Now a free agent, Dan Henderson eyes Jon Jones vs. "Rampage" Jackson winner
Posted on August 2, 2011, 03:06 PM by Joey Santosus“I think that could be interesting going forward, a unification fight with the winner of (Jon Jones vs. 'Rampage' Jackson) would be a good match... I’m the Strikeforce light-heavyweight champion, I’ve beaten Fedor, and I’m unemployed, so we’ll have to see what the talks are now after I’ve had a few weeks off. It’s not a bad position to be in though. - For more from Dan Henderson, visit The Telegraph
Much like the man he defeated last weekend in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, Dan Henderson is faced with a level of uncertainty regarding his fighting future. Unlike Fedor Emelianenko, however, Henderson is currently riding a three-fight winning streak, including third-round TKO victory over Rafael "Feijao" Cavalcante to capture the Light Heavyweight strap back in March.
With his Strikeforce contract now expired, "Hendo" appears to have his sights set on a possible title-unification bout with the winner of the Jon Jones vs. 'Rampage' Jackson clash set for UFC 135. Before jumping ship, Henderson was 3-2 in his latest stint with the UFC and left the promotion following a highlight reel knockout win over Michael Bisping. So what's the word LowKick'ers? Does Hendo belong back inside the octagon? And if so, is an immediate title shot deserved?
Further Reading: Fedor Emelianenko returns to Russia, says Dan Henderson asked him not to retire
Photo: Dan Henderson, left, knocks out Michael Bisping during UFC 100 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center on July 11, 2009 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Francis Specker
Comments
i had my doubts of hendo befroe the fedor fight because he lost to shields, but now i know hes legit
He lost to Shields because he cut to 185! and that took a lot of him
Hendo natural weight class is Light Heavyweight
It would be awesome if Rampage manage to win so we can see
a rematch between them , but this time to unified the Strikeforce and UFC titles!
But sadly i think Jones will beat Rampage, i hope Rampage keeps in shape and pull the win
What the hell, he's punching Bisping right in the throat in this picture. lol
The Sheilds fight seemed a little fixed IMO. Henderson rock Sheilds every round but then would seem to let up...
I feel somewhat responsible I kept telling Dan on Twitter to unify the belts, u know what they say an idea is a contagious thing. (Inception)
An idea whose time has come is more powerful than any army.
As you say, ideas are contagious, so as you find yourself smiling, try not to think about what makes you feel the happiest you ever felt and ask yourself, how am I feeling differently.
Hendo must think he can just skip over Rashad if Rashad beats Tito. The only way Hendo should get the UFC title shot is after Rashad gets the title shot. And then Hendo fights either Jones, Rashad, or Rampage.
It looks like that in freeze frame.
From an action perspective, I believe you are seeing Dan has punched through the target, (Bispings head), the head has snapped to the side and is in the process of rebounding to the opposite side.
Why do people incist on ripping on Dana. He is the sh*t. Without him there would be no ufc, no strikeforce or bellator. He made mma what it is today. Have some respect for the man who made it what it is.
Welcome back T666....
he was already an 85er anyways. i thought lhw was him moving up in weight. i still think his natural weight is 185. he weighed 207 against fedor and he didnt have to cut weight, so thats his natural weight. a cut from 207 to 185 is normal
yeah but why do that when you can kick ass at 205 anyways
Yes he but he had a hard weight cut that fight.
if he weight in at 207, he's natural weight is 207. Natural weight does not mean what he cuts down to. Rampage walks around 220-230, so he's naturally a heavyweight. All those guys cut 15-20 pounds, before the weight ins then balloon back up to their natural fighting weight, which is higher the the weigh in weight. I've never been a big fan of weight cutting, thats why so many guys are on hormone replacement, they cannot take the weight cut.
hell there's plenty of lhw's that cut as much weight as heavyweight. The Polish Experiment, and Forrest Griffin walk around a little over 240 sometimes. That's incredible that these guys can cut that.
too many young hungry lions in ufc lhw division, rashad phil, machida jones etc...
word id like to see rampage land a haymaker clean on the chin and knock jones the **** out
His natural weight is 185, he needs to bulk up to make LHW. Apart from that I agreed with everything you said. Rampage has his best chance through closing the distance to land haymakers...
Would love to see him fight Jones since he is so hard to KO/TKO which is Jones strong point.
Hard to KO?... we don't know that yet... He just hasn't been touched yet. We'll revisit this subject after Rampage checks his chin ok ;-)
Just read what I wrote a little more slowly since I was clearly talking about Dans chin vs the knocks from Jones.
lol I knew what you were saying it's pretty obvious. People are just so quick to criticize whatever others say
I hope he does switch back to UFC man, there's much better fights for him there as well as bigger paydays. Hendo vs either Jones or Rampage would both make for interesting fights, particularly Jones though. I thought he was going to re sign with SF to defend his belt at LHW, but obviously he still wants a UFC strap to add to his collection, be good to see him back there though IMO.....
This has definitely been on his mind. He mentioned unifying the belts at the press conference too... which I found to be extremely surprising, considering he's at a SF event with Scott Coker.
However, he does not deserve the winner of Jones/Rampage in my opinion. Rashad deserves the shot if he beats Tito. If Tito beats Rashad, then Henderson can fight for the title.
the point is to have the ufc and strikeforce champs fight eachother. rashad evans is not strikeforce lhw champion.
IMO Dan does deserve that title shot, he's the current Strikeforce champ, just like Nick Diaz with the unification fight against GSP. Dan deserves the same respect! Especially after the PERFECT form he showed in his last 3 fights winning by KO. Dan is a BEAST!
I'm aware what the point of a title unification is, but SF belts mean nothing. He defeated Rafael Cavalcante for that belt... come on, give me a break. Rashad's recent wins mean much more (yes, I know he hasn't fought in 14 months). He can't just be stripped of his #1 contender position just because a title-holder from another organization wants the shot. I love Hendo, but he will only get a shot if Rashad loses this weekend.
If I start my own organization today and appoint myself the inaugural LHW champ, do I get a shot at the UFC title too?
A title, regardless of organization, inherently means nothing. It's the quality of competition you defeat to obtain and maintain the belt that is significant.
The competition Rashad has most recently defeated earns him the next title shot. You can't just let SF champions start a big unification parade.
As for Diaz - yeah sure he has a chance. I wouldn't bet so much as a pack of gum on him, but he has a chance.
ok, ur right.
I'd love to see them unify that Strikeforce strap. Hell I would have loved to see Diaz / GSP a unification bout.Let's crown the undisputed king!
I would say Hendo has about as much chance of beating Jones as anyone. Rampage might be a bit quicker, but I think Dan hits harder and has a better chin.
Having said that, I don't think anyone will come close to challenging Jones for years.
The guy is 205 champ and no one has managed to test his chin yet. That should tell you something.
JJ might not be the greatest lt. heavyweight that ever lived, but by the time 99% of the fighters reach his age, you can eliminate them from that possibility.
But not Bones. It doesn't mean he's really special, but be prepared for it.
JJ is a good wrestler, Dan is a much better wrestler. JJ can really jab himself to victory against almost anybody in MMA, due to his long reach. I mean he's got a bigger reach than all of the heavyweights, thats some crazy advantage.
I just looked at myself in the mirror,Im the sexiest papi of them all!!!!!
I would rather get kicked in the head by Cro cop than deal with the aftereffects of The H-Bomb
id rather see hendo vs machida first then see how it plays out from there