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Sherdog has a recap of Dan Henderson's latest round of contract negotiations with the UFC and there appears to be a great deal of distance between Zuffa and Henderson. Let's just hope this doesn't turn into Michael Crabtree and the 49er's.

The two parties are trying to work out a new five-fight deal however there is an impasse over pay. The thirty-nine year old Henderson was presented with a new contract when he initially agreed to fight Rich Franklin at UFC 103 but then turned the contract down due to the attached dollar value being too low.

Now Dan Hederson is a free agent as his last fight under his old UFC contract occurred at UFC 100 against Michael Bisping. Henderson won that bout with a highlight reel knockout and appeared to be poised to fight for the middleweight title against current champion Anderson Silva. Anderson Silva voiced his displeasure about the possibility of fighting Henderson for a second time and demanded that Dan fight Nate Marquardt who just knocked out Demian Maia at UFC 102.

Many in the MMA community believed that Henderson turned down this fight but Dan told Loretta Hunt that is not the case,

"I never turned Marquardt down," said Henderson. "I basically made a statement saying that Marquardt and Anderson Silva are my next two fights regardless and I've got to beat them both to either become or stay the champ. I'm O.K. with fighting (Marquardt); we just have to come up with a deal."

Several days ago it was reported that Vitor Belfort, who just defeated Rich Franklin at UFC 103, was being positioned to fight Anderson Silva in January.

Henderson appears to be less than thrilled with the idea,

"Yeah, I'm not real thrilled about that," said Henderson of the plans. "And I like Vitor. He's a good guy and he's been around for a long time, but I just don't understand why he gets to jump to the front of the line, especially when I beat him."

Henderson said he brought up his 2006 unanimous decision victory over Belfort at Pride 32 in Las Vegas at last week's meeting, but he was met with puzzled faces.

"I think it's something that might have slipped their minds, that (that fight) happened," said Henderson. "I'm not exactly sure. You'll have to ask them on that, but to me, that's what it seemed like."

The fact that Henderson owns a victory over Belfort certainly strengthens his negotiating position.

Dan Henderson is 3-2 since rejoining the UFC. When Henderson rejoined the UFC he held both the Pride light heavyweight and middleweight belts. Dan's first two fights in the UFC were title unification matches against Anderson Silva and Quinton "Rampage" Jackson and Henderson lost both bouts. Since then Dan is on a three fight win streak.

While Dan may be a free agent he is not fielding offers from rival promotions and is talking exclusively with the UFC. As of this moment it appears that Henderson will wait for the UFC to increase their offer.