Dan Henderson drops the bomb on Tim Boetsch with first-round KO

Prior to Saturday night, Dan Henderson answered a litany of questions about how much fight he had left in him at 44 years of age and after losing five his previous six fights.

Henderson answered them all with a 28-second knockout of Tim Boetsch to cap one of the wildest and most action-packed nights of fights in UFC history.

Following two consecutive defeats, Henderson walked into the Octagon as a decided underdog against Boetsch, who had bounced back and forth between wins and losses in his recent fights.

Maybe guessing that Henderson had lost a step, Boetsch came charging out of the gate and immediately started swinging with big punches aimed directly at the head of the former Olympic wrestler. 

Henderson didn't blink and instead took a step back and uncorked one of his signature right hands that blew through Boetsch's jaw and sent him wobbling to the mat. 

Boetsch bounced back to his feet for a moment, but Henderson smelled blood in the water and came after him with everything in his arsenal.

Henderson unleashed a monstrous knee that glanced off Boetsch's head, and the fight ended when the former PRIDE and Strikeforce champion saw an opening and launched an uppercut that nearly took his opponent's head off.

Boetsch fell and Henderson followed with a few more hard right hands before the referee saw enough and stopped the fight just 28 seconds into the first round.

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

Henderson was seemingly on the ropes going into the fight, but promised no matter what happened he would be back for the final two bouts on his UFC contract.

Then the future Hall of Famer proved he still can go with fighters 10 years younger like Boetsch.

"When I say I'm not done and nobody believes me and actually come out and prove that I'm not quite done yet, it feels great," Henderson said.

Henderson might be one of the most universally loved and respected fighters in the sport, and he felt the outpouring of emotion from the New Orleans crowd and the millions of UFC fans around the world on social networks like Twitter.

"I guess if I stick at it long enough, everybody will love me eventually," Henderson said with a laugh. "I respect everybody in the sport and love what the fans have helped build out there in the sport of MMA. Where it's gone from where I first started till now is unbelievable."

Henderson's victory capped an insane main card that featured all six fights end in finishes, with only the featherweight bout between Thiago Tavares and Brian Ortega making it past the first round.