Middleweight Dan Henderson, the American wrestling stalwart with a reputation for a granite chin and a right hand that could flatten anyone, was set to face heavyweight Fedor Emelianenko, the Russian legend whose decade-long reign in PRIDE FC had made him nearly mythic.
Dan Henderson on Facing Fedor Emelianenko
Fedor, once untouchable, was coming off two straight losses. Still, the consensus was that he had the size, the experience, and the aura. Henderson, meanwhile, was stepping up from middleweight, giving up about 16 pounds at weigh-in and, at 40 years old, wasn’t exactly the betting favorite.