IGN.com talked to Dan Henderson after he signed on to be apart of EA Sports MMA (see above video) about several topics facing the former UFC fighter and Pride champion.

IGN: Are the rumors true that Dana White, president of the UFC, will blacklist fighters who sign with EA's MMA title?

Henderson: He didn't blacklist Randy [Couture]. He resigned him after already signing with EA Sports. I think it's probably more applicable to up-and-coming guys. I was never concerned about being blacklisted.

WKR has talked about the purported ban before. There was simply too much chatter at the time for the threat not to exist but as Couture, Trigg and Matyushenko prove the UFC isn't really interested in following through with that initial threat, whatever it actually was.

WKR is more interested in Henderson presence in UFC Undisputed and how the signing with EA affects his status within the THQ IP.

IGN: There's talk of you fighting Jake Shields. Do you have an update on that?

Henderson: I'm supposed to be fighting him in April on CBS. Jake is a dangerous guy, he's a good wrestler that takes people down and controls them and submits them, or controls them for a decision. For me, I just have to be real careful to not get taken down myself. It's a pretty good matchup for me, but I still have to be real careful with him.

IGN: Is this a fight you want just because it's for the middleweight belt? Or would you be interested in fighting Jake otherwise?

Henderson: It's just for the belt. There's probably quite a few more exciting matchups out there for me, but Jake has the belt and that's the first step.

Wow, Henderson seems extremely confident. Truth be told this is an excellent fight for Dan. Shields already is a small middleweight who has poor stand-up. Henderson's wrestling base should be strong enough to prevent takedowns and avoid Shields' excellent submissions.

So, if "Hendo" wins who could he fight next? Why not Fedor...

IGN: When you first signed with Strikeforce, you said you were interested in fighting Fedor Emelianenko.

Henderson: Someone had asked me if I would, but for sure that fight excites me to test myself. I do these things for the challenge, not completely for the money. I get up for the bigger challenges.

IGN: Is there anything you think you could do against Fedor that other fighters haven't

Henderson: Beat him. I'm definately capable of doing that. We have a similar style, but I'm sure I'm the better wrestler.

That could be a fun super fight...