Sherdog’s Top 10: Inside Fighters
Number 10
10. Dan Henderson
The two-time Olympian in Greco-Roman wrestling was one of the first fighters to underscore the effectiveness of dirty boxing -- pinning the opponent against the cage and working him over with knees and punches -- in mixed martial arts. Henderson owns one of the most vicious right hands in the history of the sport, and over the course of his 17-year career, he has put it to exceptional use in close quarters.
Nothing better illustrates the effectiveness of Henderson’s work in the clinch than his two fights with Mauricio Rua. “Shogun” is himself an exceptional in-fighter, but when Henderson and Rua fought, the Olympian took apart “Shogun” on the inside. Early in the first round of their initial meeting, Henderson pushed Rua to the fence and secured a single collar tie. He then pummeled the Brazilian with a series of uppercuts and hooks from his famous right hand, bloodying “Shogun” and then tossing him to the canvas with ease. While Henderson eventually knocked down Rua at range, most of the actual damage came from these kinds of close-range encounters, which the American dominated. In their second fight, “Shogun” brutalized and nearly knocked out Henderson at range, but a single cannon shot of a right hand on a clinch break broke Rua’s nose and sent him tumbling to the canvas.
While Henderson loses points in this ranking for his subpar defensive wrestling in the clinch and lack of takedowns from the position, he is nevertheless an innovator and highly skilled practitioner who was one of the first to show what was possible under MMA rules.
Number 9 » She owns a ridiculous variety of takedowns, from hip tosses to foot sweeps to trips and everything in between; her control is impeccable; and she is intimately familiar with the nuances of balance and pressure in the tie-ups.
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