Dan Henderson Leaves the UFC?

by Zach Krantz on Oct 16, 2009 8:08 PM EDT in Rumors Comment 4 comments

Dan Henderson

Dan Henderson’s career with the Ultimate Fighting Championship has ground to a close in a contract stalemate, and the former two-division PRIDE champion appears on the verge of signing a deal with the rival Strikeforce promotion.

...

Henderson could not be reached for comment Friday, but White confirmed he was unable to come to terms with Henderson. White did not immediately confirm whether the UFC retains the right to match contract offers under the terms of Henderson’s previous deal. Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker did not return phone calls.

White, though, said he wanted to re-sign Henderson but couldn’t agree on the money in a new deal.

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

If this turns out to be true it is a huge step for Strikeforce. By far Strikeforce gains more than the UFC loses. The UFC has two current legitimate title contenders and decent core of young talent. Strikeforce was going to have serious trouble finding a title contender for Mousasi and that would be a mega fight for hard core MMA fans. I was skeptical of Strikeforce forming a consistent promotion with depth at the top, but this is a huge step in the right direction. Congrats to Scott Coker and company and hats off for Dana apparently taking the high road. Without a doubt there is more to come.

UPDATE: Aaron Crecy spoke with Michael David Smith:

Responding to a Yahoo Sports report that Henderson is "on the verge of signing" with Strikeforce, Henderson's friend and business partner Aaron Crecy said that wasn't the case, and that no signing with anyone is imminent.

"We had a brief get-to-know-you session with (Strikeforce) and met them for coffee, but to say he's close to signing would be a gross misrepresentation," Crecy said.

When reached by FanHouse, Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker said, "We've had dialogue with Dan but that's all I'd like to say."

0 recs | Comment 4 comments | Share

Story-email Email Printer Print

Comments

Not Happening

Signing someone like Hendo is HUGE, Zuffa won’t let it happen they will continue to let and I say let because Zuffa feels Strikeforce is minor league MMA (or cagefighting) sign the likes of Bowling or King MO to develop as fighters before scooping up. Hendo is another story this Friday press release is Dana White tactics to lure Danny boy back to the bargaining table

Nobody's perfect...well there was this one guy but we killed him.

Anonymous

by Dmerit on Oct 17, 2009 1:03 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

That appears to be the consensus right now. Hearing that Strikeforce has not put an offer on the table yet leaves me with little hope that Hendo will head there. Not so much as the UFC refuses to let him go, but if money is the reason for his discontent then Strikeforce cannot match what the UFC will offer.

"That's an Awfully Big Mustache"-Frank Drebin

watchkalibrun.com

by Zach Krantz on Oct 17, 2009 10:08 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Agree

Don’t think it happening and as I wrote on my website I think Hendo could be just using Strikeforce to get the UFC closer to his number. I would be shocked if the UFC let him go/he left the UFC.

http://www.mmavalor.com
"My Take" on the world of Mixed Martial Arts.
Follow Me On Twitter@mmavalor

by MMAvalor on Oct 17, 2009 7:52 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs