Dan Henderson frustrated at scorecards vs. Bisping, but reiterates UFC 204 was last fight

MANCHESTER, England – Dan Henderson sat down at the news conference for Saturday’s UFC 204 with red eyes, the result of an emotional backstage interview just moments after a decision loss to UFC middleweight champ Michael Bisping.

It was a difficult moment, but Henderson put on a brave face after ending his storied career on a disappointing note.

Bisping (30-7 MMA, 20-7 UFC) avenged a knockout loss to Henderson (32-15 MMA, 9-9 UFC) from more than seven years ago, earning unanimous scores to defend his title for the first time in the pay-per-view headliner at Manchester Arena in Manchester, England.

Despite the outcome, Henderson, the No. 14 fighter in the USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie MMA middleweight rankings, said he’ll live with the result and won’t continue his fighting career.

“It will have to be an ‘L’ on my record, but I left it all in there,” he told MMAjunkie. “But I felt like I did everything I needed to do to win that fight, and unfortunately, everybody didn’t see it that way.”

Henderson won the fight’s first two rounds and Bisping won the final three on two judges’ scorecards, while one gave Bisping every round but the first. None of the three judges gave Henderson a 10-8 score in the opening frame despite a near finish of the champ, which would have made the fight a draw at least on two scorecards.

Henderson later relayed a brief conversation with UFC President Dana White, who expressed surprise at the first-round scores.

“The first round, I almost finished him,” Henderson said. “I thought that was obviously a 10-8 round, but you never know. I thought I won the first two rounds, and he won the third and fourth, and I wanted to make sure I went out and won the fifth, and I felt like I did that.

“Honestly, I didn’t feel hurt once in the whole fight, with the exception of one leg kick that hurt my thigh a little bit.”

Contrast that, Henderson said, with Bisping’s face, which was badly swollen and bloody. The British champ didn’t appear at the post-fight news conference, having been transported to a local hospital for an evaluation.

Henderson wasn’t sure how his loss would affect him as he enters retirement. There will plenty of days for him to reflect on the outcome, he said, as he restarts his usual job of being the driver for his four children.

“I feel like you have to ask me that in a few days,” he said. “But I felt like before this fight, I accomplished enough in the sport, and was satisfied with that. But obviously, there was one more thing I wanted to do, and really worked my ass off in training camp, and thought I was ready to get it done.

“I’m a little frustrated, feeling I did get it done and didn’t get credit for it, I guess. But it is what it is now, and there’s no changing that, I don’t think. I’ve just got to live with it.”

Henderson now plans to hit up White for a post-fight job with the UFC, one he’s long coveted as a retirement plan.

Looking back at his career, the former two-division PRIDE champ and Strikeforce champ, pointed to a few high points. UFC 204 is not one of them.

But like he said, it is what it is.

For complete coverage UFC 204, check out the UFC Events section of the site.