Dan Henderson to Strikeforce?

[jmt225]

That's the rumor as of now.

Get ready, Gegard.

Former dual Pride FC middleweight and welterweight champion, Dan Henderson, could be headed to Strikeforce after he could not come to agreeable terms on a contract extension with the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), according to Yahoo!Sports.com.

UFC President Dana White had this to say on the stalemate:

“We have a good relationship with Henderson, and there are no hard feelings. He had a figure he believed he was worth, and we had our own figure, and we weren’t able to get together.”

The report indicates that Strikeforce officials could not be reached for comment. In addition, it’s unclear how soon Henderson would be able to compete for another organization — UFC often has the the right to match contract offers in a free agent situation.

Regardless, this is certainly quite a turn of events. Especially since Henderson has mentioned numerous times recently that his goal is to remain a UFC fighter.

However, the former number one middleweight contender seemed adamant that in addition to more money, he also wanted another opportunity to challenge reigning division champion, Anderson Silva.

The latter didn’t seem like a potential deal breaker after White all but assured Henderson would rematch Silva after his sensational knockout of Michael Bisping at UFC 100.

However, the was before Silva’s manager, Ed Soares, made the case that Henderson should take on Nate Marquardt first to determine a clear-cut contender. In addition, Vitor Belfort — who lost to Hendo at PRIDE 32 back in Oct. 2006 — was not on the roster.

Now with Belfort in the fold he’s in talks take on Silva at UFC 108, which perhaps was a big blow to Henderson’s bargaining power at the negotiating table.

More on this breaking news as it develops.

Kind of shocking, if you ask me; for 2 reasons really. The first obviously being that Dan Henderson could possibly br eaving the UFC and heading to right now it's toughest competition, Strikeforce. But also... Dana actually sounded classy and professional in his statement. That's a first, but at the same time... let's see what he has to say around the time Hendo's fight comes up, if he does indeed sign with Strikeforce.

Anyway, other than a fight with Gegard Mousasi, I don't see anything for Hendo to do outside of the UFC. I mean, there's King Mo, but I think he's a hack, personally. And of course there's Babalu, but he has to rebound from his previous loss, first. And that's it. The Light Heavyweight outside of the UFC is very, very limited. Of course, he could cut down to 185 and go after guys like Mayhem, Shields, Diaz, etc., but I just don't see that happening. There's also the possibility of him moving up to Heavyweight as well, but again.... that seems very unlikely to me. But hey... whether it's a weak division or not, if Hendo can dominate the LHW Division in Strikeforce, then more power to him (though I don't think he can beat Mousasi).

So, thoughts? What do you want to see from Hendo in Strikeforce? If you want him to work it out with the UFC, then feel free to express those feelings as well.

 

[Fizzy]

Let me start by saying I love Hendo. Hes a great fighter and all, but hes being a little bitch. Now I don't know how much he is asking for, but it must be a fucking lot and I don't think he deserves it. He should accept what UFC is offering. He wants to be Silva's next opponent when honestly he does not deserve it. He got knocked out in the second round, and even though he put up a fight in the first round he still got his ass kicked. Dana told Hendo he would fight Silva again. That should be enough for him. He thinks he is the number 1 contender for Silva but doesn't want to fight for the spot. If I remember when Tito was dodging Chuck, Chuck fought like 3-4 fights while still having the number 1 contender spot. If Hendo is the true number 1 contender he should be able to beat everyone else.

A concern I allso have is can Strikeforce afford Hendo, and if they can why pay him all of that money? He is far from the best LHW in the world so it'd be stupid to pay him all that. All in all I hope Hendo gets a contract somewhere, but hes being stupid right now.

 

[Turd Ferguson]

This is all just negotiation on Dana's part. By announcing that he's not going to get into a bidding war, Hendo's at a weaker position to get a lot of money from Strikeforce. An article on BloodyElbow stated that Hendo's reps were quick to deny that they absolutely aren't negotiating with Strikeforce. There isn't much for Hendo to do in Strikeforce.

I think both sides will eventually work something out. Hendo is too classy to pull a Tito, and Dana respects Hendo too much to drag his name through the mud. Hendo knows this is his last contract because he's getting up there in age, and he wants a guaranteed title shot that Anderson Silva doesn't think he deserves.

Both sides will compromise and get a figure done. Henderson and Marquardt will probably have a fight to decide the #1 contender for the Middleweight Title once he does sign.

 

[thewrestlinghero]

If this is true which it is I guess. I hope we can get Fedor/Dan Henderson and this is a good pickup by Strikeforce.

 

[INDYjon22]

This is a huge shock to me and a kind of a big deal for the ufc since he was pretty much the number one middleweight behind Anderson Silva. If he does go to strikefore, like many have said before me, that would be big. The competition is limited but I would love to see Hendo vs. Babalu and Mousasi or even agains Shields or Diaz. Those would be guarenteed money bouts right there. But more importantly I really believe if he goes to strikeforce his first or second fight would be against Fedor. Hendo is a competitor and wants for the world to know hes the best and what better way to do that but to deafeat THE very best fighter in Fedor. I kind of am hoping this happens even if its for only like 2 or 3 fights and then he comes home to the ufc.

 

[jmt225]

Let me start by saying I love Hendo. Hes a great fighter and all, but hes being a little bitch. Now I don't know how much he is asking for, but it must be a fucking lot and I don't think he deserves it.

I don't think you can blame him though, man. He's about to turn 40-years-old and is on the hottest streak he's ever been on (2 title defenses, winning 3 straight, and coaching TUF); he knows that he needs to strike while the iron is hot, and if the UFC isn't offering what he wants, but he believes he could get that amount someplace else (ie Strikeforce), then I certainly don't blame him for playing hard ball here with the UFC. I think anyone would do the same thing in his position.

 

[Fizzy]

I don't think you can blame him though, man. He's about to turn 40-years-old and is on the hottest streak he's ever been on (2 title defenses, winning 3 straight, and coaching TUF); he knows that he needs to strike while the iron is hot, and if the UFC isn't offering what he wants, but he believes he could get that amount someplace else (ie Strikeforce), then I certainly don't blame him for playing hard ball here with the UFC. I think anyone would do the same thing in his position.

Right I agree but does he really deserve all the money he is asking for? His biggest win was against Bispieng or however the fuck you spell it, and he finally hit him with the overhand right after about 15 tries. He is getting another shot at Silva. Dana said so. So settle for something man. If he beat Silva than give him the money he wants. Right now though he still needs to prove he is the number one contender in my opinion.

 

[jmt225]

Right I agree but does he really deserve all the money he is asking for? His biggest win was against Bispieng or however the fuck you spell it, and he finally hit him with the overhand right after about 15 tries.

Well, that's a little unfair, in my opinion. While that's definitely his biggest win in the UFC, the biggest win in his career was definitely against Wanderlei Silva for the Pride Middleweight Championship. And he had some other very impressive wins in Pride as well. The man has paid his dues for years and years, and has proven himself to be in the top tier Middleweight/Light Heavyweight fighters in the World.

His problem though is that he's not flashly enough for the US audience. He's soft spoken, and really, really laid back. Because of this, he'll never be a top draw.

However, I still think he deserves whatever he's asking for. I mean, unless it's a RIDICULOUS amount of GUARANTEED money he wants, then okay... but there's just a part of me that thinks he's not asking for anything that outlandish.

He is getting another shot at Silva. Dana said so. So settle for something man. If he beat Silva than give him the money he wants. Right now though he still needs to prove he is the number one contender in my opinion.

Well, he would have to beat Nate Marquardt to get to Anderson Silva, but I definitely see where you're getting at here. Makes sense, but at the same time... you can't blame Hendo for doubting himself to ever be able to defeat Anderson Silva, so it would be hard to risk getting what you want, when you're against the very best fighter in the World, especially when said fighter might not ever fight you again, to be begin with. Anderson Silva has shown zero to little interest in fighting Hendo, and that might have Hendo apprehensive about that plan as well.

 

[Fizzy]

Well, that's a little unfair, in my opinion. While that's definitely his biggest win in the UFC, the biggest win in his career was definitely against Wanderlei Silva for the Pride Middleweight Championship. And he had some other very impressive wins in Pride as well. The man has paid his dues for years and years, and has proven himself to be in the top tier Middleweight/Light Heavyweight fighters in the World.

I meant it's his biggest recent win, and the biggest win in the UFC.

While he would have to beat Nate Marquardt to get to Anderson Silva, but I definitely see where you're getting at here. Makes sense, but at the same time... you can't blame Hendo for doubting himself to ever be able to defeat Anderson Silva, so it would be hard to risk getting what you want, when you're against the very best fighter in the World, especially when said fighter might not ever fight you again, to be begin with. Anderson Silva has shown zero to little interest in fighting Hendo, and that might have Hendo apprehensive about that plan as well.

That's what i'm saying. He has to prove he is the the undisputed number one contender, and that involves beating Marquardt. I can also see why Silva doesn't want to fight him again. He did beat his ass the first time.

 

[Turd Ferguson]

http://mmajunkie.com/news/16585/dan...be-by-far-the-highest-paid-guy-in-the-ufc.mma

Now it's coming out that Hendo wanted to be the highest paid guy in the UFC. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE Hendo, but he's nowhere close to be worth that much, even if he was the Middleweight Champion. I'm pretty sure Lesnar is the highest paid fighter to begin with, and he makes a $400K base for each fight. Hendo went 3-2 in this go-around with the UFC. He lost two title fights, beat Rousimar Palhares and Rich Franklin by decision, and of course had the brutal KO of Bisping. The thing is though, even the decision victories were for the most part pretty lackluster. He should have KO'ed Palhares and the Franklin fight wasn't one that the fans really seemed to enjoy. So, he had the brutal KO of Bisping, which doesn't justify being the highest paid in the UFC, when he's not even close to being the biggest draw in the company.