For all the hoopla surrounding Conor McGregor's quest to hold two UFC championships simultaneously next month, it's worth noting what Dan Henderson did nearly 10 years ago.
In February 2007, Henderson won the Pride Fighting Championship's 205-pound middleweight title by knocking out feared striker Wanderlei Silva. The win turned Henderson into a two-division champ, as he was already Pride's welterweight champion.
To this day, Henderson, 46, remains the only man to simultaneously hold two titles for a major mixed martial arts promotion. It's a feat he might have duplicated in Strikeforce had he not lost to Jake Shields in their 2010 middleweight title bout before going on to win the promotion's 205-pound title the next year by stopping Rafael Cavalcante.
The one title that has managed to elude Henderson during his almost 20-year career is the UFC championship. If you believe in destiny, it's hard to determine whether winning a UFC title was ever in the cards for Henderson. Fate has sent mixed signals on the subject.
At UFC 204 on Saturday in Manchester, England, Henderson (32-14) will get one last shot when he challenges old rival in Michael Bisping for the 185-pound title in a rematch of their 2009 bout won by Henderson.
Henderson has repeatedly stated this will mark the final fight of his storied career. He was actually ready to walk away after his last bout, an upset win over Hector Lombard in June, but agreed to a new deal with the UFC after he was offered a title shot.
"I'm absolutely 100 percent sure this will be my last fight," Henderson said. "I don't really have too many emotions about it. I don't think about it too much. I've just been focusing on what I have to do in the fight.
"I think I'm content with whatever happens. Obviously, the only outcome in my head is that I'm going to win -- but I'm ready for it to be over. I'm kind of looking forward to the different chapter I'm going to start after this fight."
Henderson has appeared destined to win a UFC title in the past but came up empty in two prior chances.
When the UFC folded the Pride roster into its ranks in 2007, Henderson received back-to-back title unification bouts at light heavyweight and middleweight. He suffered a five-round decision loss to Quinton "Rampage" Jackson at UFC 75 in September 2007 and was then submitted by Anderson Silva at UFC 82 in March 2008. Henderson says he has never been one to dwell on losses, but he admits those two stick out more than others.
"The 'Rampage' fight was my first back from fighting in the Pride ring," Henderson said. "I remember kind of tripping on the cage a couple times and it looking bad. I thought I had done enough to win, and I remember wishing we would have fought under Pride judging [where a contest is judged as a whole] because I felt I did more damage overall in the fight.
"With Anderson Silva, I just had a bad night. I was flat. I didn't have the best weight cut, and it showed. I had a good first round but then just felt zapped. I felt OK but not my best -- and against someone like Anderson, you have to be your best."
Henderson rebounded and won three straight fights, including a highlight-reel knockout of Bisping at UFC 100, and appeared to be closing in on another chance at UFC gold. But the win didn't lead directly to a title shot. Instead, Henderson went on to leave the UFC shortly thereafter and sign with Strikeforce.
"I think I'm content with whatever happens. Obviously, the only outcome in my head is that I'm going to win -- but I'm ready for it to be over. I'm kind of looking forward to the different chapter I'm going to start after this fight." Dan Henderson, 46, on UFC 204 rematch against Michael Bisping
It's ironic that the win over Bisping led to a title shot more than seven years later. Bisping, 37, has long taken issue with a second punch Henderson landed after the right hand knocked him out, as well as Henderson's approved use of testosterone before the fight. After all, Henderson would have never received this weekend's opportunity without that history.
"I want to beat this guy," Bisping said. "Of course, he knocked me out. It was good. But Dan Henderson couldn't beat Anderson Silva. Dan Henderson couldn't win a UFC title. Dan Henderson is famous for one thing -- that's knocking me out at UFC 100. I made your career, Dan. And after UFC 204, that will be eradicated."
In a way, fate seems to be back on Henderson's side. Twice he has been a champion of another promotion that was bought and ultimately folded into the UFC. And although he was on the end of terrible luck in 2012, when he had to withdraw from a scheduled title fight against Jon Jones at UFC 151 due to injury, it now seems karma is paying him back with this opportunity.
The UFC 204 pay-per-view takes place in the United Kingdom, in a city Bisping refers to as home. Tickets sold out within minutes, according to UFC officials.
History has shown that fighters have a hard time retiring off a win, but if Henderson seizes a UFC title on Saturday, it's hard to envision a more perfect way to end his career.
"I'm thankful things have worked out the way they did," Henderson said. "The UFC bought Strikeforce and me along with it, I guess. That happened twice in my career. I'm perfectly happy with where things have turned out."