Uppercut Magazine.com - MMA Fighter of the Year 2011

By Don Avila

Two fighters stood out in mixed martial arts one very young and the other a veteran for more than a decade, but after careful deciphering between the two it was Temecula’s Dan “Hendo” Henderson who deserves the honor as Fighter of the Year in 2011.

Henderson (29-8) not only defeated age, he plowed through legendary heavyweight Fedor Emelianenko, young warrior Rafael Cavalcante, then out-battled Mauricio “Shogun” Rua in one of the most memorable MMA fighters ever seen.

Henderson, 41, circumvented more obstacles than anyone else including the next best fighter Jon Jones who is the current UFC light heavyweight champion. After many said Henderson’s best days were gone he proved in the Octagon to have his best year ever.

“Its always gratifying to tell people you are not done yet and then to go out and show them as well,” said Henderson by phone.

And show them he did with a final year-end victory a month ago that sent shockwaves through the world of prizefighting with his performance against Rua.

The year started out well when the former college wrestling star who was raised in Victorville beat Brazilian Cavalcante by bludgeoning the 30-year-old and forcing a stoppage in the third round to win the Strikeforce light heavyweight title.

That win allowed him to face Russia’s great prizefighter Emelianenko who amassed his reputation with incredible and memorable wins in his career. At one time he participated in 28 consecutive fights without a loss. But this was Henderson’s moment to shine and he performed flawlessly.

“He’s just tough. He hits hard and he’s pretty tough. Both of those things were concerns in my mind going into the fight,” Henderson said of Emelianenko who fights as a heavyweight. “I wasn’t worried about the weight.”

All through Henderson’s career the most potent weapon in his arsenal has been an almost lethal right hand. It was the right hand that ended the fight with Emelianenko.

“It was definitely one of the biggest accomplishments of my career,” said Henderson without hesitation who stopped Emelianenko in the first round of their match.

The final great moment of the year for Henderson came on Nov. 19, in San Jose, as he met former light heavyweight champion Rua in a non-title fight with title implications. Going into the fight Henderson’s plan was to utilize his sledgehammer right hand to decide the fight. Immediately he landed the blow and staggered the Brazilian, but though Rua teetered, he did not crumble.

“I didn’t expect him to take a punch like that. I figured if I hit him I had a good chance to KO him, but he proved me wrong on that one,” Henderson said.

Rua survived a shaky first round and the effects of Henderson’s thunderous right hands to rally and close the distance. After five tumultuous and riveting back-and-forth rounds the ageless Henderson was deemed the winner by unanimous decision in the physically exhausting match.

The crowd pleasing win also showed that Henderson has a lot more to offer in the Octagon.

“This has been one of my top years for sure,” Henderson said.

Henderson is this year’s Fighter of the Year.

UFC 141

Heavyweight contender Brock Lesnar (5-2) fights Alistair Overeem (35-11-1) in a scheduled five rounds on Friday Dec. 30, at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada. The Ultimate Fighting Championship fight card is also available on pay-per-view.

Also fighting are Nate Diaz versus Don Cerrone, Jon Fitch and Johny Hendricks, Vladimir Matyushenko and Alexander Gustafsson, and Nam Phan against Jimy Hettes will be on the pay-per-view portion.

Lesnar and Overeem have prepared well for this big moment to see who fights new heavyweight champion Junior Dos Santos.

“Well I've had plenty of time to train and being healthy and once again, I’m motivated. I've been able to just work on a lot of different things,” said former champion Lesnar.

Overeem has been training in England.

“Yes so I can just say I feel good mentally and physically. I am strong, I'm heavy, I am sharp. I'm sparring and wrestling guys I'll give you that and it's going well,” Overeem said.

Fights on television

Fri. Spike, 6 p.m., Ross Pearson (14-5) vs. Junior Assuncao (14-4)

Fri. pay-per-view, 7 p.m., Brock Lesnar (5-2) vs. Alistair Overeem (35-11-1); Nate Diaz (14-7) vs. Don Cerrone (17-3), Jon Fitch (26-3-1) vs. Johny Hendricks (11-1).

Fri. Showtime, 11 p.m., Jermain Taylor (28-4-1) vs. Jesse Nicklow (22-2-3).