Sherdog’s Top 10: Giant Killers

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2. Dan Henderson

These days, Henderson does not appear to have much interest in cutting to 185 pounds -- unless it involves an encounter with UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva -- but the truth is “Hendo” has spent his mixed martial arts career as a decent-sized middleweight capable of doing significant damage across three divisions.

“I’ve been wrestling for a long time, but I never get any money for it,” Henderson would say prior to competing in the Brazil Open lightweight tournament in 1997. That would change, as the Greco-Roman specialist consistently proved he was willing to fight bigger men to earn a paycheck.

Henderson was not at a serious size disadvantage in capturing that four-man tournament with victories over Crezio de Souza and >Eric Smith, but he would move up the food chain a few years later. On February 26, 2000, the Californian beat a pair of heavyweights -- Gilbert Yvel and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira -- and a light heavyweight -- Renato “Babalu” Sobral -- to win the Rings “King of Kings” tournament in Japan. That was the launching point of what would be a remarkably successful career. The Team Quest representative won titles in the Pride Fighting Championships middleweight and welterweight divisions and, in the process, became the first fighter to hold two major titles in separate weight classes at the same time.

After bouncing between 185 and 205 pounds in the UFC from 2007 to 2009 and beginning his Strikeforce career with a loss to Jake Shields for the middleweight title, Henderson won the San Jose, Calif.-based promotion’s light heavyweight crown in 2011. He looks primed to finish his career at that weight class as he awaits a title shot in the UFC, but Henderson did fire off one final salvo at heavyweight in July 2011, knocking out the legendary Fedor Emelianenko in the first round.

“I’ve been a huge fan of Fedor’s forever,” Henderson said in the cage that night. “I respect him so much. That’s a huge accomplishment compared to a lot of the things I’ve done.”

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