Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/news?slu...yhoo&type=lgns
Is it really over? I think Dana made the right decision going with Vitor against Silva, it's something new we haven't seen. But I like Henderson and really wanted to see him get SOMETHING out of that awesome Bisping knock out.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, 39, devastatingly knocked out Michael Bisping in the second round of their heavily hyped fight on July 11 at UFC 100 in Las Vegas, in the final fight of his contract.
The two-time former U.S. Olympic wrestler had hoped to use that victory as a springboard to a middleweight le match against Anderson Silva.
But Silva and his manager, Ed Soares, weren’t keen on fighting Henderson again and didn’t think he’d done enough to warrant a rematch. Silva submitted Henderson in the second round of their le fight at UFC 82 on March 1, 2008. Since then, Henderson defeated Rousimar Palhares, won a split decision over Rich Franklin and knocked out Bisping.
UFC president Dana White went back-and-forth on whether he’d make Silva-Henderson II, but said at UFC 103 in Dallas that he would give the next shot at Silva to Vitor Belfort, after Belfort scored a first-round knockout of former middleweight champion Rich Franklin.
Henderson could not be reached for comment Friday, but White confirmed he was unable to come to terms with Henderson. White indicated the company’s contractual right of first refusal had expired and they would not seek to match contract offers Henderson may receive. 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.”
Henderson is 25-7 overall and 5-2 in the UFC. He is the only man in mixed martial arts history to simultaneously hold championships in two different weight classes. He was its 183-pound champion when he knocked out Wanderlei Silva to become its 205-pound le-holder as well.
He moved to the UFC after defeating Wanderlei Silva and was immediately put into a PRIDE vs. UFC championship match against Quinton “Rampage” Jackson at UFC 75 on Sept. 8, 2007, in London. Jackson won a unanimous decision.
White said he was disappointed to lose Henderson, but said he was confident the UFC would be able to recover.
“We always find a way,” White said.
They definately seem to be looking to low-ball Hendo here. Dana obviously feels he is not getting a good deal outside of 1 or 2 fights out of Strikeforce, (Which he likely won't). Dan probably wanted a lucrative 6 fight deal like o just got and Randy just re-signed and i guess they said no. I don't know why they would give Hendo the shaft like this..
Well dan is on randy level and is better then o, so no wonder he wants comparable conditions in his contract
He's not as big in the US as either of those guys though..
Randy and o both have the charisma to pull in big ppv numbers. Hendo doesn't, although he seems like a nice enough guy. In the U.S., the level of a fighter's skill rarely has anything to do with his level of popularity (hence Kimbo's huge following), and unless he can pull in the big numbers he won't make the big money.
Come to think of it, I never understood Chuck's high level of popularity,
considering his complete lack of personality.
Edit: There has been a shift in the general public lately to support the more skilled fighters, however. Machida's following has grown considerably, and since Anderson beat Forrest he's suddenly back in everybody's good graces. The casual fan is nothing if not fickle.
Last edited by desflood; 10-18-2009 at 06:52 PM. Reason: second thoughts
Hendo is as big if not bigger (popular wise) the randy for the worlds mma
Does not making the ppv higher by UFC though
Based on the articles, it sure sounds like Hendo and the UFC were really far apart on a deal. If i had to guess, He probably wanted a big raise from his Pride/UFC deal and they offered him a similiar deal to re-sign. We'll see what happens..
http://www.5thround.com/news/13426/d...ount-of-money/
Obscene amounts of money? Hrmmm, there's also talk of how to could negatively impact Strikeforce financially considering they've never hosted a PPV. Hendo is 39 years old, he's getting old and needs some security I guess.
Hendo asked for o money IMO and they said no, that's what i think..
Hendo will be back in the UFC
InsideFights.com has also learned that Henderson and the UFC are “far apart” on contract negotiations. Henderson is asking for a contract that will make him one of the highest-paid fighters on the roster, and the UFC offer is said to be considerably lower. The key sticking point in the negotiations has been Henderson’s request for a seven-figure signing bonus.
Both Henderson and the UFC have exhibited little desire to budge on the negotiations.
Henderson has repeated throughout the negotiation period that he has zero interest in going to Strikeforce. But sources close to his camp indicated to Sports Illustrated tonight that even though the UFC is his first choice, Henderson is now open to leaving.
http://insidefights.com/tag/dan-henderson/
WOW, that's asking a lot, he'll likely stay in the UFC though. SF can't afford to pay him long-term..
interesting..
New Hendo Interview..
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