Top 5 UFC fighters who fought past their prime

Turning 44 in August, it's no surprise Dan Henderson is thinking about the next step outside MMA and realizing that his upcoming fight against Daniel Cormier this Saturday at UFC 173 might very well be his last shot at getting to a UFC title bout.

The Pride and Strikeforce title holder recently said he doesn't want to fight as long as UFC legend Randy Couture, and given how damage he took during his last fight against Mauricio "Shogun" Rua - who can blame him?

Here's hoping "Hendo" has enough self-awareness to quit while he's ahead. Here are five other UFC fighters who stayed well past their primes.

Randy Couture

While Randy Couture didn't have a disastrous string of losses to end his career in the UFC, his last fight is memorable for all the wrong reasons.

At 47, the former UFC light heavyweight and heavyweight champion stepped into the Octagon for one last time against Lyoto Machida at UFC 129 and the result was a Karate Kid style crane kick knockout that stands as one of the most impressive finishes in UFC history - and no, Couture was not Ralph Macchio.

Chuck Liddell

During his time in the UFC, Chuck Liddell became one of the promotion's most popular fighters of all-time and remains a fan favorite to this day, but "The Iceman" ran into a rough patch late in his career and dropped five of his last six fights, four of which ended by knockout or TKO.

Perhaps the worst came at UFC 115 when a bruised and battered 40-year-old Liddell was brutally finished by Rich Franklin in the closing seconds of the first round of their fight. It would be Liddell's last Octagon appearance.

Ken Shamrock

Every longtime MMA fan remembers the rivalry between Ken Shamrock and Tito Ortiz - but how many remember just how one-sided a trilogy it was?

In October 2006, a 42-year-old Shamrock faced Ortiz for the third time and was finished in just over two minutes in his last UFC appearance. He fought for four more years in other promotions with a combined record of 2-3.

He's now a bodyguard for 50 Cent. Seriously.

Mark Coleman

Following a pretty successful run in Pride from 1999 to 2006, the UFC brought back Mark Coleman who was a former heavyweight champion for the promotion in 1997.

When Coleman returned in 2009, he lost his first fight with the promotion to Mauricio "Shogun" Rua via TKO, beat Stephan Bonnar via decision and was later choked out by Randy Couture at age 45 in his last fight at UFC 109. 

And yes, Tito Ortiz did heckle him in the post-fight interview.

Dan Severn

A UFC pioneer and one of the best wrestlers to come through the promotion's ranks, Dan Severn made his last Octagon appearance at UFC 27 in September 2000 at age 42 - but "The Beast" didn't call it a career there.

Severn announced his retirement from MMA in January 2013 with over 120 fights on his record. Even though he won the majority of fights he took when he left the UFC, punishing your body that way at 53 might be a bit of a stretch.