Dan Henderson Not Guaranteed Title Shot If He Beats Daniel Cormier

Dan Henderson will take on a huge task tomorrow night (Sat. May 24, 2014) when he squares off with undefeated Olympian Daniel Cormier in the co-main event of UFC 173.

Cormier has looked unbeatable so far in his career and ran over every opponent put him front of him, with all but one of them wins coming in the heavyweight division. According to “Hendo”, the reason why he took on Cormier was down to him being told he would get a shot against Jon Jones with the win:

“The reason why I took it is because [UFC president] Dana [White] said the winner gets a title shot, so I said, alright,” Henderson told MMAFighting.com.

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However, that’s not set in stone according to White, who spoke to media at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on Thursday. The UFC’s head man said it’s too soon to say whether or not Henderson would get the shot with Jones having not had his rematch with Alexander Gustafsson.

“Obviously if Hendo pulls off this upset, it’s huge, huge,” White told reporters. “He pulls off the upset against Shogun [Rua], he pulls off a huge upset against Cormier, we’ll see. … Its just stupid to talk about now because [Jones] is fighting Gustafsson, and that fight’s not happening until fall.

We still gotta get through that fight, and then we see where he’s at. Who’s to say Cormier and Henderson, whoever wins this fight, doesn’t want to take a fight between now and then? Or if they get hurt, anything can happen.”

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That’s bad news for “Hendo,” who is edging closer to the ripe old age of 44. It also seems like it could be a bum deal for the former Pride and Srikeforce champion. If Cormier gets a title shot with a win tomorrow night, surely Henderson does?

What do you think? Does “Hendo” deserve a shot at the light-heavyweight title if he beats Cormier tomorrow night?