Dan Henderson is not only the modern day equivalent to the Running Man, he’s also as tough as any human being on the face of earth. This man can take a trouncing like no other, and often manages to rebound and snag impressive victories. Given his low-key demeanor, and I’d-share-a-beer-with-you-anytime attitude, Dan has painted himself as one of the coolest men competing in mixed martial arts today.

Dan Henderson’s Career

Who are the best 10 submission fighters?  Here is our list of the MMA fighters who are at the top of the game when it comes to ending a fight with a submission.

This is a topic that’s been up for debate since Tito Ortiz was mowing through UFC competition circa 2000. During his MMA reign as champion, Ortiz defended his title five times, dismantling challengers, Yuki Kondo, Evan Tanner, Elvis Sinosic, Vladimir Matyushenko and Ken Shamrock. The run leaves Ortiz in the history books as the 205 pound champion with the most consecutive successful defenses of the title, but one must weigh the level of competition and capabilities of your typical “a level” fighter in 2000. It’s not exactly a stretch to say that the game has evolved in a tremendous way, and fighters today are decisively more refined in their attack and overall fight IQ. However, I’m not aiming to discredit Ortiz’ run as champ either: he faced those assigned to challenge, and he did a fine job of disposing each one, until he ran into Randy Couture.

Couture in contrast was unquestionably one of the finest champions to compete in this sport. The man won multiple titles stretching multiple divisions. Throughout his career he projected a classy persona that led legions of fans to dedicate their time to following “The Natural”; few ever faltered in their fanaticism. While Couture will go down in the history books, it won’t be due to remarkable stretches as champion, it will come as a result of the odds he defied, the upbeat attitude always proffered, and his otherworldly game planning inside the cage.

B.J. Penn and Nick Diaz met in a thrilling affair to topline UFC 137. The action was fast-paced and wildly violent. For fans, it was a monumental collision, as both Penn and Diaz are known for their unbridled aggression, remarkable durability and tendencies to speak long before thinking. Neither of these two are afraid to insult another and neither man would ever contemplate walking away from an altercation. The fact that both individuals have taken part in memorable rivalries that in some cases stretched far beyond the octagon isn’t much of a surprise either. However, the aftershock of one of 2011’s finest welterweight bouts has left MMA pundits a tad perplexed.

For those who missed the fight, Nick Diaz managed to escape a rocky first round to turn things around and batter Penn for the better portion of the following two frames. In the end, the judges awarded the unanimous decision victory to Diaz, who clearly outworked the rugged Hawaiian as the fight progressed. Emotions ran high following the bout, but accounts indicated that both Penn and Diaz exchanged mutual respect backstage after the fight had taken place (there’s even an image floating about of the two posing together, black and blue, seemingly on good terms).

Nate Diaz is one of very few fighters who have successfully honed their craft while competing on the largest stage possible. Refining one’s skills is a daunting task on local circuits, to be forced to learn on the job while tangling with the world’s elite crop of fighters is a borderline crime, but it certainly serves to separate the men from the boys, and in few cases, produces truly spectacular competitors. Nate Diaz is a young man who fits the spectacular bill however, it hasn’t been an easy road to maturation, as I’m certain Nate himself would testify.

Ultimate Fighter 5th Season

Is Alistair Overeem The Future of The Heavyweight Division?

There was once a time in which Alistair Overeem was considered little more than a fringe contender flailing about, fighting to survive in a pool of 205 pound sharks. Those days are now half a decade and forty plus pounds distanced, as Overeem has firmly cemented himself as a top heavyweight contender in MMA’s contemporary landscape.

Worthy Foes

2011 was unquestionably one of the greatest years in the short existence of mixed martial arts. The UFC has continued to grow and expand, Bellator has begun to find a stable foothold and produce stars, and Strikeforce will continue to air on Showtime, handled as a completely separate entity from the UFC, despite the fact that Zuffa now owns the promotion. Although the Japanese scene continues to struggle, MMA has caught like wildfire in the United States, and only promises to reach more households worldwide as time unfolds, which could certainly see a turn-around for promotions based in Japan.

The Strikeforce/UFC’s Continual Merger: Dana White has made it abundantly clear that Strikeforce isn’t going anywhere. However, White and the UFC have been importing some of their sister promotion’s finer talents, like Alistair Overeem, Nick Diaz and Fabricio Werdum, to name just a few. With the influx of new talent in the UFC, the depth of each division slowly swells, making for some intriguing scenarios and a pool of potential match ups that we would not be privy to if not for Zuffa’s purchase of Strikeforce. Gone are the days of champions “cleaning out the division”, there’s now plenty of new talent to factor into the equation, and it’s going to make for some truly fascinating matches come 2012.

In a sport known for its excessive violence and countless alpha male personalities, it’s nice to discover a fighter who possesses a genuinely kind heart and endearing attitude away from the cage. It’s not the most common of occurrences, but it does happen every now and then, and one need only look to heavyweight champion Junior dos Santos for proof.

This year fans got the chance to see plenty of dos Santos’s personality shine through, as he coached the thirteenth season of “The Ultimate Fighter”, opposite former heavyweight champion, Brock Lesnar. During the shows airing dos Santos proved himself a caring coach with a big heart and an understanding of the fighter’s mindset. He also showcased a great sense of humor (at one point Ramsey Nijem even dry humped dos Santos while engaging in some friendly banter, to which dos Santos simply pushed Nijem off, all the while laughing heartily) and a desire to connect with the shows contestants. In regards to pure personality, JDS is the most approachable and likeable man to ever coach on the popular reality show.

Like our “Submission of the Year” piece, there were numerous knockout finishes in 2011 to illuminate, and picking a decisive winner of this little title, is no easy task. There were flashy finishes, unforeseen finishes, and a few outrageously brutal finishes.

Bellator played host to a number of spectacular knockouts this year, including Alexis Vila’s one punch leveling of promotional ace, Joe Warren, Pat Curran’s perfectly placed right high kick finish of Marlon Sandro and Patricky Freire’s well-timed flying knee that left Toby Imada in another dimension. It was a stellar year for the promotion, as I’m just skimming the surface of Bellator knockouts.

As is the case with just about any full contact sport in existence, the competing favorite is likely to emerge victorious over opposition a good eight of ten times. Even in a sport as erratic as mixed martial arts, the odds makers tend to do their homework, and usually make the right picks. However, when the cycle is broken by the resilient underdog, it’s an amazing sensation, and it echoes in the memory.

In the last 18 years many a favorite has fallen at the hands of the unsuspecting challenger; the man ushered into the cage to become little more than another tally in the favored participants win column. Sometimes upsets are squeezed out on the score cards, sometimes they arrive in fast, dramatic fashion, and now and then an unforeseen variable alters the outcome of a fight. When it comes to the truly memorable upsets, there are a few that just cannot be forgotten.