Strikeforce
Dan Henderson expecting motivated and in shape Fedor Emelianenko in Strikeforce on Saturday
Jul 28, 2011 - 11:10:36 AM Dan Henderson expecting motivated and in shape Fedor Emelianenko in Strikeforce on Saturday

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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

Dan Henderson takes on one of his, quite literally, biggest challenges this Saturday night when he takes on Fedor Emelianenko in the Strikeforce cage on Showtime.

Henderson, who has fought much of his career at 205 lbs. and below, steps up against a heavyweight for the first time since his second fight to Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira in 2002. However, despite the size difference, Henderson feels confident in his game plan against "The Last Emperor" on Saturday night.

"I don't feel outmatched or small against Fedor," Henderson wrote in a blog entry for Yahoo! Sports. "I have a plan to not go right through his power, but I feel I can hurt him with shot and can move him around with my wrestling without needing to prove I am physically as strong as him. I've fought bigger, powerful guys before and used my wrestling to move them about.

"I think I can use the clinch to control him and will be looking to use my wrestling more than in other fights where I went pretty much for the right-hand KO. I will be looking to knock him out with the right, but I know I will need to set it up and use my wrestling more than in my last couple of fights."

Emelianenko has lost a couple of fights in a row, but Henderson doesn't think it makes his opponent any less dangerous in this fight. He assessed what he felt were Emelianenko's short-comings in his losses to Fabricio Werdum and Antonio "Bigfoot" Silva, and why that will give him more motivation in the fight this Saturday.

"It seemed like against Werdum, he got cocky with his submission defense and though he wouldn't get submitted," Henderson wrote. "I think he didn't do what was needed to get out of the triangle quickly enough, and he paid the price. We all make mistakes, and everybody can get caught. With the loss to Silva, I think he showed up a little out of shape and the size difference definitely got to him in that fight. Again, no one wins them all and it just happens Fedor has lost back-to-back fights.

"But I do expect Fedor to be more motivated and also think he'll be in better shape. I think he'll try to hit me with the same exact punches he would have tried to hit me with if he had won his last two fights. He's still the same dangerous fighter and still has that big right hand and his submissions."

Henderson believes he's got the skills to finish Emelianenko in this fight, and he says ultimately it's not a fight he would have taken if he didn't feel he could do just that.

"He's got a big right hand like me, so I am looking forward to standing and banging with him when it comes down to it," he said. "I think what has won me a lot of fans and a lot of fights is that I got to finish those fights. Fedor or not, I wouldn't have wanted this fight if I wasn't going to go in there to finish him."

Whether he accomplishes that goal or not remains to be seen, but no matter how it goes down it's an excellent matchup between two big names in the sport, and fans will absolutely be tuning in to Showtime this Saturday night.

Link to Full Blog at Yahoo!

Penick's Analysis: Henderson has followed Fedor's career as many have, and he knows what he's going up against on Saturday night. I think he's got a good line of thought as far as what led to Fedor's last two losses, but he's also right to expect a different fighter in this one. Emelianenko has changed up his training camp a little this time around, and by all accounts from the open workouts this week he's looking in great shape. But Henderson can win this fight. He's got very good wrestling, even if it's been underutilized in his recent fights, and he's got that big right hand that can put many fighters on their backs. This is going to be a big fight for Strikeforce, and I'm very much looking forward to it for Saturday night.

[Dan Henderson art by Cory Gould (c) MMATorch.com]