UFC gold continues to elude Dan Henderson. | Photo: Marcelo Alonso/Sherdog.com
Dan Henderson
* Middleweight Record: 8-4
* Opponent Winning Percentage: .721
* Longest Winning Streak: 9
* Record in Major Middleweight Title Fights: 2-2
* Finish Percentage: 38
* Finished Percentage: 50
* Notable Victories: Michael Bisping, Rousimar Palhares, Kazuo Misaki, Murilo Bustamante, Carlos Newton
* Career Accomplishments: UFC 17 middleweight tournament winner; Pride welterweight champion; 2005 Pride welterweight grand prix winner; two-time UFC “Performance of the Night” bonus winner
CASE AGAINST: His lack of total fights is disconcerting, for starters, but perhaps the greater hitch to his G.O.A.T. claim is his pedestrian record in title fights. Sure, it is a great accomplishment to make it to The Big Dance, but to be great, you actually have to win there, something Henderson did less than most fighters on this list. Moreover, despite the resounding H-Bomb of a right hand, Henderson had surprising difficulty putting away his opponents; and, of course, there is the absence of a true UFC title on his ledger, which is required reading to be considered the greatest. It would be nice to be able to say that there is still time for Henderson to make his case, but given his age and the apparent reality that a light breeze could potentially comatose him, it is simply a false hope at this point. Is he one of the greatest fighters the sport has ever seen? Definitely. Greatest middleweights? Not quite.
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