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Dan Henderson — news, coverage & facts — IJR

Strikeforce

Dan Henderson signed a four-fight, 16-month deal with Strikeforce on December 5, 2009, after his contract expired with the UFC. Henderson made his Strikeforce debut on April 17, 2010, at Strikeforce on CBS against Jake Shields. He was also eyed for a light heavyweight match against Gegard Mousasi, and expressed interest in eventually fighting Fedor Emelianenko at some point during his contract.

Henderson lost his Strikeforce debut to Jake Shields. Despite hurting Shields and knocking him down in the 1st round, Henderson went on to lose by unanimous decision. The majority of the last rounds were spent on the ground where Shields controlled the fight via grappling. (49–46, 49–45, 48–45).

Henderson faced Renato Sobral on December 4, 2010, at Strikeforce: Henderson vs. Babalu. Henderson won the fight via KO at 1:53 of the first round.

Henderson defeated Rafael Cavalcante via third-round TKO for the Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Championship at Strikeforce 32. After two rounds in which all three judges had the score tied 19–19, Henderson dropped Cavalcante with his famed right hand in the third before referee Dan Miragliotta called the fight off at the 0:50 mark.

Henderson fought Fedor Emelianenko on July 30, 2011, at Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Henderson. Many had speculated that Henderson would meet Fedor at a catch weight, but Strikeforce later confirmed the fight as a heavyweight bout. Henderson said, "Its tough for me to gain weight. I did weightlifting and plenty of eating; I don't know what else I'm supposed to do. I'm not going to feel outmatched or small in there." He had to step on the scales weighing at least 206 pounds in order to qualify for the heavyweight division, and weighed in at 207. Fedor weighed in a bit below his normal weight, with the scale reading 223 pounds. Henderson defeated Emelianenko via KO at 4:12 of the 1st round. This was the last fight on Henderson's Strikeforce contract. Henderson said he would like to re-sign to defend his Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Championship.

Third UFC run

Shortly after the UFC 133 pre-fight press conference, Dana White commented on the potential to bring Henderson back to the UFC for a third go-around. "We'll see what happens," White said on Thursday in Philadelphia. "'Hendo and I have had some history in dealing. We'll see if we can figure something out and get him back in the UFC." Later Henderson commented, "I think the biggest fight they could promote is probably a title unification with whoever is the champ in the UFC."

Henderson faced Maurício Rua on November 19, 2011, at UFC 139 for his third run in the UFC. He won the bout via unanimous decision. The back and forth action earned both fighters Fight of the Night honors, and was described by many as one of the greatest fights in UFC history.

UFC President Dana White announced during the post-fight press conference of UFC 145 that Henderson would be the next opponent for Light Heavyweight Champion Jon Jones.

The bout with Jones was expected to take place on September 1, 2012, at UFC 151. However, Henderson withdrew from the fight citing a knee injury, and the remainder of the fight card was cancelled.

Henderson faced Lyoto Machida on February 23, 2013, at UFC 157. He lost the bout via split decision.

Henderson faced Rashad Evans on June 15, 2013, in the main event at UFC 161. He lost via split decision.

Henderson faced Vitor Belfort in a rematch on November 9, 2013, at UFC Fight Night 32. Henderson defeated Belfort in their first encounter in 2006 at Pride 32 via unanimous decision. He lost the fight via knockout in the first round, marking the first time in his MMA career that he had been stopped due to strikes. The match with Belfort was the last fight of Henderson's contract with UFC. On January 22, Henderson revealed to UFC Tonight that he signed a new, six-fight contract with the UFC.

In January 2014, a rematch with Maurício Rua was announced to take place on March 23, 2014, at UFC Fight Night 38. Despite losing the first two rounds after being knocked down by Rua, Henderson rallied back in the third round and won the fight via TKO due to punches. The win also earned Henderson his third Fight of the Night bonus and first Performance of the Night bonus.

Making a quick return to the cage, Henderson faced a much larger Daniel Cormier on May 24, 2014, at UFC 173. He lost the fight via submission (technical submission/rear-naked choke) in the third round after being out-wrestled and held down on the bottom for the majority of the fight.

On November 12, 2014, the UFC announced that Henderson would move down to Middleweight to face Gegard Mousasi on January 24, 2015, in the co-main event at UFC on Fox 14. He lost the fight via TKO in the first round.

Henderson faced Tim Boetsch on June 6, 2015, in the main event at UFC Fight Night 68. He won the fight via knockout at 28 seconds of the first round.

Henderson faced Vitor Belfort in a rubber match in the main event at UFC Fight Night 77. He again lost the bout via a combination of head kick and punches.

A rematch with Lyoto Machida was expected to take place at Middleweight on April 16, 2016, at UFC on Fox 19. However, on April 13, the UFC announced that Machida declared the usage of a banned substance during an out-of-competition sample collection last week. Machida stated that he was unaware that the substance was prohibited both in and out of competition. Therefore, he was removed from the bout and Henderson was re-booked for another event at a later date.

Henderson was quickly rescheduled to face Héctor Lombard on June 4, 2016, at UFC 199. He won the fight via knockout in the second round via a head kick followed by a reverse elbow and earned himself a Performance of the Night bonus, as well as becoming the first fighter to knock Lombard out cold.

Henderson faced then UFC Middleweight Champion Michael Bisping, in a rematch on October 8, 2016, at UFC 204. Despite dropping and nearly finishing Bisping in both the first and second round, he wound up losing the back and forth fight via unanimous decision. Both fighters were awarded Fight of the Night for their performance. At the conclusion of the fight, Henderson confirmed his intention to retire from fighting.

Dan Henderson was inducted into the Fight Wing of the UFC Hall of Fame at the UFC Fan Expo on July 5, 2018, alongside Maurício Rua, for their fight in 2011.

Personal life

Henderson grew up on a ranch in Apple Valley, California. He started wrestling at a young age and started being noticed as a relentless competitor. When Henderson entered high school, he placed on the wrestling team with his brother Tom at Victor Valley High, which was coached by Sam Gollmyer and assisted by their father Bill Henderson and Joe Barrios.

He is of Native American, English, Scottish and French descent. Henderson had previously been prescribed testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) after being diagnosed with low testosterone levels in 2007. However, TRT has no longer been allowed in UFC competition since 2014. After TRT was banned, Henderson said that he quit using TRT "cold turkey".

Henderson was coached by Bob Anderson, of the defunct California Jets. He placed second at the California State Wrestling Championship in 1987 and Victor Valley won the team title. In 1988, he placed fifth in the state finals and several months later won national crowns in both freestyle and Greco Roman at the Junior Nationals in Cedar Falls, Iowa.

According to the March 2007 Confederated Umatilla Journal: "Henderson's grandmother, Alice (Bergevin) LeJune, is an enrolled member of the Confederated Tribes and owns land on the Umatilla Indian Reservation. From all accounts, Henderson is 1/16 Walla Walla Native American." In the interview Henderson commented, "Now I know I'm Walla Walla. It's refreshing to find some of those things out. I look Indian and I knew I had some, but I didn't know what tribe or exactly how much. It will be good to be able to tell my kids about their heritage."

Following a series of successful fundraising events, including an annual charity golf tournament and a charity pig roast, Henderson formally established the Hendo Foundation in 2025. The nonprofit is based in Temecula, California, and is dedicated to providing free wrestling and mixed martial arts training to underprivileged youth, and veterans in need; as well as community support programs for military veterans and first responders across the Southern California region. Operating out of 27901 Jefferson Avenue in Temecula, the foundation serves communities throughout Temecula, Murrieta, and the greater San Diego area, with programs centered on health and wellness, leadership development, and character-building through athletic training and mentorship. Its charitable partners in previous years include Veterans Exploring Treatment Solutions (VETS), Veterans for Child Rescue (V4CR), America's Might Warriors, War Party Ranch, and The Special Forces Charitable Trust

On May 31, 2025, Henderson opened Hendo's Barrel House, an American restaurant and bar located at 27901 Jefferson Avenue in Temecula, California. The establishment specializes in prime cuts, craft beers, and cocktails, and features an outdoor patio with a fire pit and a full marble bar. The venue regularly hosts community events including fight night viewings and game-day gatherings, and is available for private event bookings.