Daniel Cormier has named one of his former opponents as the best fighter to never win UFC gold.
His No. 1 pick was Dan Henderson, who won titles in other major promotions but never in the UFC. Henderson challenged for UFC gold three times – two coming in back-to-back title shots against Quentin Jackson at light heavyweight and Anderson Silva at middleweight. He fell short in both.
Henderson’s final opportunity also marked the final fight of his career. At UFC 204, “Hendo” rematched Michael Bisping, whom he infamously knocked out at UFC 100. Henderson almost delivered Bisping the same fate when he knocked him down twice but ultimately a bloodied-up Bisping survived the barrage and outlasted Henderson by decision.
“At No. 1, I agree with you with Dan Henderson,” Cormier said on his ESPN show “DC & RC.” “PRIDE middleweight, light heavyweight champion. Also fought for the belt at the UFC, 0-3 there. Also fought Michael Bisping at an advanced age and lost a split decision in a fight that a lot of people thought that he won.”
The other fighters to make Cormier’s top five list include former three-time UFC light heavyweight title challenger Alexander Gustafsson, who lost razor-thin decisions to Cormier and Jon Jones; former two-time lightweight title challenger Gray Maynard; former interim lightweight champ Tony Ferguson; and former WEC featherweight champion and a four-time UFC bantamweight title challenger Urijah Faber.
