Dan Henderson reverses skid, KOs Tim Boetsch in 28 seconds

Dan Henderson might be nearing the end of his legendary mixed martial arts career, but he proved Saturday in a first-round knockout of Tim Boetsch that he's not there yet.

Henderson's famous right hand connected on the button just seconds into their middleweight match Saturday in New Orleans, leading Henderson to a victory in just 28 seconds.

It snapped a two-fight losing streak and reversed a skid in which he entered having lost five of his previous six bouts. He's all but a lock for the pioneer wing of the UFC Hall of Fame and, at 44, many were questioning whether he'd reached the end of the line.

But he looked like the Hendo of old on Saturday. The aggressive Boetsch came forward, as expected, and paid a heavy price. After Henderson landed the straight right, Boetsch wobbled but remained erect. Henderson then caught him with a knee and a blistering right uppercut.

Boetch collapsed along the cage and Henderson pounced, landing several powerful hammerfirsts at the end, forcing referee "Big" John McCarthy to stop it as Boetsch was defenseless.

"I wasn't going to let him off the hook," Henderson said. "I knew I had him hurt. The fight was almost over and I just wanted to make sure it was done."

The win put Henderson back on the familiar side of the ledger and gave him his 24th win in UFC/PRIDE/Strikeforce/World Extreme Cagefighting history, the second most wins by any fighter in those organizations. He trails only former nemesis Wanderlei Silva, who had 27 wins.

Whether Henderson, who will be 45 in August will be around long enough to get the four wins he needs to become No. 1 is debatable. What is not in doubt, though, is his punching power.

Henderson's coaches were confident heading into the fight in part because Boetsch's aggressive, attacking style played into Henderson's strength. And it proved out in the early seconds of the bout.

It felt good for Henderson, who spent much of the fight's build-up fending off questions about retirement.

"It's nice to know that when I say I'm not done and nobody believes me to come out and prove I'm not done yet," he said.

It was a terrific card filled with extraordinary finishes, but at the end of the day, it was Henderson who stole the show, as he has so many times in the past.