Almost two years to the day after he knocked out Dan Henderson with a head kick at UFC Fight Night 32, former middleweight title contender Vitor Belfort stopped Hendo again following a head kick-spurred striking exchange at 2:07 in the first round on Saturday.
"Exchange" isn't quite accurate, as Henderson didn't get a single strike in before referee Mario Yamasaki stepped in to stop the fight.
For almost two minutes, there was very little action. It wasn't until 17 seconds into the first round that either fighter attempted anything. Henderson threw two inside leg kicks 10 seconds apart, shortly before the crowd began booing the lack of action.
Ever optimistic, the commentary team offered, "Both guys are so dangerous, they know either one could land any punch and put each other's lights out."
Maybe that was the cause of the reticence to engage. Henderson got one more inside leg kick in before Belfort caught him with a head kick, sending him stumbling against the cage. Belfort followed that quickly with a left to Henderson's head, another that ended up in his throat and one that whiffed past Henderson's head as he ducked under the arm—which Belfort then turned into a makeshift spinning backfist.
Still reeling, Hendo fell to the ground, and Belfort followed, diving into Hendo's half guard and starting with the ground-and-pound. The first few lefts either missed or were successfully defended, but one got through that knocked Hendo out for a split second. His eyes went blank, his arms splayed out, and Yamasaki rushed in right as Belfort landed an elbow that seemed more the result of gravity than anything else.
The fight ended just after two minutes into the first round—10 seconds after Belfort threw his first strike.
Vitor Belfort lands another big headkick and ground and pound to finish off Dan Henderson #UFCSP https://t.co/wh6yVyqUZG
— FOX Sports: UFC (@UFCONFOX) November 8, 2015
Considerations going forward:
This loss brings Henderson's record to 31-14, with six of those losses coming in his last eight fights. His most recent win was a KO over Tim Boetsch in June. When he doesn't win, the Twittersphere invariably explodes with pleas for his retirement. Since Hendo is 45 and on an apparent downward trajectory in his career, the remaining fight on his contract may end up being his last.
Belfort is currently ranked No. 4 at middleweight. As Henderson was sitting at No. 9, the victory may not do much for the Brazilian there. But it turns out the finish is relevant in another way, as, according to the UFC, it makes Belfort the UFC's "knockout leader" with 12 KOs.
This record-making KO comes on the heels of a TKO loss to Chris Weidman in May at UFC 187—Belfort's first fight after the testosterone-replacement therapy ban, which made this just his second fight post-TRT.
What's next for Belfort? Perhaps unsurprisingly, he has No. 1 contender and "disrespectful" Luke Rockhold in his sights, as he said in the post-fight presser.
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