What is Dan Henderson's Net Worth?
Dan Henderson is a retired mixed martial artist and Olympic wrestler who has a net worth of $8 million. Dan Henderson is best known for being the first fighter in a major MMA organization to hold titles for two weight classes simultaneously, as well as for his knockout of English mixed martial artist Michael Bisping in 2009, which fight fans have referred to as one of the greatest knockouts in history. He is also known for his 2011 bout with Brazilian fighter Mauricio Rua, which has been called one of the greatest fights in the history of the Ultimate Fighting Championships.
Early Years
Daniel Jeffery Henderson was born on August 24, 1970, in Downey, California, the son of Bill Henderson. He attended Victor Valley High School in Victorville, California where he was a member of the wrestling team – the 1987 state champions. The following year, he won the national junior championship in Greco-Roman and freestyle wrestling. After graduation, Henderson enrolled at Cal State Fullerton – a public research university in California – and then at Arizona State University in Phoenix – joining the wrestling teams at both schools. Henderson won championships in 1991, 1993, 1994 and 1997. In 1992 and 1996, he represented the United States in the Summer Olympics, where he placed 10th and then 12th.
Professional Wrestling
At the World Wrestling Championships of 1994 and 1997, Henderson placed 12th and then 7th. He won a bronze medal at the 1995 Pan American Games and a gold medal at the 2000 Pan American Championships. After reaching the 2001 world team trial finals and being defeated by American wrestler Matt Lindland, Henderson decided to focus on a career as a mixed martial artist, which he had begun training for in 1997. He first entered the Brazil Open Lightweight Tournament, which he won. Less than a year later, he entered his second MMA fight in which he had his jaw broken by Canadian mixed martial artist Carlos Newton. Henderson continued on with the fight despite his injury and won his second tournament. A year and a half later, his third MMA tournament resulted in Henderson winning all five fights and becoming the 1999 King of Kings Tournament champion.
During the 2000s, Henderson entered several Pride Fighting Championships. He won the 2005 Pride Shockwave tournament and was awarded the Pride Welterweight Championship. Two years later, he scored a knockout victory to become Middleweight Champion at the Pride 33 tournament. He became the first fighter in a major MMA organization to hold titles for two weight classes simultaneously.
In November of 2007, during the UFC 75 event, Henderson was defeated by light heavyweight champion Quinton Jackson, who retained his title and took the Pride middleweight title. In March of the following year, Henderson lost to Brazilian fighter Anderson Silva at the UFC 82 event. In 2008, at UFC 88, he scored a victory over Brazilian fighter Rousimar Palhares by unanimous decision. The next year, he beat UFC Middleweight Champion Rich Franklin at UFC 93.
In July 2009, at the UFC 1000, Henderson became the first person to knock out English mixed martial artist Michael Bisping. Resulting in a $100,000 bonus as Knockout of the Night for Henderson, the overhand right to the jaw is considered one of the greatest knockouts in history.
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The Ultimate Fighting Championships
In 2009, Henderson was selected to lead season 9 of the American reality television series "The Ultimate Fighter." Later that year, he joined the American mixed martial arts and kickboxing association Strikeforce. He lost his "Strikeforce on CBS" debut to opponent Jake Shields. In 2010, he won the Strikeforce fight against Brazilian fighter Renato "Babalu" Sobral with a knockout in the first round. In 2011, he defeated Brazilian fighter Rafael Cavalcante at the Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Championship after dropping him in the third round. Another opponent knockout was racked up in 2011 during Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Henderson when he took down Fedor Emelianenko during the first round.
Henderson won the bout with Brazilian fighter Mauricio Rua in UFC 61 in 2011, which many fans called one of the greatest fights in the history of the UFC. He then lost to Lyoto Machida and Rashad Evans in 2013. The next year, he won a rematch with Rua, earning him bonuses for Fight of the Night and Performance of the Night. In 2014, he lost to Daniel Cormier and Gegard Mousasi.
On June 6, 2015, Henderson beat American fighter Tim Boetsch during UFC Fight Night 68 with a knockout 28 seconds into the first round. He was defeated by Vitor Belfort later that year.
At UFC 199, on June 4, 2016, Henderson defeated Cuban fighter Hector Lombard via knockout in the second round, for which he earned a bonus for Performance of the Night and the honor of becoming the first person to knock out Lombard. Later that year, he lost a rematch with Bisping at UFC 204 and announced his intention to retire.
Accolades
On July 5, 2018, Dan Henderson was inducted into the Fight Wing of the Ultimate Fighting Championship Hall of Fame.
Film & Television
Dan Henderson played a police officer in the 2012 American martial arts film "Dragon Eyes," starring Jean-Claude Van Damme. He also appeared as himself in a 2019 episode of the American military drama television series "Seal Team" and the 2005 show "Cubed." In 2006, he played a driver in an episode of the American television sitcom "The King of Queens."
Team Quest
Henderson owns Team Quest Fitness Gym which hosts mixed martial arts training camps in several areas of California as well as one in Oregon. The gym features an unparalleled curriculum of beginner to advanced techniques in kickboxing, Jiu-Jitsu, Judo, wrestling and mixed martial arts taught by highly qualified professionals to achieve an elite level of fitness.
Personal Life
Henderson was married to his first wife, Alison, before marrying Rachel Malter in 2014. He has three children: Sierra, Danielle, and Reese.
Henderson is 1/16 Walla Walla Native American through the roots of his grandmother Alice Bergevin LeJune.
