Is UFC 199 the end of the line for Dan Henderson?

INGLEWOOD, Calif. – When Dan Henderson broke into the sport of mixed martial arts, the former Olympic wrestler thought it was just a way to earn a payday while he figured out his next step in life.

“When I first started, I thought I was going to fight for maybe a year, and then go on to do something else,” said Henderson at Thursday’s UFC 199 media day.

That was in 1997, when the Los Angeles Lakers and Kings still called The Forum home. Nearly two decades later, Henderson is one of the most decorated fighters in MMA history – and the Southern California native is still trying to figure out that next step.

The surefire future UFC Hall of Famer, who turns 46 on Aug. 24, meets hard-hitting Hector Lombard on the main card of UFC 199 at The Forum in a middleweight bout that happens to be the last on his UFC contract.

Whether the matchup with Lombard will be the final one of a distinguished career remains to be seen.

“This could actually be the last fight,” Henderson said. “I have no timetable in mind. I could fight another 2-3 years, but, I don’t think I want to fight for that long.”

Henderson is not being coy in laying out potential future scenarios. He has dropped three out of his past four fights, but in this particular moment in MMA history, there are more viable options than usual for a fighter just a few years shy of AARP eligibility.

“When I start negotiating, I’ll see what my options are, whether that includes fighting,” Henderson said. “Either way I need a paycheck and I still want to be involved in the sport. I’m still capable of fighting but I’m almost at that point where I’m ready to, I could be persuaded to retire."

If Henderson looks good against Lombard and wins in impressive fashion, that would put him at 2-1 in his last three fights and potentially earn him another contract with the UFC. If he loses, the calls for him to retire will increase. But Henderson fits the veteran mold that Bellator has proven it’ll pay good money for, as a popular headliner.

Or Henderson could go the route of several other retired UFC fighters – from Chuck Liddell to Matt Hughes to Forrest Griffin – and get a job as a sort of goodwill ambassador for the sport.

The latter option, in particular, seems to be one Henderson would gravitate toward.

“I’ll focus on the UFC right away and see what they have to offer,” Henderson said. “I know other organizations would like to have me, but I’d like to finish my career in the UFC and represent the sport and the UFC beyond fighting, the way some others have.”

In the meantime, as Henderson (31-14) gets set for his 46th career fight, he says he still gets enthused for fight night. As a student of the game, he never tires of studying new opponents and figuring out ways to tackle their unique challenges.

“It's a new opponent every time,” Henderson said. ”New styles, new challenges, that kind of keeps it exciting, it doesn’t become redundant. I think that’s helped. Mentally I’m still excited to get in there. Practice isn’t always so exciting to go to, but it was like that when I was younger too.”

In Lombard, Henderson will face another veteran who has fought all over the world. The 38-year-old Lombard is a former Bellator middleweight champion who’s had his ups and downs in the UFC over the past four years, but usually competes in exciting fights. He’s coming back up to 185 pounds after a stint at welterweight.

As Henderson sees it, the bout should make a more exciting spectacle than his previously scheduled fight with Lyoto Machida in April. That fight got scrapped after Machida self-reported a potential banned substance violation to USADA.

“I think this fight is much more exciting for the fans than the Lyoto fight was,” Henderson said. “[Lombard] comes hard, he throws hard, and he fights hard and so do I.”

Maybe this will be the last time we see Henderson compete. Maybe not. Either way, after a career in which he became the only simultaneous two-weight-class world champion with the PRIDE organization, whenever Henderson decides to ride off into the sunset, he’ll do so with few regrets.

“I’m very satisfied with what I’ve done,” Henderson said. “Obviously I fell short of one goal in the sport [a UFC title], but I definitely feel good about what I’ve done and I'm not going to wake up in the middle of the night worrying about what I haven’t done. I have no regrets, I’m happy to have been a part of the growth of this sport.”