In his career, Henderson has fought seven fighters that have worn UFC gold. From Carlos Newton to Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira (twice) to Murilo Bustamante (twice) to Vitor Belfort to Quinton Jackson to Anderson Silva to Rich Franklin, Henderson has taken on some of the best fighters in the history of the promotion. He boasts a 6-3 record against those top-level fighters.
As the UFC nears the century mark for its major shows, Henderson has another chance to put himself in the middle of the title picture. With a win over Michael Bisping at UFC 100, Henderson could be in line for another shot against current middleweight champion Anderson Silva.
Silva has virtually torn through the division – successfully defending the title six times. Since Silva’s run, the UFC is no longer loaded with fresh contenders at 185 lbs. The freshest potential opponent may very well be Henderson’s opponent in Michael Bisping.
Bisping, however, is the clear underdog in the fight with Henderson. For his part, Henderson is not taking the former Ultimate Fighter winner lightly.
“Anybody is a danger in the sport,” Henderson said. “He is improving every fight. The biggest thing I wanted to work on for this fight is my conditioning.”
The matchup comes after Henderson and Bisping were opposing coaches on the latest season of the show that played a vital role in making the UFC mainstream, The Ultimate Fighter.
Unlike the man Henderson defeated at UFC 93 to get the coaching slot, Rich Franklin, Henderson hopes he is not through working with the reality program. Franklin coached during the show’s second season, but earlier this year, Franklin openly stated that he would not be happy if he was asked to coach again.
“I had a good time,” Henderson said. “I enjoyed it, and I’d do it again. I feel like I had a positive impact on some of these young fighters’ careers.”
But the former PRIDE FC middleweight and light heavyweight champion isn’t so sure that the fighters he coached will be instant superstars. He feels many of them will need a lot of work before making it to the main show.
“Not anytime soon, but a couple of them could make an impact in the UFC,” said Henderson. “They need more experience and need more training.”
Henderson is going to provide that education for at least two members of his team.
“A few of the guys have talked about it,” Henderson said. “Frank Lester moved down to train with me. Richie (Whitson) was and is training here.”
Henderson had one of his current training partners, Cyril Dibate, as the lead assistant coach. Another man that Henderson is closely linked with is former UFC fighter Matt Lindland. Lindland has fallen out of favor with UFC President Dana White in recent years. Currently, the main issue stems from comments Lindland made about White and the UFC in his upcoming documentary Fighting Politics.
As the season approached, Henderson confirmed that he did talk with Lindland about coaching.
“It just didn’t work out schedule-wise,” said Henderson. “I’m sure Dana wouldn’t have liked that though.”
During the finale of The Ultimate Fighter, Bisping got the better of Henderson as both winners were from the United Kingdom. Henderson is using those losses as added incentive in the fight.
“I need to redeem the U.S. since they won the Ultimate Fighter. It’s added motivation,” said Henderson.
Even though with a win a title opportunity would seem likely, Henderson would not say that he has been promised one.
“I haven’t been told that I’d be getting a title shot, but it’ll happen as long as I keep winning,” Henderson said.
Henderson also has an interesting perspective on how the UFC has grown over the years. His first stint with the promotion ended at UFC 17 in May 1998. He returned close to nine years later at UFC 75 in September 2007.
He noticed one important change during his 58 event absence.
“The sport has definitely become mainstream,” said Henderson. “Everyone is watching now. Not just the hardcore fans.”
As his fight with Bisping nears, Henderson is ready for what will likely be the most viewed UFC pay-per-view event of all time. The show will receive more mainstream coverage than any event that came previously. He expects to put on a show for the fans.
“I’m going to beat his ass,” said Henderson. “I’m going definitely be trying to finish him. I see it happening in this fight. I’m going to knock him out.”
And if his prediction comes true, Henderson could very well be looking at his tenth fight with a UFC titleholder.