MMA are arguably the toughest athletes on the planet. In a sport where the money hasn't come near to scraping the pay of boxers or footballers, why do they continue to fight? The answer is simple; they love competing and for most of them it is all they know. Continuing beyond your prime in a sport like basketball or soccer doesn't come with many adverse affects besides you not performing at your best, but it's a different story in combat sports. The price you pay is your health and the quality of your life. But such is the irresistible draw of competing that even when you're past your athletic prime and others can see it, it's possible for the fighter to miss the revelation. After years of steeling themselves for battle and building their arrogance, they are always, inevitably, the last to doubt themselves. Unfortunately, there are some on the UFC currently who need to realise that their best days are behind them and hang up their gloves for good...
5. Dan Henderson
A true pioneer of MMA, the American has fought all over the world, making his debut all the way back in 1997. Henderson has really fought a who's who list of legends over the course of his career and it's safe to say that it is becoming more visible with every fight. Many would have Henderson in their Top 10 Fighters Of All Time list and it would be hard to disagree. At one point he was a very one dimensional wrestler with little other tools in his game, but he has subsequently developed thunderous power in his hands; particularly his overhand right which was coined "The H-Bomb". The last man to hold both the 183 (welterweight) and 205-pound (middleweight) belts for the Pride Fighting Championships, Dan is the only athlete in mixed martial arts history to simultaneously possess titles in multiple weight divisions for a major organization. After winning the Pride welterweight championship in 2005, he made mixed martial arts history on February 24, 2007 when he knocked out Wanderlei Silva to claim the Pride middleweight crown. Henderson's most impressive win was his shock knockout victory over the legendary Fedor Emelianenko in 2011. Since returning to the UFC after that fight he has gone 3-6 in the UFC and is clearly slowing down, but as the saying goes "power is the last thing to leave" and Henderson definitely does still possess one punch knockout power. Having already cemented his legacy as one of the best of all time, it would be apt for Henderson to make one last charge for the Middleweight crown and retire after his next loss. Or even better if he can somehow capture the UFC Middleweight crown for the first time in his iconic career.
