thaFormula.com - You have been one of the best fighters over the past decade man, fighting only the best and with less losses then most you are still very underrated by people. Do you feel the same way?

Dan Henderson - I don't know. It didn't really matter that much to me but you know I'm probably a little underrated mostly because I've been in Japan mostly.

thaFormula.com - Why did it take so long for you to finally get a shot at a title in Pride?

Dan Henderson - I don't know. I mean at one point when I fought (Ricardo) Arona I was told I was gonna have a title shot if I beat him and you know I lost. So I think a couple of minor losses like that to tough guy's kind of set me back a little bit.

thaFormula.com - Now when you fought in the UFC, you fought Allan Goes and Carlos Newton on the same night, how tough was it fighting great fighters like that in their prime on the same night?

Dan Henderson - It was pretty tough. I didn't know a lot back then, I had never sparred before. You know I did some ground stuff, punched the bags and mitts but never sparred or anything, so I didn't really know that much about fighting or anything. I was just going out there trying to do all that but wasn't really doing much.

thaFormula.com - Did the experience you had in your first few fights in the Brazil Open help you out a lot for those fights in the UFC?

Dan Henderson - I had never even sparred before then either, but yeah it kind of calmed my nerves a little bit. After being in there and not being hurt too bad I guess it wasn't so bad.

thaFormula.com - What was it like fighting in the early stages of the UFC before it blew up real big and what were the crowds like?

Dan Henderson - The crowds were a lot smaller then they are now. Especially a lot smaller then they are in Japan. But it was fun for me and I know the Pay-Per View audience back then wasn't that bad either. It was a lot of people that were watching those and I did well so I can't complain.

thaFormula.com - At that point what was your whole purpose for being in the UFC? Was it the money?

Dan Henderson - Yeah at that point I was still wrestling and trying to make the 2000 Olympic team and I was just kind of fighting to support myself so I could still wrestle because there is zero money in wrestling. So I was basically just doing it for the money and still just training mostly for wrestling.

thaFormula.com - What made you decide to leave the UFC for "Rings" in Japan?

Dan Henderson - Probably money again. They offered me money to show up and compete in this tournament and I had no expectations of winning the tournament. It was a 32 man open weight class tournament and I got a certain amount of money just to show up and fight. I won my first 2 fights in that tournament against a Russian fighter and a Japanese fighter Kanehara. The Russian guy was a Greco-Roman wrestler. He took second in the world at 220 pounds so he was kind of the same style as me except he was probably the biggest wuss out of all of them. I didn't expect that but yeah, he came out and he didn't like getting hit and I hit him a few times pretty good and I think I kneed him in the body and he fell down and tapped out.

thaFormula.com - Then you fought Kanehara who at that time was still a pretty good fighter right?

Dan Henderson - Yeah, he's tough. He can take a pretty good punch and we were going back and forth scrapping and he was pretty tough, I was surprised. He's obviously not done so well since then after he left "Rings" 'cause those rules probably suited him better.

thaFormula.com - After you won your first two fights, you went up against Gilbert Yvel next right?

Dan Henderson - Yeah, I had Gilbert Yvel, Nogueira and Babalu the same night. That was probably my toughest night of fighting ever.

thaFormula.com - Was it different fighting Nogueira back then compared to now?

Dan Henderson - He was a little bit bigger and heavier then when I fought him now. He was probably 10 pounds bigger then he was then when I fought him again. It seems like he moves a little bit better. He's gotten a little bit better on his feet and I think he lost a little bit of weight and just started moving a little bit better. Plus he's got more experience 'cause you know he won that tournament the next year. That one was a pretty close fight. He was big and probably 50 pounds bigger then me that night.

thaFormula.com - How had your training improved during that time coming into "Rings" as compared to where you were at during the UFC days?

Dan Henderson - I had obviously started sparring in practice and doing everything that I needed to do in training. It just takes time to learn more and more stuff, but I was progressing. I knew how to not get submitted very easy and you know I could throw pretty good punches and I scrambled real well from my wrestling. Most of the time I was just trying to stop take downs and punch with Nog(uiera) and Babalu.

thaFormula.com - When you made it to the finals, did you feel that it was your night after you had beat Yvel and Nog in the same night?

Dan Henderson - I had about 30 minutes in between the Nog and Babalu fight and I was pretty beat up at that point. Nog had jumped to pull guard from when we were in the clinch position and he landed on my knee and popped my knee and it hurt pretty bad and I was just worn out from having two fights. My corner guys were a little bit nervous as far as wondering if I was even gonna be able to continue. That last fight was worth a lot of money just for the finals.

thaFormula.com - So was Japan paying a lot more at that time then UFC?

Dan Henderson - Yeah, for me they were. UFC wasn't offering much and that was right at the time the UFC was having its troubles. They were offering quite a bit more. So I ended up going out into the finals of that tournament and feeling good for the fight and ended up beating him up.

thaFormula.com - Was the Babalu fight a lot easier for you then the Nog fight?

Dan Henderson - Yeah I think so. He was just a little bit different a style. He wasn't as big and as long as Nog. He was actually just as heavy as Nog, but he was not quite as long so it was a little bit easier for me. I could scramble a little better, not get stuck on the bottom, not get swept as easy.

thaFormula.com - After you won "Rings" did a lot of organizations come calling for you?

Dan Henderson - Yeah, that was probably a few months before the Olympic trials and I ended up not making the team and I still went to the Olympics as a training partner alternate and that's where Pride had contacted me and wanted me to fight against Vitor Belfort. First it was Sakuraba and then Vitor and that was set and I only had a months notice and they told me that Vitor broke his hand and I was gonna fight a guy named Vanderlai Silva.

thaFormula.com - So at that point in time you really didn't know anything about Vanderlai Silva right?

Dan Henderson - No, I had no idea. I figured he was gonna be fairly tough, but I didn't realize he was gonna be quite that tough.

thaFormula.com - At that point in time a lot of the Brazilian fighters were still heavy Jujitsu guys and not great striking fighters like Silva and the Chute Boxe guys right?

Dan Henderson - Yeah and Vanderlai was more of a standup guy that could scramble and he was decent on the ground.

thaFormula.com - How was your training for the fight?

Dan Henderson - I was pretty out of shape. I was at the Olympics as a training partner so I was having a good time for a month over there. I went to a trip to France and that's when I found out I was fighting in Pride after that. I ended up getting pretty sick at the end of that trip and didn't have a whole lot of time to train after that so I was pretty out of shape. Obviously I went out there and was gonna fight hard regardless.

thaFormula.com - Did you feel that since you didn't know much about Silva and had fought a few Brazilian fighters that you would be okay?

Dan Henderson - Yeah, I didn't know about Vanderlai and I thought I would be able to handle it. I think at that point 9-0 was my record and I had beat some pretty good guys.

thaFormula.com - Is that a big reason why you were smiling during the stare down with Vanderlai seeing as how you really didn't know what kind of a fighter you were facing?

Dan Henderson - Yeah, I thought it was a little funny. It caught me off guard since I had never seen him fight before. I had competed in wrestling for so long I had seen everything. Guys staring you down to guys that looked really nervous, so it wasn't that uncommon for me to see different personality's like that. I just hadn't been face to face like that you know so close, because in wrestling we don't do that.

thaFormula.com - At what point in the fight did you realize that you were in the ring with a very tough guy?

Dan Henderson - I think towards the beginning of the fight he cracked me pretty good and you know at that point I was thinking "man he hits pretty hard" and you know obviously I was trying to dish it back but I started getting tired and wasn't able to finish any takedowns or stuff like that.

thaFormula.com - Now at one point in the fight you hit him with a shot that dazed him pretty good as you could see his eyes roll up for a quick second, what happened there?

Dan Henderson - Yeah, that was a little bit of inexperience that didn't finish that fight for me. Now if I had him in that situation, I would finish the fight instead of that instinct of kind of taking him to the ground where he can hold on to me, instead I should have pushed him away and finished him with some strikes.

thaFormula.com - Would you say that was the toughest fight of your career, because from what I saw it looked like a war?

Dan Henderson - Yeah, that was probably the toughest single fight I have had.

thaFormula.com - It's funny to me how even though you lost that fight, it seems like the fight that earned the two of you guys incredible respect in the fight scene?

Dan Henderson - That's usually how it works you know. Two tough guys get in there and have a good fight and you know they both respect each other more after that one and everyone else sees it as a war as well.

thaFormula.com - So after that fight you went up against Renzo Gracie. Were you surprised at how quickly you beat him and how he went down off of that one punch?

Dan Henderson - I was a little surprised that I knocked him out that easy because I hit him pretty good when he shot in, but I felt him just go limp underneath me and then just finished him off with another one or two punches. But the fight went almost exactly how I was training for it. I didn't think he was gonna be that tough on his feet, I thought he was gonna try and take me down and not be able to so I was just gonna make him get back up and that's pretty much what happened. He tried to take me down and it's almost exactly how I was training for it. It went just perfect for the game plan.

thaFormula.com - So were you surprised when you saw how Renzo did against Shamrock?

Dan Henderson - Actually, yes I was. I was a little bit surprised at that because I had just seen him fight against Carlos Newton and both him and Newton looked terrible. Especially because Newton kind of beat up Renzo in that fight. Renzo got the win but he got beat up the whole fight, on their feet, on the ground and pretty much everywhere. I haven't seen Frank fight that much ever. Even when he was fighting in the UFC, I hardly ever saw him fight. A couple of quick fights is about the only thing I have ever seen of him and Renzo has been fighting a t least a little bit here and there. He never really went cold turkey and retired. He hasn't done real well, but he's still in there fighting and competing so that fight was probably an example of how the sport progressed and left a lot of fighters like Frank behind.

thaFormula.com - So how did you view what went down in that fight Dan?

Dan Henderson - I don't think it helped both guys out much. I mean Frank looked like a jack ass in my opinion and Renzo looked like he didn't wanna continue to fight because he was probably getting a little tired. But you never know, I don't know how bad Renzo got hurt. Usually uh, if it was me, I definitely would continue, especially 'cause I thought Renzo was beating him the whole fight, except for a little bit on their feet. Frank was beating him on foot but Renzo was taking him down at will almost.

thaFormula.com - So you do feel that time has passed a lot of these guys up?

Dan Henderson - I think the sport is really progressing and its just getting tougher and tougher and it's not gonna slow down and you know guys like Frank you know just got passed behind.

thaFormula.com - So really, it does matter more then anything who you train with right?

Dan Henderson - It's everything. If your not being able to push and train hard then your not gonna be ready to fight somebody tough.

thaFormula.com - Now after your victory against Renzo you won fights against Shoji and Rua. Were you surprised at how well you ended up doing in the win over Rua?

Dan Henderson - No, I obviously I thought I was gonna beat him up even worse and the only thing that surprised me is that he got me on the ground and I made some mistakes. He was really good at holding me down. He didn't do anything to me, but control and hold me down for a little too much. So I knew I was a little behind going into that last round where I had to step it up and try and knock him out and beat him up to win the fight, which is what happened.

thaFormula.com - Now you have fought the best of Brazilian Top Team and the best of the Chute Boxe guys. What is the difference for you when fighting these guys?

Dan Henderson - The Chute Boxe guys are a little more well rounded as fighters. They know how to stand up and punch and try to avoid takedowns a little bit better. They are definitely a little more well rounded then the Gracie's, a lot more well rounded.

thaFormula.com - Now at that point you were on a win streak again. You had won 3 fights in a row and you faced Ricardo Arona next. A lot of people felt you won that fight, how did you feel about it?

Dan Henderson - You know pretty much the same as when I had fought Ninja Rua, except for I didn't capitalize on my feet as well. I learned a lot from when I fought Ninja and him. Just not getting over aggressive trying to knock a guy out too much and get taken down too easy 'cause these guys were holding me down. So I worked a lot on getting up off the ground after that fight with Arona. I'm a lot better at getting up now. He's just really powerful and he's got a decent takedown.

thaFormula.com - Now Arona is praised a lot by people who think he is a great wrestler and has great take downs. Is he as good a wrestler as people think he is for being a Jujitsu guy?

Dan Henderson - I think a lot of that is the power that he has. He's better then the rest of them at Brazilian Top Team at take downs. He's definitely been improving, he's a lot more exciting then he used to be. When he fought me, he was pretty boring so he's getting more aggressive and well rounded. I knew our fight was a close fight and I knew it was my fault for getting stuck on the bottom that third round.

thaFormula.com - Up next for you came Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira. Were you prepared for this fight when it was offered to you?

Dan Henderson - Well I was in decent shape just from my normal training, but I had probably 10 days notice for that fight against him. I think they had trouble finding him an opponent or I think somebody got hurt or backed out or something. Next thing you know they want me to fight him and I said okay.

thaFormula.com - Now this was a rematch for you. Since you won the first one, did you feel that it was gonna be a replay of the first fight?

Dan Henderson - No, I didn't think it would go the same exact way. I thought that I definitely could beat him. I just needed to keep him on his feet and not get taken down and I think I made some mistakes in that fight as well. I was a little too tentative when I got on top of him. I just let him be to offensive with all his submissions instead of just being a little more active punching him on top.

thaFormula.com - That ended up being your first submission loss, do you feel that you basically kind of gave up for a quick second at the end man?

Dan Henderson - You know I got a little tired going into that third round. He got me into a clinch and took me down right into the mount almost. I did take a little bit of a break but I didn't give up. I just made what I think was a technical mistake there. I was okay with him in the mount and then I kind of moved my arms a little bit. Pulled an arm out where I shouldn't have and let him isolate one of my arms pretty good that way and you know he had a lot of leverage on it so you know that's the way it went.

thaFormula.com - So as someone that has fought both of the Nog brothers, are these guys submission wise a lot different then the other guys you have fought?

Dan Henderson - They definitely have proven that they do them in fights a lot better then a lot of guys. I just happened to get caught against both of them. When I fought Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, I had a little bit going on with a chest thing and kind of hit a wall at about 6 minutes and wasn't getting enough air or something 'cause I was in great shape before that fight and I just hit a wall and died. That one I felt like my mind knew what was coming and my body just didn't move and he arm barred me.

thaFormula.com - It was crazy to see you get caught both times by the same arm bar. How did it feel to get caught with the same arm bar by both brothers man?

Dan Henderson - It didn't feel good. I wasn't happy about that and my performance. I thought I was doing real well for a little bit and then I just kind of hit a wall and ran out of air or something and my body wouldn't do what my mind was wanting it to do.

thaFormula.com - Is there a big difference in skill level at all between the brothers seeing that you have faced both?

Dan Henderson - They have a lot of similarities. Little Nog is a lefty and the other one is a righty. It was a little bit different fighting him and he did some things that worked real good against me on his feet. Like throwing a right hook and keeping me off balance.

thaFormula.com - I'm sure that loss to Little Nog was frustrating because you were on a win streak again leading up to that fight. You had won 4 in a row. In your 4th win though you faced Yuki Kondo, was there something wrong with you during that fight because it seemed like you were completely out of that fight man?

Dan Henderson - Yeah that was probably one of the worst nights in my fighting career too just 'cause it was tough to get through that. I had some sort of stomach flu. I woke up at 1:00am the day I was fighting and started puking and had a fever all day. I showed up at the arena and they put an IV in me and gave me 4 bags of fluid before the fight and I was pretty bad. I had a 101 degree fever when I was fighting and it was bad. I didn't eat anything all day cause I was puking everything up. That was a rough night. I went out there trying to finish him in that first minute and then just struggled the rest of the fight. It was somebody that I should have just walked through, but luckily he didn't hit real hard and I felt that on the first couple of punches that he hit me with and I didn't move that much out of the way after that. I wasn't fighting real well, but I still took him down, I controlled him just enough, but that was a close fight too and I thought that one could have went either way.

thaFormula.com - A lot of people felt that Yuki won that fight, how did you feel about that?

Dan Henderson - Like I said, I felt that it could have went either way and I've won and lost those type of decisions and I'm not the one out there judging it and I wouldn't have wanted to judge that fight. But I felt that I definitely did more damage to him then he did to me. I hit him harder and that's one of the biggest criteria's for Pride judges. It's damage and effort to finish the fight. He didn't damage me and he didn't try and finish the fight so you know I don't know.

thaFormula.com - Now during all this this time, the UFC had made a huge comeback since you left. How do you feel about what they have done for MMA in the U.S.?

Dan Henderson - I think they have done real well for the sport. I think that their Spike TV show and everything has progressed the sport quite a bit and got a lot more interest in the U.S. for it.

thaFormula.com - Have you wanted to come to the UFC again?

Dan Henderson - You know I haven't really pursued it too much. They haven't really ever made me an offer and I've been under contract with Pride for along time. I guess I'm one of those guys that's somewhat loyal and I been with them for over 6 years. I'm with them through the rest of this year as well. We will see what happens. Obviously I'm in this to do well money wise so you know.

thaFormula.com - Now at this point is the money different now between UFC and Pride?

Dan Henderson - You know I don't know. I'm sure I would probably be making a little more in the UFC now and that's why I will explore that option when the time is right. But for now I'm gonna try and see what happens with Pride in the U.S. They are making a big push this year and I'm gonna try and help that out. I'm their only U.S. champion and hopefully I will be a champion at two weight classes.

thaFormula.com - Now after your loss to Little Nog, you went on another 4 fight win streak. You fought Misake in a rematch of which the first fight you had just won, was something wrong with you in that rematch man or is that just how it went down?

Dan Henderson - It's just how it kind of went down. I don't know what was wrong with that fight. Mentally I just wasn't up for that fight and I was just real flat for that fight. Physically everything was good and so was my conditioning. I just didn't move and let him kind of pick at me a little bit and score points. Again he didn't do much damage but you know I was okay with that decision as well only because I knew that it was in my capability to beat him and beat him up and I just let him do his thing most of the fight. I just wasn't a big guy for rematches and you know I just fought him and I didn't wanna fight in that tournament to begin with. I just had a flat fight. It wouldn't happen again against him, I can guarantee that.

thaFormula.com - Next came your last fight this past October with Vitor Belfort. Did you have plenty of time to prepare for that fight?

Dan Henderson - They approached me probably 2 months ahead of time but I had just had elbow surgery so I didn't know if I was gonna be able to fight until probably a month or three weeks before the fight. So I had known about it I just couldn't let them know if I was gonna be able to do it.

thaFormula.com - How did you feel going into that fight man?

Dan Henderson - I felt pretty good. My elbow was pretty good and I'm feeling much better now then I did then conditioning wise, but it was only a 3, 5 minute round fight. This upcoming fight with Vanderlai Silva is 5, 5 minute rounds. With Belfort I trained a little more on the takedowns, ground and pound and standing up. His only real weapon was his hands.

thaFormula.com - Were you surprised how easily you won that fight because I was expecting a serious war?

Dan Henderson - It went pretty good as far as how I thought maybe it would go. I thought that if I beat him up a little bit early he would mentally quit and it's pretty much what happened. I figured I would be able to take Vitor down and pound him a little bit but I didn't realize he was gonna be that easy to takedown. He clung on to me a little bit more then I expected when he was on the bottom, he had a couple of decent sweeps too but with the rule changes I wasn't able to knee and kick on the ground so I had to change some things.

thaFormula.com - So when did you get approached for the Vanderlai Silva fight?

Dan Henderson - Probably sometime in December and I said okay from the get go. I was pretty happy about that. I just wanted to make sure that I was ready and I didn't wanna waste this opportunity. It's a big opportunity for me.

thaFormula.com - Coming into this fight with Vanderlai Silva this Saturday, February 24th at the Pride Fighting Championships in Vegas, has everything been good training wise, no injuries or setbacks at all?

Dan Henderson - I think if everything was perfect, it wouldn't be a challenge. I'm used to having some sort of adversary or used to getting sick at the wrong time. I've got kids and they seem to bring everything home all the time. I got sick a little bit after the new year and lost a couple of good weeks of training but I feel great and got right back on track so I'm right where I should be right now. I don't think I can get in any better shape. I worked a little bit more on wrestling, ground and pound and more on my standup, pretty much a mixture of everything.

thaFormula.com - Now with the rule changes in the U.S., do you think this benefits you more or Silva more?

Dan Henderson - You know a lot of people probably think it hurts Silva more then anything because one of his big weapons is standing up and head stomping them when he's on top but I honestly don't think he's gonna get a chance on top.

thaFormula.com - So how do you see the fight going and do you see it being a whole different fight now compared to the first time you guys fought?

Dan Henderson - Yeah. We will have some stand up wars in there and some ground and pound. It's gonna be a lot different because I'm gonna be beating him up this time. Both of us have proven that we are pretty durable and we are not the best submission guys and I think it's got a good chance of going the distance because of that.

thaFormula.com - How do you feel about the talent level in the UFC?

Dan Henderson - I think it's a step down from Pride, but obviously their top guys are tough. They can win just as easily as the pride guys.

thaFormula.com - How do you think you would do against guys like Lidell and Tito?

Dan Henderson - Obviously, I would be confident in myself against both those guys. They are both tough and well proven fighters themselves but I think mentally I'm stronger.

thaFormula.com - So assuming you win this fight with Vanderlai Silva, do you want to go back to Middleweight or do you plan at staying at 205lb division?

Dan Henderson - I'm gonna probably defend both belts in 2007.

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