hendo talks about shields fight
source:mmajunkie
If Dan Henderson has an excuse for a lackluster showing against middleweight champion Jake Shields at this past weekend's "Strikeforce: Nashville" event, he's keeping it to himself.
Following Henderson's unanimous-decision defeat during a CBS-televised headliner at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tenn., the former UFC fighter repeatedly was asked – in one form or another – what prompted the defeat.
Henderson continually pointed to one reason: his opponent.
While Shields (25-4-1 MMA, 3-0 SF) was the winner and earned his 14th straight victory with the performance, he was in trouble early. Henderson (25-8 MMA, 0-1 SF) quickly found his range in the first round and dropped Shields on a few occasions. In one key moment, Henderson followed his downed opponent and dived to the mat with a big looping right hand – the kind that knocked Michael Bisping into oblivion at UFC 100 in July 2009.
What would have no doubt been a fight-ending blow instead grazed Shields' ear and hit the mat with a thud. Shields soon recovered and – aside from needing to escape a rear-naked choke in the second round – took control in the final four rounds to earn the win.
"I got a lot of flack for hitting someone when [fans] thought he was done in my last fight," Henderson said of the Bisping bout. "I went to jump on top of [Shields] and didn't quite crack him very good, and the fight kept going. He won the fight.
"You never know until it's all the way over. I knew I hurt him real bad, but I didn't land those next couple punches to finish him off."
Henderson confirmed he had a tough weight cut ("it was a little rougher than usual but I don't blame my performance on it," he said after the fight) but wouldn't comment on rumors of a lingering neck ailment. Henderson admitted he began to tire in later rounds but said Shields "deserves all the credit" for an effective game plan.
"I just got a little tired for whatever reason, and Jake had a great game plan," Henderson said. "He covered me well on top and stayed there and just kind of controlled well from the top. And I did a very bad job getting back up.
"He's got all my respect."
Henderson was often put on his back, especially in the later round, and Shields had little trouble moving into the mount position throughout the bout. Shields connected on some solid ground and pound, but he could never put away his opponent.
"I didn’t overlook him at all," Henderson said. "He's definitely one of the top guys out there."
Neither Henderson nor Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker, who reportedly paid heavily to sign the fighter (though the Tennessee Athletic Commission does not release official salaries), predicted what's next for the fighter. Henderson said he's also still open to fighting at both middleweight and light heavyweight.
Either way, Coker suggested Henderson will play a key role in future events.
"Dan is a legend in this sport, and I've watched him in PRIDE and even before that," Coker told MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com). "I followed his career for years, and he's had some battles. This is not the last fight for Dan Henderson, as you all know. He'll be back, and we look forward to having him fight some epic battles for Strikeforce."
