Dan Henderson is used to being asked about his impending retirement. It has been a hotly-discussed subject for the 45-year-old.
Some signs are pointing towards the fact that this may be his final fight in the UFC, and possibly his last in MMA. His fight against Hector Lombard this weekend at UFC 199 will be the last on his current contract.
"I don't know what'll happen after this one. It's basically up to me on whether I want to keep fighting or negotiate. This may be the last one, I don't know yet," Dan Henderson told Bloody Elbow's Michael Hutchinson.
While not providing any information as to which side he is leaning towards, Henderson said that his decision would not be made based on the outcome of his fight against Lombard.
Henderson is not worrying about the initial onslaught that Lombard brings with every fight. He says that he plans to survive it and bring the power right back at him.
"He comes in and he throws looping punches. I just need to make sure I'm a little more crisp and throwing down the pipe. I'm not afraid of going in there and swinging with him."
No matter the result of the fight, Henderson will go down as one of the greatest fighters to ever put on a pair of four-ounce gloves. When asked who he would include on a short list of greats, Henderson mentioned his idol Randy Couture and Heavyweight great Fedor Emelianenko, but included that Anderson Silva's drug test failure last year took him off the list.
"I maybe would have said Anderson Silva but he kind of changed his legacy by testing positive. It definitely affects [his legacy]. It doesn't put it down to zero, but it definitely diminished it and puts a question in everyone's head as to how long [he's] been doing it."
Silva tested positive for a cocktail of banned substances, including anabolic steroids, back in February of 2015. A month later, Hector Lombard, Henderson's next opponent, was suspended for testing positive for an anabolic steroid. Henderson hopes that Lombard is clean for their fight at UFC 199.
"I think everyone kind of assumed he was doing something by the way he looks. You can't always judge a book by his cover, but he definitely tested positive. I'm hoping he doesn't test positive this time because I want to fight."
UFC 199 takes place this Saturday at The Forum in Inglewood, California and features two title fights. Middleweight Champion Luke Rockhold defends his title for the first time against short notice replacement Michael Bisping while Dominick Cruz makes his first Bantamweight title defense against rival Urijah Faber.
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