At one of the last events that PRIDE Fighting Championships ever held, an American wrote his name into the history books.
Dan Henderson is known for producing highlight reel knockouts and he’s got some of the most iconic finishes in the sport period.
Long before Henderson would become a UFC Hall of Famer for his fight with Mauricio ‘Shogun’ Rua, ‘Hendo’ was the welterweight champion in PRIDE having signed with the promotion in 2000 after winning the UFC 17 middleweight tournament.
The knockout artist faced some legends of the sport during his time in Japan but one opponent defined his run more than any other, a champion who even Quinton ‘Rampage’ Jackson admitted would intimidate the roster.
In his final fight for the promotion on this day back in 2007, he left his mark on PRIDE before making his return to the Octagon later that year.
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Dan Henderson knocks out Wanderlei Silva to become the one and only champ-champ in PRIDE history
On his debut with the promotion at PRIDE 12, Dan Henderson lost a unanimous decision to Brazil’s Wanderlei Silva who was already a staple of the roster.
The following year, Silva would go on to win the inaugural PRIDE middleweight title by stopping Kazushi Sakuraba, kicking off the iconic reign of ‘The Axe Murderer’ which included multiple fight of the year bouts.
In the meantime, Henderson had some ups and downs in the promotion before winning the 2005 welterweight Grand Prix, knocking out Ryo Chonan and Akihiro Gono before beating Murilo Bustamante in the final to win the title.
At PRIDE 33 on February 24 of 2007 in Las Vegas, the two champions collided in a huge rematch for Silva’s middleweight title on a classic PRIDE card.
On the same night that Nick Diaz arrived in the promotion and Sokoudjou stunned MMA fans by stopping Antonio Rogerio Nogueira in 23 seconds, Henderson made history by dethroning Silva to become the first and only simultaneous two-weight champion in PRIDE.
In a back-and-forth encounter, Henderson wobbled his opponent with a right hand in the third round, following up with a left hook that dropped him and a huge ‘H-Bomb’ to his downed opponent.
Both Dan Henderson and Wanderlei Silva returned to the UFC later on in 2007
The following event, PRIDE 34 in April of 2007, would be the final show that PRIDE put on before the promotion ceased to exist.
Many of PRIDE’s top talent came over to the UFC after the promotion was acquired by Zuffa before PRIDE 34 had even taken place.
Henderson would go on to fight 20 times for the UFC and Strikeforce, producing iconic moments, winning the Strikeforce light heavyweight title and challenging for multiple UFC belts before retiring in 2016.
Silva fought nine times for the UFC and produced some more classic bouts before leaving the promotion in 2013 following his incredible war with Brian Stann.
After four years away, he fought twice for Bellator in 2017 and 2018 before officially announcing his retirement in 2022.