UFC 241: Daniel Cormier's 5 greatest UFC fights

#4 vs. Dan Henderson – UFC 173

2014 saw Cormier dominate UFC legend Dan Henderson

It’s almost hard to believe it now, but back in 2014 there were a lot of questions over how Daniel Cormier would handle a drop to 205lbs. After all, when he’d attempted to cut to 211lbs for the 2008 Olympic wrestling team, his kidneys had shut down and he’d wound up hospitalised.

The year began well for him though – he managed to make the weight, and quickly squashed newcomer Patrick Cummins.

The real test for him would come a few months later, against MMA legend and fellow Olympic wrestler Dan Henderson. Sure, Henderson was 43 years old and at the tail end of his career, but he was still tough as nails, far more proven at the top level of the UFC than Cormier and two months prior, he’d violently KO’d former UFC champ Shogun Rua.

Many fans expected a close fight – but instead, Cormier dished out a massacre. ‘DC’ threw him around like a rag doll, completely outwrestling a man recognized as one of the most credentialed wrestlers in MMA history. And on the feet, Henderson’s vaunted right hand was completely nullified by Cormier’s superior speed and power in the clinch.

Eventually, Henderson was forced to give up the ghost in the third round, finding himself choked unconscious by a rear-naked choke after being thrown around by Cormier like a small child.

Nobody had ever treated Henderson this way – like a ‘D’ level fighter – and the victory sent a serious message; that Cormier was as serious a contender at 205lbs as he had been at Heavyweight.