Well, I think it can be safely said that with Dan Henderson‘s TKO of Fedor Emelianenko at Strikeforce‘s most recent event, a couple of things may have been proven:
- Henderson still has some mileage left on his “tires.”
- Emelianenko, by losing his third straight bout, should seriously consider retirement.
As a result of Henderson’s accomplishment this past Saturday, Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker has already went on record as saying that he wants to re-up the light-heavyweight to a new deal.
As admirable as that may be, there may be a bit of a problem with that happening.
Firstly, Henderson’s contract with Strikeforce ended right after the victory on Saturday night. The win over Emelianenko, I would imagine, probably got the attention of the UFC.
Secondly, his third straight win has put Henderson’s stock at a level not seen since his days over at PRIDE. And that boost could put him in a position to once again become a part of the UFC light-heavyweight roster.
Henderson’s most recent run in the UFC probably could be best described as an “up and down” experience.
His first two fights with the promotion found Hendo at the short end of the stick as he lost to Quinton Jackson in an unanimous decision at UFC 75, then got submitted by Anderson Silva at UFC 82.
But he would recover from that pair of consecutive losses by defeating Rousimar Palhares and Rich Franklin at UFC 88 and 93, respectively and then knocking out Michael Bisping during UFC 100 in July 2009.
Subsequently, the UFC released Henderson as he sported a 3-2 record.
The next stop for Henderson was Strikeforce.
As of this writing, he is 3-1 with the organization; his first fight was a loss to Jake Shields at Strikeforce: Nashville in April, but would reel off three straight wins, capped by his TKO of Emelianenko at Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Henderson last Saturday.
Currently the top dog in the 205-lb division, it is entirely possible that the UFC may re-sign Henderson.
Assuming that Dana White and Henderson sign on the dotted line, there is the possibility that a unification bout could take, with Henderson taking on the winner of the Jon Jones-Quinton Jackson bout at UFC 135 in September.
Of course, all of this is speculation on my part, but the UFC signing Henderson to a contract would allow a veteran presence to the light-heavyweight division, not to mention that his 23-8 record is one of the better win-loss records in that weight class.
If Dana White and the suits at the UFC can allow Tito Ortiz to remain with the organization despite his four losses in his last six bouts, then there’s no reason they cannot re-up Henderson.
One thing is for certain, in my humble opinion: Dan Henderson can still put on a quality show for three rounds (or five if a title bout takes place down the road).
During his career, he is one of the very few MMA fighters who can claim to have never been knocked out during his career. So any bout he would be involved in will be entertaining, at the very least.
A unification bout would be intriguing as Jones would be the up-and-coming star in the light-heavyweight division while Jackson is the “established” fighter in the same weight class.
But none of this means a thing if the UFC doesn’t re-sign Henderson. He doesn’t really belong in Strikeforce, and I couldn’t imagine Henderson fighting for some lesser independent MMA promotion.
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