself up to in all likelihood make a high profile return to the UFC. Even if he's allowed to stay in Strikeforce, he'll be a draw for them, and off three straight finishes he's going to be a hot commodity for his next fight. Of course, with how good he continues to look at 40-years-old, and the fact that he's had a majorly effective output recently, his TRT use may come back into the forefront for some as the issue continues to be debated. But at any rate, he had a great fight on Saturday night, picked up a huge win, and I completely understand why he'd consider this his favorite win.