Veteran Henderson will make the main fight at UFC FN 68. Photo: Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC
June 6th will play an important role in the veteran’s career Dan Henderson. Having a bad time in his last fights, with five defeats in six fights, Hendo will have to prove, at UFC Fight Night 68, that he still has what it takes to compete at a high level, even though he is the oldest active Ultimate athlete, aged 44. .
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In Henderson's case, what puts the continuity of his career in question is not only the bad results, but the way he has been losing. In May last year, he was completely dominated by Daniel Cormier, and, given the difference in size to the current light heavyweight champion, he decided to return to the middleweight division.
In January, he faced Gegard Mousasi, but the fight didn't even last half a round. Questions about the prematureness of the referee's interruption aside, the fact is that Henderson showed that his absorption of blows, something historically strong in his game, may be starting to let him down.
And resistance to blows will be important for Henderson in his fight against Tim Boestch. The “Barbarian”, as he is known, is famous for his strong grip, including in his history a surprising knockout against Yushin Okami.
However, Boetsch isn't exactly acclaimed for his versatility. So, it remains to be seen whether Henderson will return to his roots, putting his wrestling and ground game into practice, or whether he will insist on using the weight of his hands to take down his rival.
Henderson insists that his body is still in good shape to continue competing at a high level, and guarantees that he will fulfill his entire current contract with the UFC, which includes the fight against Boetsch and two other fights. However, Henderson's reputation, which is already tarnished by recent poor results, could be compromised once and for all if there is another setback, this time for a little-known figure.
Co-main fight has clash of knockouts
Speaking of resistance to blows and a strong grip, another highlight of UFC FN 68 will be the second most important fight of the night, between heavyweights Ben Rothwell and Matt Mitrione. Both athletes are famous for their classic knockouts, as Rothwell did against alistair overeem e Brendan Schaub and Mitrione before Gabriel Napao, Derrick Lewis and Shawn Jordan.
In fact, analyzing the statistics, there are few chances of the heavyweight clash reaching the end of the third round. Win or lose, Rothwell hasn't reached a decision in four fights, compared to Mitrione's seven. The winner of the fight will be able to occupy a prominent position in the division, even being allowed to flirt with a future title fight.
Participation of two Brazilians
Thiago tavares e Ricardo Demente are the Brazilian representatives at this Saturday's event. The first will face Brian ortega with an eye on his third consecutive victory, with the mission of taking away his rival's unbeaten record. Despite this, Ortega is at a delicate moment, as, after his last fight, he was caught undergoing an anti-doping test using anabolic steroids.
Alumni of TUF Brasil 3, Ricardo Demente is having his first fight in over a year, as he hasn't performed since the finals of the reality show, in São Paulo, in May last year. His opponent would be another participant in the program, Daniel sarafian, but he was injured and was replaced by Jake collier. The North American is coming off a defeat to Vitor miranda, who participated in the same edition as Demente. It remains for the pupil of Wanderlei Silva keep enjoying it on Saturday night.
Check out the complete UFC FN 68 technical sheet below:
DATE AND TIME: 06/06/2015, from 20pm (Brasília time)
PLACE: Smoothie King Center, New Orleans, USA
STREAMING: Combate Channel (complete card)
MAIN CARD
Medium: Dan Henderson x Tim Boetsch;
Heavy: Ben Rothwell x Matt Mitrione;
Mild: Dustin poirier x Yancy Medeiros;
Feathers: Thiago tavares x Brian ortega;
Roosters: Joe Soto x Anthony Birchak;
Roosters: Francisco Rivera x Alex Caceres
PRELIMINARY CARD
Heavy: Shawn Jordan x Derrick Lewis;
Welterweights: Brian Ebersole x Omari Akhmedov;
Mild: Chris Wade x Christos Giagos;
Mild: Joe Proctor x Justin Edwards;
Medium: Ricardo Demente x Jake collier;
Roosters: José Quiñonez x Leonardo Morales
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