Issue 168

June 2018

Danny Henry wins the striking and grappling battle in less than a minute.

Despite coming off a victorious Fight of the Night in his Octagon debut, Danny Henry was counted out by many at UFC Fight Night 127 in London, England. The Scotsman was the second-biggest underdog on the fight card when he stepped up to face Hakeem Dawodu.

The “Mean” Canadian had many admirers for his Muay Thai skills and the way he’d used them to get five knockouts in his first seven fights in World Series of Fighting. But it would take more than that to scare “The Hatchet”, who’d outlasted Nordic Muay Thai champion, Daniel Teymur, last July.

“I rate my own standup very highly,” he says. “As much as I haven’t got a massive Muay Thai pedigree behind me, I know I’m dangerous on the feet. I spar with high-level guys all the time. When I watched Hakeem’s previous fights, I could see he was hit-able and the key for me when I fought him was to make sure I didn’t just stand in front of him and trade.

“My game plan was to let him know I was there. If I was going to throw something, I was going to make it count...”

It took fewer than 20 seconds for him to find his mark with power, as a big straight right put Dawodu on the canvas. Henry also proved he was no slouch on the ground either, as he immediately applied a guillotine and fought o his opponent’s desperate attempts to escape and finish things o in just 37 seconds. Here’s how he did it...

Step 1: Reading Reactions

• I couldn’t be throwing at the same time as him. I needed to draw his reactions and try and counter his counter...
• I knew he tries to catch you coming in with his left hook, but his left hand is so wide and looping.

Step 2: Big Shot

• The first time I threw the fake jab he went with the counter left hook. the second time I threw the fake, he didn’t counter. the third time, I stepped in for the one-two and sure enough, his left hook was too slow. He didn’t react fast enough. 

Step 3: Dive On

• As soon as he started scrambling back to his feet and I saw the back of his neck, it’s just instinctive. the guillotine is my strongest submission. 

Step 4: Keeping hold

• I was going for that choke all day. the arm was deep and he was rolling, but he wasn’t attacking the grip. At one stage, I had to post my left hand on the mat to follow him back to his feet. that would have been the time to attack that grip, but he didn’t. 

Step 5: Wrapping It Up

• As soon as we started standing again and I could punch my arm through that last inch or two, he was toast. He rolled the right way, but I followed him and he didn’t fight the grip effectively enough. If he doesn’t kill the grip I’m going to keep going for the submission.