At 205lbs, who was better? - Rampage or Hendo.

[The Natural Born Runner]

Just finished up watching UFC 75 main event (the throwbacks continue) - Rampage vs Hendo.

So this fight got me thinking, which out of these 2 warriors was the better fighter at Light Heavyweight? With the slightly different weight classes in PRIDE and the "open weight" competitions at times, it was difficult to completely compare Middleweight (PRIDE) and Light Heavyweight (UFC).

Their fight:

I will also say that after re-watching their unification bout, it was a whole lot closer than I used to think. I scored it 1 and 2 for Henderson, and 3, 4 and 5 for Jackson. You could easily have scored 2 for Jackson or 3 for Henderson, pretty close fight. Great battle in retrospect!

So, who was the better man at 205 over the course of their career?

My vote is: Rampage

Some may say he had a little bit of an unfair advantage, being a man who only fought at that weight for the entirety of his MMA career. Dan being the smaller man was able to achieve success at both Middleweight and Light Heavyweight, meaning his sole focus wasn't on 205.

If I had to rank them both "all-time" I think I would rank Henderson over Rampage, but just purely looking at 205, I have to go with one of my favorite fighters ever - Quinton "Rampage" Jackson.

What's your thoughts guys?

 

[RenegadeMMA]

Not too many ppl could fuck with Prime Page. So Page

 

[NightwingBJJ]

Not too many ppl could fuck with Prime Hendo. So Hendo

 

[burningspear]

Not too many ppl could fuck with Prime Page. So Page

Same goes for Hendo dude but having lost to Shields loses Dan points. Rampage.

 

[Reach4theSky]

If I had to pick the toughest s-o-b in MMA history, I think I'd pick Hendo.

So I'll go with Hendo.

 

[brnaftreadn]

One of the most underrated title fights of all time. Back when both fighters utilized their entire arsenal.

 

[The Natural Born Runner]

Same goes for Hendo dude but having lost to Shields loses Dan points. Rampage.

I'm talking about 205lbs, Jake Shields fight was at 185.

 

[CerebralKnievel]

That was one epic showdown... Sadly, Dan seemed to gas out in the later rounds, and I recall him spending much of them on his back. That opening minute, though, with both guys rushing forward to unload on each other, was legendarily awesome.

 

[Bend NvR Break]

TS had it right. In terms of 205 Rampage should be ranked higher but in terms of total career few people are in the same category as Hendo.

 

[The Natural Born Runner]

One of the most underrated title fights of all time. Back when both fighters utilized their entire arsenal.

I know!

Such a pity Hendo wasn't mixed in with Chuck, Tito etc. We could have had a great pool of constant 205 super-fights.

Henderson threw up armbars in this fight! ARMBARS! He even tried KIMURAS! HENDO WITH KIMURAS!

Also, he threw a Chris Weidman style spinning back kick to the head lol. Missed by a mile but it was cool to see lol.

Takedowns from both men, what a war, what a fight!

 

[The Natural Born Runner]

TS had it right. In terms of 205 Rampage should be ranked higher but in terms of total career few people are in the same category as Hendo.

Thank you, sir.

I think some people are misunderstanding my post lol.

Henderson has more to cheer about, the man was elite at 2 divisions and beat Fedor at Heavyweight.

 

[Blackjack]

"Hollywood Henderson was better than Rampage because he fought at the top level longer and more consistently than Rampage. Rampage didn't have the longevity that Hollywood had and even late in his career Hollywood had some of his best victories like the one over Feedor, Rampage also had the tendency to be erratic and even bizarre such as when he went on his monster truck "rampage."

 

[RenegadeMMA]

Not too many ppl could fuck with Prime Hendo. So Hendo

Touche

 

[The Natural Born Runner]

That was one epic showdown... Sadly, Dan seemed to gas out in the later rounds, and I recall him spending much of them on his back. That opening minute, though, with both guys rushing forward to unload on each other, was legendarily awesome.

Was some great exchanges in Round 3 also.

You are totally right about this gas tank, and it's really drove home that he was already aging at this stage.

He was 37 on his UFC debut, that says a lot!

Without TRT, the likes of Henderson would never had fought and beaten the likes of Fedor, Shogun etc. in a way TRT was a great thing because you saw great fighters prolong and continue their march. It is kind of cheating though, and without it Hendo might have gone out on a whimper with losses to Rampage and Silva.

 

[The Natural Born Runner]

"Hollywood Henderson was better than Rampage because he fought at the top level longer and more consistently than Rampage. Rampage didn't have the longevity that Hollywood had and even late in his career Hollywood had some of his best victories like the one over Feedor, Rampage also had the tendency to be erratic and even bizarre such as when he went on his monster truck "rampage."

I getcha! and you're right - but I'm talking about 205lbs.

 

[NightwingBJJ]

Touche

I believe it's spelled "touché"

 

[xterm11]

Rampage said it best in the post fight when he said "Dan's face beat the hell out of my fists."

The shots they landed on each other that fight would have knocked out a ton of other fights. Two legendary chins with anvils at the end of their arms.

Great fight.

 

[The Natural Born Runner]

Why was he called "Dangerous" Dan Henderson by Bruce in the build-up lol?

Also, I really miss Randy on commentary. Completely superseded Goldberg and Rogan in terms of technical analysis.

 

[CerebralKnievel]

Why was he called "Dangerous" Dan Henderson by Bruce in the build-up lol.

Also, I really miss Randy on commentary. Completely superseded Goldberg and Rogan in terms of technical analysis.

That was his nickname. Prior to that, it was Hollywood Dan, the origins of which I didn't really understand.

 

[NightwingBJJ]

That was his nickname. Prior to that, it was Hollywood Dan, the origins of which I didn't really understand.

"Decision" Dan is my favorite Hendo nickname and I wasn't even around for his PRIDE/Decision days.