Dan Henderson's MMA Debut: Video

We’ve all come to love Dan “Hendo” Henderson (29-8).

Be it the numerous monikers he’s adorned over the years, the outlandish competition he’s consistently faced, or the almighty “H Bomb”, the man has become quite the endearing figure amongst MMA fans.

Longtime MMA fanatics likely followed in the days prior to Pride Fighting Championships, and I’d wager that most have seen his epic battles with Kazuo Misaki, Wanderlei Silva, Yuki Kondo, Murilo Bustamante and both Nogueira brothers.

Hell, some of you may have even caught his early appearances in the UFC, where he encountered his true tests as a professional fighter; particularly the war against Carlos Newton.

Nowadays Hendo is blasting his way through Strikeforce, toppling quality opposition and now holding the light heavyweight belt.  It’s not exactly unlikely that Henderson will be headed back to the UFC soon. It is, in all honesty, where the man belongs.

One fight I can bet most have not seen is Dan’s professional debut against Crezio de Souza at the Brazil Open ’97.

Hendo TKO's Crezio de Souza

The bout looked more like a schoolyard pummeling than a professional bout. But in all honesty, Dan has a knack for turning a professional collision into a hideous train wreck. You can go back and check out his bouts with Ryo Chonan, Wanderlei Silva and Rafael Cavalcante for proof of that.

Dan looked like an uncontrollable monster (with hair), and handled himself wonderfully (especially for a professional debut!).

If you have your doubts, check out this video. It’s more a glorified highlight of the bout, but it’s an extremely rare look at the debut of one of the sports’ greatest active legends.