Issue 060
March 2010
A world-class wrestler equally happy fighting at light heavy as he is middleweight, Dan Henderson is one of the toughest fighters in the world. His powerful blend of boxing and wrestling makes him a difficult opponent to handle. Henderson’s style is not without its flaws, but certain elements of his game are easily replicated and can be worked into any mixed martial artist’s game.
Attacking the base
With his Olympic-caliber wrestling, Henderson is extremely adept at controlling opponents on the ground. Preferring to attack from positions more common to wrestling than jiu-jitsu, Henderson smothers his opponents and attacks while they are unable to defend.
In the Gym
With your opponent turtled against the cage or a matted wall, work on keeping superior position. Target your ground ‘n pound from the side ride; as they attempt to escape by standing up, take away their base by pulling at the wrist, elbow, knee or foot.
In Action
Henderson controlled Rich Franklin effectively from this position when they met at UFC 93.
The Big Right
Henderson was one of the first wrestlers to successfully translate the power from the wrestling shot into a powerful punch. Henderson’s awesome knockout power comes from his ability to put his whole body behind the right cross or overhand right, beginning from the foot and combining the power of the legs, back and shoulders to deliver the shot.
In the Gym
With a partner use a heavy med ball and pass from a split stance, throwing the ball with the same motion as a right cross. With the resistance from the weight, you’ll be forced to recruit your legs.
Use an Olympic bar with one end braced by a flat plate or propped in a corner. Push the weighted end explosively away from you, driving off your back leg.
In Action
Henderson has KOd numerous fighters with his big right hand, notably Michael Bisping, Akihiro Gono, Renzo Gracie and more.
Body locks
With a background in Greco Roman wrestling, Henderson has successfully used the body lock to launch many opponents through the air.
In the Gym
Training the strength and flexibility to execute a good back arch is essential to be effective with Greco Roman throws. A weak back arch or badly timed turn will lead to you pulling your opponent on top of you. Once you have developed a stable back bridge, start adding resistance by using a grappling dummy or throw bag. Develop your grip strength in the hold by squeezing the bag.
In Action
Henderson dominated the first round of his unsuccessful bout against Anderson Silva by establishing a body lock (taking away the space to knee) then taking Silva to the mat. During their clash at Pride 20, Ricardo Arona took a ride through the air courtesy of a picture-perfect throw from Henderson’s body lock.
Clubbing single collars
Henderson’s ability to control the clinch gives him an edge over many other fighters. Though he is a technical wrestler, Henderson relies on bullying his opponents in the clinch.
In the Gym
Test each other’s posture by clubbing the back of the neck with single
collars on the left and right sides. Begin slowly to engage the stabilizing muscles and build up the tempo until you are snapping aggressively.
Reacting to the constant clubbing, the athlete will train the necessary balance and learn to quickly engage back and neck strength to maintain head position when trading collar ties. The athlete who is clubbing will learn to shift from side to side and provoke the momentary weakness so the neck can be jolted. Finish the drill by performing a snap down.
In Action
During Henderson’s early bout against Allan Goes, Hendo hammered the Brazilian with hooks and uppercuts off the single collar. In his first encounter with Wanderlei, Henderson successfully dominated the collar ties, controlling the single collar and throwing uppercuts while preventing Wanderlei from locking on the double collar plum clinch and kneeing.
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