Dan Henderson: ‘I don’t plan on fighting anywhere else’, ‘My next two fights will be [Nate] Marquardt and Anderson Silva’
After a brief uproar over the weekend concerning Dan Henderson leaving the UFC to join Strikeforce, according to Henderson, he wont be going anywhere.
Over the weekend, reports ran rampant stating negotiations have all but ended between the UFC and Henderson, with even more reports claiming Strikeforce was on the verge of signing the former Pride champion.
However, although a deal is not formally signed between the two, Henderson went on record and said he doesn’t plan on fighting for another organization.
He recently told HDNet’s “Inside MMA”, “I don’t plan on fighting anywhere else. It never even entered my mind that I’d be anywhere else. It’s just something myself, Dana and the other guys over there at the UFC, we need to sit down and figure it out for my next fight.”
After a devastating knockout victory over Michael Bisping at UFC 100, Henderson was under the impression his next fight would be another title shot against middleweight champion Anderson Silva. However, after beating him back in 2008, Silva and Co. showed no interest in defending against Henderson anytime soon. And with recent activity pointing to a Silva vs. Belfort match-up for UFC 108, Henderson’s next opponent wont likely be for a title.
During the interview he did hint however at a showdown with another top contender, Nate Marquardt, “It doesn’t look like it’ll be him,” Henderson said of Silva. “But my guess is my next two fights will be Marquardt and Anderson Silva. It doesn’t matter to me which order they’re in.”
Now all that left is a signed contract.
Jason Polley is is a contributor to FiveOuncesofPain.com
| All posts by Jason Polley
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Well-Done.
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Weak-Sauce.
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Hot debate. What do you think?
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Well-Done.
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Well-Done.
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Hot debate. What do you think?
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Marquardt is a good match up for Henderson. Marquardt’s got good striking, but so does Henderson, and Henderson’s Greco wrestling gives him the advantage when they’re on their feet. And don’t forget Henderson’s overhand right, which is what he used to launch Bisping into the next time zone. Marquardt’s probably got better bjj, but I’m not sure he can keep Henderson on his back. I like Henderson’s chances in this one.
Hot debate. What do you think?
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Weak-Sauce.
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Well-Done.
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Weak-Sauce.
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That’s the exact quote Dan gave Kenny & Bas on the episode I saw him on a month ago before all this recent non sense started.
Hot debate. What do you think?
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Well-Done.
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Well-Done.
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Weak-Sauce.
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Batman has gone batshit.
Well-Done.
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Regarding the post above, super tiny slim chance that Belfort will beat Silva. The UFC could go ahead and schedule 3 consecutive title fights with Silva v Hendo, Marquart, Belfort; line them up in any order, and Silva will knock em all down.
Hot debate. What do you think?
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Both fighters match up so well with each other. I wouldnt be surprised if either won tbh. The fight will be a war. Both will stand and trade until one fighter gets caught good… then most probebly goes for a takedown. Hendos submission defence is awesome as he is so strong and postured when he is on top. So i dont see him getting submitted. Im betting on this fight being a 3 round war.. and a decision victory for Hendo. I really want to see him fight Silva or Belfort. They just scream ‘exciting fight’. And i want to see him hold the MW title before he retires. He deserves it IMO. AND THEN, hopefully Wanderlei Silva has strung up a few wins… and we get to see the third fight between the two…. now that would be fucking epic lol.
Well-Done.
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Weak-Sauce.
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Why does he deserve it? No offense I mean it is obvious you are a big fan of Hendo, but come one, he deserves it. The only guy that deserves it is the guy who has it. If he gets another shot and he happens to win then and only then will he have deserved anything. Don’t get me wrong I like the guy and was glad to see him bring Bisping back to reality. That being said he is in no way what so ever entitled to the belt just because. If he hasnt won it he dont desrve it.
Hot debate. What do you think?
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1. If its a #1 contenders match at 185 because Belfort is going to be the champ after ufc 108.
2. Hendo will have to fallow Silva to 205 because that is where he will be headed that is if he doesn’t retire which he has hinted at doing in the past after his contract is up.
Either way you slice it I don’t see Dan getting another shot for a title in the ufc. Which is a bit of a slap in the face but he kinda did it to himself by not taking the fight with nate right away when it was originally offered because then I could see it being that if he beat nate at lets say ufc 104 he would be the guy fighting silva at 108, and belfort would be going in there against Nate or Maia for his next fight.
Hot debate. What do you think?
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good call BigDave
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I really don’t believe Marquardt has the power to KO Hendo, whereas I do believe Hendo has the power to KO Nate. That being said, Hendo has proven himself to be easily one of the most predictable fighters in the UFC. He wades in with big haymaker rights…….and that’s about as far as his plan goes. I know Nate would be smart enough not to circle to his left the entire fight waiting to be blasted into next week. I don’t know, this would be a very tough fight to call, and one I would be more excited for than Hendo vs Silva II.
If I had to pick, my gut is telling me Marquardt by decision, but this is a fight I wouldn’t bet on.
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I gotta go wtih Nate in this one. I think Nate has better standup and is faster than Hendo. Nate also has a lot of power in his hands. Maybe not as much as Hendo, but I think at this point in their careers Nate is a step above Hendo. I wouldn’t be shocked to see Hendo take this though. Cant ever count him out.
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With the UFC having a major shortage of challengers for the middleweight division I don’t understand why they both don’t get a title shot. Dan absolutely earned his and Nate has looked amazing in his last few fights, with his streetfighter style KO of Wilson Goveia and his smashing of UK prettyboy Bisping.
I guess it would help if Anderson wasn’t so picky about who he fights. Do any other champions complain about their next fight as much as Silva? Or is this all coming from Ed Soares?
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I’m with Makington. This one is too close for me to call. But I would bet on one thing…this one is going to be an absolute BRAWL. Good for the sport!
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I think Nate has earned the rematch with Silva over Henderson by far. Henderson beat a very overrated Bisping, and Palharis a inexperienced fighter at best by decision thats it( I dont count the win over Franklin as it was at 195).
Nate on the other hand has finished 4 good fighters in Goveia, horn, Kampmann, and Maia. His only loss in his last 5 fights was the bs point deduction fest loss to Leitas.
So of these two guys Nate has more than earned a rematch, while Henderson is trying to ride his past accomplishments to a title shot, and I think Dan will be in for a wake up call in this fight, somebody that will acually fight back and finally the ufc will give Nate the title match he deserves( I wont say rematch because Silva has a tough match vs Vitor to get through first)
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Bisping is a technical striker. Sure, he lacks power and is one-dimensional, but that’s beside the point. The point is that he knew what Henderson was going to do–clinch when he could and load up the overhand right–and he couldn’t stop it. Marquardt may find himself in the same predicament. He (and everybody else) knows Henderson is going to do, but stopping it is a different story. Marquardt has good bjj (which Bisping doesn’t), but Henderson is an excellent grappler and will be tough to take down. And Marquardt may be tempted to stand and trade, which puts him at risk for the ko. It’s a great match up, but I’m still leaning toward Henderson.
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Let’s be honest Angry Mike, the only reason Bisping got his jaw knocked somewhere between the 15th and 16th row had nothing to do with Henderson’s amazingly accurate, fast right hand. I agree that he holds some serious power in the hand, but you can see it coming from a mile away, and he doesn’t throw it quick enough to the point where he could catch someone off guard. It was inevitable that it was eventually going to land the way Bisping was fighting. His corner was swearing at him the entire time not to circle to his left, but Bisping just kept doing it. The point being not only did Bisping NOT try to stop Hendo’s right hand, he actually helped make sure that it landed. Marquardt is no fool, and I think he would stay away from Henderson’s right hand and only stay on the feet as much as he had to until he could try and take Henderson down and punish him on the ground
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