Dan Henderson is one of the most decorated fighters in MMA history. The former Olympic wrestler is the only man to concurrently hold two belts from two different weight classes for a major promotion (Pride FC). He is also 1998’s UFC 17 middleweight and PRIDE 2005 welterweight tournament champion.
Fresh off his stint as coach of Team U.S. on The Ultimate Fighter (TUF): “U.S. vs. U.K.,” he battles opposing coach Michael “The Count” Bisping this Saturday, July 11 from the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada live on pay-per-view.
While the powers that be have gone so far as to state that a win over Henderson would grant opponent Michael Bisping a title shot, (rumored for November’s UFC 105 in Manchester, England) they have not said the same about Henderson.
That fact is not lost on the former champion, who said on MMAmania’s exclusive presentation of Pro MMA Radio that if he’s not granted a title shot with a win at UFC 100, he’ll likely head back to light heavyweight, where he feels equally as competitive.
Why cut weight when you don’t have to?
We caught up with Henderson to ask him about his TUF 9 experience, what he really thinks of Michael Bisping, worthy middleweight contenders and Anderson Silva.
As expected, Henderson didn’t hold back.
He thinks the UFC chose “talent” for its U.K. fighters and “good television” for its U.S. lineup, but that the ultimate success of the TUF 9 show was the “country vs. country” theme.
He also calls it “mind-boggling” that the UFC granted title shots to Patrick Cote and Thales Leites and that Silva’s last two performances “absolutely” tarnish his standing as the most dominant fighter in the game.
And what about U.K. Wolfslair’s head wrestling instructor Zach Light’s claims that Bisping’s wrestling is what will win him the fight?
A “crock of shit,” according to Henderson.
Check it out.
Continue reading ‘No Worries: An MMAmania.com UFC 100 interview exclusive with Dan Henderson’
“I think he’s made a big mistake because, believe me, I’m a different animal when I’m pissed off, when I’m in a bad mood, I’m unstoppable, I can do whatever I want, seriously. And fine, keep pushing my buttons Mr. Henderson because that’s great … He’s taken it down to another level and talking pure shit about me. I’ve been nothing but respectful. He’s an old bastard! He’s unpredictable - he’s effective but technically awful. He can say what he wants about me but the fact is he’s getting his arse kicked on July 11th and then we’ll see who the douchebag is.”
– The Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 3 light heavyweight winner and coach of season nine, Michael Bisping, rails on Dan Henderson in a recent Mirror.co.uk interview. “The Count” appears to be growing increasingly agitated with “Hollywood” — who continually refers to him as a “douchebag” heading into their fight at UFC 100: “Lesnar vs. Mir 2″ on July 11. Is Henderson pulling a Dan Hardy and frustrating ‘Brit’bing into a flustered performance at Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada? Or will Hendo eat his own words next Saturday?
Programming reminder: UFC’s ‘Ultimate 100′ Greatest Fights debuts TONIGHT (July 5) at 9pm on Spike TV
By: Jesse Holland
With UFC 100 less than a week away, Spike TV is presenting a five-part special, highlighting the 100 greatest UFC fights in history, as voted on by the fans.
Voting was done over at Spike.com (Ultimate100.spike.com) or by clicking here. Fans were able to choose their top 100 fights from an extensive list of bouts selected by the UFC and Spike TV.
Each episode of “UFC’s Ultimate 100: Greatest Fights” will count down the top 100 with clips and highlights from each contest. The first one-hour installment (Part 1) will premiere tonight, July 5 at 9:00pm ET.
The next four episodes will air:
Monday, July 6 at 9:00pm ET (Part 2)
Tuesday, July 7 at 9:00pm ET (Part 3)
Wednesday, July 8 at 9:00pm ET (Part 4)
Saturday, July 11 at 9:00pm ET (Part 5)
Saturday’s final episode will serve as a lead-in to the UFC 100 pay-per-view event.
M-1 Challenge: Team USA West celebrates July 4 by shutting out Team Russia Imperial 5-0
By: Press Release
Seoul, South Korea - USA West became the first team from the 2009 “M-1 Challenge Presented by Affliction” (www.M-1Global.com) season to clinch a semifinal final playoff berth on Saturday night. The post-season berth was locked down after taking first place in Group B by defeating the defending 2008 M-1 Challenge Champions, Team Russia Imperial.
While family and friends celebrate the Fourth of July at home in America, USA West held a celebration of its own in Seoul after recording its second 5-0 shutout of the season by sweeping Imperial. The statement victory allowed the Americans to finish the regular season with an unblemished 3-0 challenge record and a remarkable 13-2 record in individual fights.
During the dominating performance, both David Jansen and Shane Del Rosario of USA West preserved their undefeated records in professional MMA. Jansen, a product of Matt Lindland’s Team Quest, moved to 11-0 following a guillotine submission victory via submission just 22 seconds into his encounter against Imperial’s Amirkhan Mazikov.
Del Rosario, an EliteXC veteran, bested Jansen’s time by one second following his TKO at 0:21 over Maksim Grishin. The heavyweight improved to 7-0 with all seven fights having ended inside the distance and six of them ending in round 1.
Happy Independence Day American Maniacs.
Enjoy the cold beer, barbecue, beach and whatever else you may have planned for today.
The rest of you MMA misfits who are not celebrating can hang out here and talk about and link to whatever you want in the comments section below — it’s a wide open thread.
Here’s an amusing example of what not to do on this Independence Day celebration weekend:
The clock is ticking … there are just 24 hours left to win two free tickets to UFC 100 from the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada, on July 11.
Ringside seats are now reportedly fetching upward of $40,000 for the biggest show of the year, which features UFC Heavyweight Champion Brock Lesnar versus the division’s interim title keeper, Frank Mir, in the main event of the evening to determine an undisputed champion once and for all.
This is your chance to watch it all go down LIVE and IN PERSON for FREE courtesy of our friends at Heavy.com. Winning free tickets to a UFC event has never been easier — there are no test products to buy and no subscription to GRIT.
All you have to do is head over to Heavy.com/UFC100.html or click here and enter your email address. That’s it. Just a couple of clicks plus your email and BAM! …. you’re in the running for a trip to “Sin City.”
The sweepstakes ends July 5, 2009 at 11:59:59 pm ET, so hurry over to Heavy.com/UFC100.html to enter for your chance to win two free tickets to UFC 100. Or just click here to enter now.
Enter now before it’s too late!
“She comes from Muay Thai and knows jiu-jitsu but is better standing up than on the ground. I look for the Muay Thai game in all my fights, but I’m also prepared to fight on the ground. I’ll keep the fight standing up and look for the knockout, but I’m preparing a special game for this fight, because whoever commits the fewest mistakes will win…. I can’t have problems [making weight] this time. I promised it would never happen again, and I’ll keep my word. I already started the diet, and I don’t believe I’ll have problems. If it’s difficult for me, I believe it will be difficult for Gina, too, but I’m sure we will both be ready on the day of the fight and put on a great show for the fans.”
-- Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos talks to Sherdog.com about her preparation and training for Gina Carano, indicating that perhaps she could look to exploit the ground game of “Conviction” if it’s a stalemate standing. She also assures her fans that there will be no problems this time around on the scale — Santos and Carano have struggled mightily to make weight in the past. Let’s hope she delivers because Strikeforce is wading into uncharted territory with not only booking the first-ever major 145-pound female championship, but also giving it top billing on a very impressive card, which is scheduled for the HP Pavilion in San Jose, Calif., on Aug. 15. It’s time to shine ladies … can they live up to the lofty expectations and pull it off or is it impossible?
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