UFC 173: Daniel Cormier vs Dan Henderson

Photo by Esther Lin for MMA Fighting

by Dr. Octagon, J.D.

Excellent co-main event here at UFC 173. Old guy versus fat guy. Both Olympians. Dan Henderson (right) was for some reason a bigger underdog then that barista who Daniel Cormier fought last time. Cormier is one of the elites in the light heavyweight division, after coming down from heavyweight so he doesn’t have to fight his bro Cain Velazquez.

Dan Henderson, again proving that he’s the baddest man on the planet, weighed in at 199 pounds for a fight at light heavyweight (205 lbs) against a guy cutting a ton of weight. Henderson is 43 years old and is no longer permitted to use testosterone replacement therapy, which was recently banned in Las Vegas. Vitor Belfort has basically dropped off face of the earth after TRT was banned.

Henderson just took a fight after a two month layoff. The longer he waits, the older he gets. He has terrible cardio at this point, but still has one-punch knockout power due to old man strength in his right hand and can put anyone to sleep. This should be a fun fight that doesn’t require a ton of typing before the little guys start flying around the cage. Live updates after the jump:[[MORE]]

Round 1: Cormier throws a head kick, but it’s blocked. Henderson throws a leg kick. Body punch by Henderson. The fighters clinch and Cormier slams Henderson, now he’s in side control. Henderson has Cormier’s arm tied up with his legs and is landing some elbows, but Cormier gets the arms out and is not in a really good position.

Cormier controlling Henderson, but so far not doing a lot of damage. Henderson’s got to be tired though by now. Cormier has a full mount. Henderson gets back to half guard. Cormier has his fingers in Dan’s face and gets warned by the ref. Henderson lands an upkick. Dan is turtled and Cormier is landing shots to the head.

Dan Henderson is able to get back to his feet, but he’s sucking wind. Slow dance on the cage to end the round.

10-9 Cormier, no damage done to Henderson, but he looks winded.

Round 2: Henderson still breathing heavy as the round starts.  Henderson jabbing, throws the right, Cormier retreats. Cormier shoots a single, gets the takedown and is in side control. The crowd is booing. Cormier lands an elbow. Henderson turtles up. Cormier lands some big shots. Cormier’s weight and strength advantage here is pronounced. The crowd is booing some more.

Cormier is landing some punches from the top. Henderson doesn’t really have anything for him. Cormier is in the full mount. Lots of ground strikes for Cormier. Cormier traps Henderson’s arm from the crucifix position and lands punches. Cormier is just landing a ton of punches on the ground. He’s not letting Henderson get up. This is like the second Lesnar-Mir fight. Dan’s eye  is really bloody. The round ends.

10-8 Cormier. Dan looks too tired to pull a rabbit out of his hat, but we’ll see.

Round 3: Big punch from Cormier. Cormier just picked Henderson up and spiked him on the canvas. Cormier’s on top once more and has his fingers in Henderson’s face again. So he get’s warned again as well. Dan Henderson is just out of gas at this point. This is not fun to watch.

Cormier has a full mount and four minutes left to work. Dan is turtled and Cormier is teeing off on him. Henderson is just on the ground covering his head. I wouldn’t mind seeing this stopped. Henderson hasn’t put up any defense in a long time. Cormier gets his back and is going for the rear naked choke. Henderson doesn’t tap, but referee Yves Lavigne stops the fight when he goes out.