The Four Ages of Dan Henderson - Where/when was he at his best?

[Manila]

Stage One: 1998/2000 Rings/UFC Tournament/intro to Pride
Age: 28-30
Achievements: Won UFC 17 middleweight tournament by beating Carlos Newton, won Ring King of Kings 1999 tournament (beating Big Nog en route)
Stage-ending loss: Well beaten by ferocious Wanderlei Silva to lose his unbeaten record in his first fight in Pride

Stage Two: 2001/2006 Pride Years
Age: 31-36
Achievements: Won the Pride Welterweight Championship by beating Chonan, Gono and Bustamante
Stage-ending loss: Dropping a unanimous decision to Kazuo Misaki in the next Pride WW GP opening round

Stage Three: 2006/2010 Stardom in Pride and the UFC
Age: 36-40
Achievements: Winning the Pride MW title with a revenge KO of Wanderlei Silva, being competitive but unsuccessful in title challenges vs Anderson Silva and Rampage Jackson, legendary KO of Michael Bisping after TUF coach season
Stage-ending loss: Weight-drained and dominated by Jake Shields in Strikeforce

Stage Four: 2010/present Light-Heavyweight and Zuffa
Age: 40+
Achievements: Winning Strikeforce LHW title, knocking out the great Fedor Emelianenko, outfighting Shogun Rua in epic 1st fight back in the UFC
Stage-ending loss: None as yet, stage still in progress



My question is, at which point was Hendo the best fighter he ever was? And your reasons for this opinion?

[sugarngold]

He's at his peak right now. Look at his recent wins and opposition.

[BobDigi5060]

08-12', he went life and death with Shogun, and I don't expect him to get past a nagging knee injury and Lyoto Machida.

Hard to say now as Fedor and Shogun are more beatable than ever.

[BobDigi5060]

Even still, his greatest victory was beating Wanderlei Silva in the rematch!

[benebox]

Stage one.

[rusty nails]

i really felt he beat rampage

[iceferg]

Originally Posted by rusty nails

i really felt he beat rampage

He didn't.

[Stoo]

Beating Wandy was his best win imo. Most of his top wins have come against faded opposition though...there I said it! But given the weight discrepancy, Im not taking any credit away from Dan, the GOAT MMA fighter from the States no doubt

[the_bigunit]

Stage 3 is so crazy.

Picks up the greatest win of his career.

Loses two times in a row.

Obliterates Bisping's soul.

Outwrestled by a Welterweight.

EDIT: Well he picked up decent wins against Franklin and Palhares. Was also good against Silva and Jackson. This stage is a bit more consistent than I originally thought.

[WiDDoW_MaKeR]

Originally Posted by the_bigunit

Stage 3 is so crazy.

Picks up the greatest win of his career.

Loses two times in a row.

Obliterates Bisping's soul.

Outwrestled by a Welterweight.

EDIT: Well he picked up decent wins against Franklin and Palhares. Was also good against Silva and Jackson. This stage is a bit more consistent than I originally thought.

Also, the Shields fight can be thrown out. He absolutely manhandled Shields before becoming a corpse in the ring. He clearly had nothing for that fight. I think the start of that fight showed exactly how much better Hendo is than Shields. Jake laying on top of a spent Hendo for the rest of the fight doesn't prove anything to me, other than the obvious fact that Shields was in better shape.