Henderson Knows Not to Rush Fedor Even if He’s Hurt

On July 30, he meets the man considered by many to be the best heavyweight of all time: Fedor Emelianenko. The bout headlines a Strikeforce/M-1 Global card at the Sears Centre in Hoffman Estates, Ill.

Ahead of the matchup, Henderson stopped by “The Savage Dog Show” and discussed his willingness to move up in weight, the threats Fedor still poses and more.

Henderson on what he expects Fedor to weigh for the fight: “I’ve never required any catchweight. If he wants to come in at whatever weight he can or wants to, he can. He can cut weight if he wants to, but he doesn’t have to.”

On why he’s fighting a heavyweight: “I’ve never felt weak fighting bigger guys. Throughout my whole wrestling career I kind of wrestled up and down different weight classes and wrestled against bigger guys. It’s all about [being comfortable] and confidence level. It’s never been an issue for me.”

On whether he requested a bout against Fedor: “I didn’t ask for this fight. It wasn’t something that I wanted really bad. They said, ‘Hey, you want to fight him?’ I said, ‘Absolutely. No problem.’ I typically say that [for] most opponents they ask me to fight. I’ve never had a problem fighting anybody, but this one kind of made sense. I know that the fans and media have been talking about it ever since I signed with Strikeforce.”

On Fedor’s stoppage loss to Antonio Silva: “I had that fight one round each. I would have liked to have seen the doctors let it go for that third round so I could see the actual third round of that. I think Fedor would have maybe still lost. He was a little bit tired, but it would have been nice to see him try and pull it through.”

On Fedor’s ability to absorb punishment and still win: “You can’t think you’ve got him hurt and rush in and pull a Pat Barry. … Fedor’s done that a couple of times to opponents, where he’s kind of hurt or getting beat up a little bit and then knocks them out. He’s always dangerous, no matter if he’s in shape or not. It’s something whether it’s early or late in the fight, you always got to be careful against him. That’s definitely something I’ve thought about. I have to make sure I’m patient even with the finish.”

On his use of testosterone replacement therapy and whether some fighters are abusing it: “I don’t know what other fighters are doing. I know that with anything, there’s people that will abuse it. I’ve never had any issues with any athletic commissions. That’s about all I can comment on. I know that they could regulate it a lot more, but I don’t know who or how many people are doing what they’re doing. All I know is, I’m not doing anything wrong and I’ve been doing this for a long time. … I don’t know how my name got dragged into it.”

Listen to the full interview (beginning at 1:39:27).