What is Dan Henderson Doing Now?

Dan Henderson is a retired mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter and professional Olympic wrestler. He was the last person to win the Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Championship and Pride Fighting Championships Welterweight and Middleweight champion.

Coaching Career

The Ultimate Fighter TV show created a feud between Henderson, at a time when he was coaching, and his fellow coach Michael Bisping. This continued as the two were set to match, and went on until they did. Their fight was shown on Spike TV on 1 April 2009. The final took then took place and was shown on 20 June 2009, taking place in Las Vegas.

At the UFC 100 event, on 11 July 2009, the fight between Dan Henderson and Michael Bisping took place at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas. Henderson was the first-ever person to beat Bisping by knockout. He won the fight in the second round after with an overhand punch to Billing’s jaw.

Landing one of the best knockouts in the history of UFC

This placed Henderson back on track and he made his attempt towards becoming the UFC Middleweight Champion. He won a grand total of $100,000 for what became known as one of the best knockouts ever in the history of UFC, and “Knockout of the Night.”

Dan jokingly said after the fight that he punched Bisping hard to shut him up. UFC president Dana White confirmed that the statement was made as a joke by Henderson. After his contract ended with the UFC, Daniel signed a 16-month contract with Strikeforce.

Personal Life

Dan was brought up in Applewood California. He was recognized early on for his ability in wrestling. When he reached high school, he joined his brother Tom and became part of the Victor Valley High wrestling team. The team was coached under Sam Gollmyer, with their father Bill Henderson joining him as an assistant. Although American, he is also of Scottish, English, and French descent.

Henderson was diagnosed with low testosterone levels in 2007 and was given Testosterone Replacement Therapy (TRT). the therapy is no longer allowed to be used within the UFC and has since been banned since 2014.

Dan Henderson currently owns the Team Quest Fitness Gym, which is in Temecula in California. Since 28 February 2011, Henderson has joined his ex-teammate Matt Lindland in taking legal action over the company’s trademark.

Wrestling Career

Dan is from Downey in California but grew up in Apple Valley. Early on in life, he took part in freestyle wrestling. However, he’s much more well known for his achievements in Greco-Roman wrestling. He went to Victor Valley High School in Victorville, where he won the California State World Championships twice, in both 1987 and 1988. He placed runner-up in 1987 and came in fifth place in 1988. He took part in the high school wrestling team’s state championships and became a junior champion throughout the country in both Greco-Roman and freestyle wrestling.

When he left high school, Henderson didn’t go straight into college, but instead postponed his education, and therefore college wrestling. But he did still choose to wrestle at the Cal State Fullerton (CSUF) and Arizona State University (ASU), being granted entry to the NCAA Championships in 1993.

Henderson became the Greco-Roman national champion across all universities in 1991, 1993, and 1994. As a senior, he also became the national champion. He was successful here in the years 1993, 1994, and 1997. At the Summer Olympics of 1992 and 1996, he wrestled for the United States, where he finished up in 10th and 12th place over the two years.

In 1994 and 1997, Henderson wrestled in the World Wrestling Championships, where he came in 12th and 7th place in the two matches. He achieved a bronze medal for third place in the Pan American Games in 1995 and gold for first place in Pan American Championships in the year 2000. There, he defeated Luiz Enrique Mendez in the final match to win.

Henderson just missed qualifying for the Olympics in 2000. In 2001, he made it to the final round of the team trials. Matt Lindland won, however, beating Henderson. That’s when he decided to focus more on his mixed martial arts career. He was also the assistant wrestling coach through the 90s at Cerritos College.