Twitter Mailbag: Will Dan Henderson really walk away after UFC 204? Like, really?

Can you really picturing an aging MMA legend winning a UFC title and then giving right back? And is the guy he’s trying to take it from perhaps feeling a too good about his own chances?

Plus, if you have to pull out injured from your upcoming fight, and if this sounds like good news to the people who didn’t want to see you keep fighting anyway, what should that tell you?

And that and more in this week’s Twitter Mailbag. To ask a question of your own, tweet it to @BenFowlkesMMA.

As of right now, I believe that he believes it. I think Dan Henderson really sees himself beating Michael Bisping for the UFC middleweight title, doing his final bow in the spotlight, then walking away a hero. And if it happens that way, it would make for an incredible end to the epic tale of Hendo the Great. But this ain’t a movie. This is real life, bro.

Any man who fights professionally well into his mid-forties either loves fighting or money (possibly both) more than he loves uninterrupted leisure time. You’re telling me that the UFC couldn’t plop down a couple bags of cash and lure him back for one more? Come on, what’s one more? You fire up that old machine one last time and your kids get to drive better cars on their way to college. Tempting, right?

I don’t think even Henderson (32-14 MMA, 9-8 UFC) can know for sure what he’d do in that situation until he’s in it. But a part of me really hopes he proves me wrong.

This is the first I’m hearing of such a curse. I assume it’s a reference to Luke Rockhold, who seemed as sure of his victory over Bisping (29-7 MMA, 19-7 UFC) as Bisping’s son did, and then got knocked out anyway.

But before him? I don’t know, seems like Anderson Silva got pretty hubris-y at several points during his title reign. Though, I guess he did get knocked out while in the act of hubris-ing against Chris Weidman. Maybe you’re onto something.

One thing Bisping has going for him is that no one has to convince him of the threat Henderson poses. He’s felt it for himself. He knows that he’s never more than one mistake away from an early morning nap in Manchester. It’s hard to get too cocky when the guy’s already knocked you out once.

If you weren’t already going to buy this pay-per-view, I fail to see how the sheer repetition of ads during other UFC events would convince you otherwise. I mean, are there really people out there who weren’t sold the first 30 times they saw the UFC 204 commercial, but number 31 finally put them over the edge? If so, I don’t think I ever want to meet them.

As for the question of fatigue, I wouldn’t blame anyone who said they felt tired of it all after sitting through a couple six-hour fight night events. But then, if you were interested in all that, you’re probably even more interested in this. It’s just a question of whether you’re interested enough to pay.

I also thought B.J. Penn’s injury withdrawal was probably for the best. Not for Ricardo Lamas, who may never again get such a good chance at getting a win over a legend. And not for the UFC Fight Night 97 lineup, which got called off after losing its main event. But for Penn (16-10-2 MMA, 12-9-2 UFC)? Maybe.

The thing about his continued efforts to keep fighting is there’s just so little to gain. There’s money, which is always nice. There’s the ability to delay the question of what he’ll do with his life after fighting, which also holds a certain appeal. But beyond that? I just don’t see anything happening to Penn inside a cage that will eclipse what he’s already achieved.

Maybe it’s because Josh Samman didn’t seem like just another fighter. He was outgoing and gregarious. He was intellectually curious and a thoughtful writer. He was one of those people who everyone seems to have a story about. He made people feel like they knew him, and he did it by being so open and honest that you couldn’t help but be drawn in. That’s why the loss stings for so many people, I suspect. It feels less like we lost a fighter and more like MMA lost one of its few really, truly good people.

I’d resist the urge to jump to such extremes, but it’s true that Conor McGregor has created a turbulent wake in his path to stardom.

On one hand, you think the UFC would be having one of its best years on pay-per-view without McGregor (20-3 MMA, 8-1 UFC)? On the other, look at how many fighters the UFC has angered by giving McGregor whatever he asks for. Look at how some have been emboldened by his example to seek profitable fights that don’t make much logical sense. Look at how others have just been emboldened to stand up for themselves.

A lot of this is directly attributable to McGregor’s rise. But that’s the conflict the UFC is always going to face. This is a star-driven sport. It needs larger-than-life personalities – and not just talented athletes – to generate sustained attention. The UFC has historically focused on putting the brand ahead of the fighters, but you can’t always do that and still get the superstar push necessary to convince millions of people to shell out for a pay-per-view.

So yes, it’s a bit of a problem for the UFC. It’s also a problem that puts millions in the bank each time it rears its head. You sure you’d even want a solution to that, if you’re the UFC?

Ben Fowlkes is MMAjunkie and USA TODAY’s MMA columnist. Follow him on Twitter at @BenFowlkesMMA. Twitter Mailbag appears every Thursday on MMAjunkie.