Hendo goes to Strike Force
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johnnynumber5 @ Nov 8th 2009 6:41PM
I wouldn’t say that he did great. It was a super exciting fight thats for sure … but thats Fedor for you. I’ve watched it like 10x already and Brett really didn’t land much on the feet except that one jab that cut Fedor’s nose (not sure if it was the edge of the glove or the punch itself b/c Fedor does have a lot of scar tissue) and when he escaped that kimura attempt and ended up standing in Fedor’s guard and landed those three big shots … then damn near got an arm bar for the trouble. Fedor really rocked Rogers about 3-4x and had two close submissions. I think Rogers made a great showing for himself and with some more training he could be the top dog in the HW division. He needs to improve his stamina thats for sure either that or he was so amped up that once the rush wore off he was sapped of energy.
It’s not like he ever rocked Fedor or had him in any real trouble in the fight. It was just typical Fedor … throw big punches, scramble off the ground, shake off the heavier opponent in the body clinch, go for submission attempts, eat strikes to deliver them, throw everything as hard as possible and the most important thing … just keep on winning against guys 40 lbs heavier, 6 inches taller and with a huge reach advantage. The guy is just out of this world good and I don’t really see anyone beating him in the UFC or Strikeforce. Maybe if age catches up with Fedor it’s possible but I didn’t see any vulnerabilities last night. The only way to beat him is to cut him and hope the fight gets stopped.
Rogers behavior afterwards was deplorable. Reminded me of Lestard after he beat Mir in their rematch at UFC 100. The fact that he was all trying to flex on Fedor and bow up to him after he just got his ass beat was hilarious. Does he think he is intimidating him or something? LOL … dude he just knocked you TFO and your going to flex on him like that means something. What an idiot and a big baby. Wah Wah Wah I got my ass kicked Wah Wah Wah I didn’t let my hands go Wah Wah Wah I’m not undefeated. He gained respect for his fighting but lost respect for his outburst. That was Bush league.
Former UFC middleweight Dan Henderson signed a four-fight, 16-month deal with Strikeforce on Saturday.
Aaron Crecy, the fighter’s business partner and manager, confirmed that the deal has been inked but would not divulge any further specifics of the agreement. Henderson had been in negotiations with both the UFC and Strikeforce since his UFC contract expired this fall.
“Dan chose to sign with Strikeforce after careful consideration,” Crecy told Sherdog.com via e-mail on Monday. “He approached the process with an open mind, and over the course of the past couple months became increasingly impressed with the Strikeforce organization. It was not a decision that Dan took lightly.”
Henderson could debut for Strikeforce as early as April on a tentatively planned CBS event, Sherdog.com has learned, and might face the promotion’s middleweight champion, Jake Shields, right out of the gate. Henderson, who also fights at light heavyweight, is being eyed for matchups against Strikeforce light heavyweight champion Gegard Mousasi and the world’s No. 1 heavyweight, Fedor Emelianenko, said a source with knowledge of the deal.
“Dan has always been motivated by the challenge of competing above his natural weight class, and he would certainly be honored to square off with Fedor at some point,” said Crecy.
Henderson, who is Sherdog.com’s No. 3 ranked middleweight, and the UFC had stalemated on a new five-fight agreement since late July, following the two-time Olympic wrestler’s second-round knockout of Michael Bisping at UFC 100. (Henderson earned $350,000 for the win, which included a $100,000 performance bonus from the promotion.)
Henderson was first announced to rematch Rich Franklin at UFC 103 last September in Dallas, though he was later replaced by Vitor Belfort as the 39-year-old California native’s renegotiations continued.
During a July 31 teleconference call, UFC President Dana White said Henderson was “next in line” to challenge middleweight titleholder Anderson Silva in a rematch of their March 2008 bout at UFC 82. However, the bout would never come to fruition. Henderson met face-to-face with UFC owners Dana White and Lorenzo Fertitta at the end of September in Las Vegas, but could not hash out a new contract.
In November, Strikeforce joined the negotiation table after Henderson’s two-month non-compete period had expired with the UFC. Unlike other standard UFC contracts, Henderson’s did not include a matching period in which the UFC could review and match outside offers, said the source.
Jordan Feagan, Henderson’s lawyer, continued to converse with both promotions as late as Friday, according to the source. The source said that Henderson was even offered a bout on Friday to face top-ranked middleweight Nate Marquardt at UFC 109 on Feb. 6 in Las Vegas, a matchup the promotion had previously tried to lock up for November’s UFC 105 in Manchester, England. A bout between Marquardt and Henderson’s former teammate, Chael Sonnen, had already been reported independently for that date, though not officially announced yet by the promotion.
Henderson won the UFC’s under 200-Pound tournament at UFC 17 in 1998, before joining the ranks of RINGS and Pride Fighting Championships in Japan. The only fighter ever to hold two division titles for Pride simultaneously, Henderson owns victories over standouts Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Wanderlei Silva, Murilo Bustamante, and Rich Franklin.
During his second stint with the UFC from 2007-2009, Henderson co-headlined four of the five events that he appeared in.
Crecy said Henderson was “very pleased” with the terms of his new contract and that money was not the fighter’s sole objective in his decision to move to the newer promotion.
“Dan likes to be a maverick, and I think part of the attraction to Strikeforce was to be a part of something that broadens the growth of the sport within the U.S. and globally,” said Crecy. “The fact that Strikeforce offers a network television platform in CBS as well as a premium cable partner in Showtime was particularly appealing to him. It delivers an incredible opportunity for Dan to perform live before an audience of millions of present and future MMA fans. Also, (Strikeforce CEO) Scott Coker treated Dan with a great deal of respect and integrity throughout the negotiations, and that certainly affected his decision. Dan is very excited to be a part of the Strikeforce family.”
I’m not entirely sure how they can afford him, but they’ve signed him:
After months of speculation, Dan Henderson has finally agreed to sign with Strikeforce. FanHouse has learned that the 12-year veteran, who was last seen knocking out Michael Bisping at UFC 100 in July, recently came to terms with the San Jose-based organization on a multi-fight agreement.
At this time, it is unknown when and where Henderson will make his debut for Strikeforce.
…
Recently, Henderson had publicly talked about being frustrated with the fact that he didn’t receive a middleweight title shot following his victory over Bisping and that he was hoping for a bump in salary.
“I’m just hoping to get out there and fight again and get paid what I would like the get paid. I’m not asking to be the top-paid guy at out there at all,” he told FanHouse at the last Strikeforce event.
“It’s a little step up from my last pay check, but a lot less than a lot of other guys are getting paid,” Henderson added when asked what kind of salary he was seeking.
Henderson is not a hugely popular figure, but has amassed some level of conscious recognition with casual fans. That’s good news for Strikeforce as is his ability to fight in two weight classes. Given how thin the 205lbs division is in Strikeforce, Henderson is a helpful addition there while being hugely contributory to their middleweight division.
Several big fights here in both weight classes. At light heavyweight a fight with Mousasi is excellent while at middleweight Nick Diaz or Cung Le make sense as well.
I also wonder if Henderson’s purse is tied to any future CBS appearances. Without having spoken to Strikeforce representatives yet, I wonder if they were able to afford Henderson by getting their television partner to chip in on the paycheck by greasing the wheels with guaranteed appearances in the national spotlight. Details coming.
And without having sat in on the negotiations personally, I also can’t help but ponder how the fickle behavior of Anderson Silva contributed to Henderson’s frustration. Joe Silva is the matchmaker, but Anderson Silva was never very receptive to the notion of a Henderson rematch and made his lack of desire to fight Henderson well known. Strikeforce has surely promised Henderson consistent activity and desired matchmaking.
: Loretta Hunt adds some details:
#2 - Dana White responds:Henderson could debut for Strikeforce as early as April on a tentatively planned CBS event, Sherdog.com has learned, and might face the promotion’s middleweight champion, Jake Shields, right out of the gate. Henderson, who also fights at light heavyweight, is being eyed for matchups against Strikeforce light heavyweight champion Gegard Mousasi and the world’s No. 1 heavyweight, Fedor Emelianenko, said a source with knowledge of the deal.
“Dan has always been motivated by the challenge of competing above his natural weight class, and he would certainly be honored to square off with Fedor at some point,” said Crecy.…
“Dan likes to be a maverick, and I think part of the attraction to Strikeforce was to be a part of something that broadens the growth of the sport within the U.S. and globally,” said Crecy. “The fact that Strikeforce offers a network television platform in CBS as well as a premium cable partner in Showtime was particularly appealing to him. It delivers an incredible opportunity for Dan to perform live before an audience of millions of present and future MMA fans. Also, (Strikeforce CEO) Scott Coker treated Dan with a great deal of respect and integrity throughout the negotiations, and that certainly affected his decision. Dan is very excited to be a part of the Strikeforce family.”
“Nothing’s going to help Strikeforce,” Dana said. “They have too many fighters under contract and not enough events. They can’t keep some of their obligations to fighters already. Either they’re going to start breaching contracts or paying fighters not to fight. It’ll take a lot more than one guy to help them. Their whole business model is f****d. They’re coming after UFC? Yeah, OK.#3 - Henderson’s business partner and manager, Aaron Crecy responds via Strikeforce press release:
“I could care less,” he continued. “Here’s the reality: If I wanted Henderson, he’d be in the UFC. It’s not like, ‘F***, Strikeforce beat me out.’ He’s been a free agent for a long time. If I wanted him, I would have signed him by now.”
“I’d like to thank Dana (White) and the UFC for the opportunities they provided me and I wish them ongoing success. I’ll continue to watch their events and I hope they’ll tune in to my fights in Strikeforce. After all, I’m a true fan of our fantastic sport and would love only to see MMA continue to grow,”HT: mma.fanhouse.com
… “I’m very happy to be a part of Strikeforce and their partnership with CBS and Showtime… Strikeforce and its growing roster of world class talent will offer me many exciting fights and has the ability to bring many new fans from all around the world to mixed martial arts. I am grateful to [Strikeforce CEO] Scott Coker for the opportunity to help make this happen and for treating me with the utmost respect throughout our negotiations.”
Early this morning, Strikehouse sent out a press release that simply said, “MMA Superstar Dan Henderson Signs With Strikeforce.”
In a deal that was thought to be for sure weeks ago, Henderson is finally on the Strikeforce brand. Henderson had a solid run in his second UFC go-round. He lost his first two fights against Rampage Jackson and Anderson Silva, but rallied to win his next three over Rousimar Palhares, Rich Franklin, and Michael Bisping in MMA’s version of the shot heard ’round the world.
Henderson was front and center on MMA’s biggest ever stage in the US at UFC 100. He had a grudge match that was building for several months on the Ultimate Fighter with Bisping. Bisping was so unlikable that Henderson’s straight forward personality didn’t hurt the dynamic at all. Henderson was all business. And when he knocked out Bisping at UFC 100, he was made in front of new eyeballs.
But in an odd business move by the UFC, Henderson fought Bisping on the last fight of his deal. He was a free agent. Considering all the UFC had done to make that fight with Bisping mean something, it was hard to understand why they didn’t get him signed up and ready to go quickly to see how much his stardom had increased. The rumors were that Dana White thought Henderson was asking for more than he was worth and at one point, White declared that they had stopped negotiating with Henderson, probably hoping to get him to come down on his demands and also leave Strikeforce with a bit of leverage with Henderson, and thus see if they decreased what they were going to offer him. He was playing hardball.
Now, several months later, Henderson is with Strikeforce, the same brand that signed Fedor Emelianenko away from the UFC and the one with the CBS television deal. With the UFC hurting for main eventers, it’s mind boggling to think that they’d let Henderson go, especially after his star making performance at UFC 100.
When the deal was announced, MMA Fanhouse published quotes from White saying that he pushed Henderson into signing, and also that if they really wanted him, they would’ve just signed him.
“For the money he wanted, he’s not worth it,” he said. “He’s not a big pay-per-view star, he’s not a big attraction, and he’s not going to sell out arenas. He wants way too much and he doesn’t bring anything to the table.”
If that was White’s overall read on Henderson, it’s a wonder why he put Henderson in the spot that he did, able to score a huge knockout on the UFC’s biggest ever day. It seems like maybe he never thought Henderson would win and it would be Bisping who was made instead. If that was the bet, the UFC lost this time.
Josh Gross interviewed Henderson today and asked him about White’s quote. Here’s what Henderson said:
That’s Dana’s response. We’ll end up seeing if it’s true or not in Strikeforce. Pay-per-view-wise, I haven’t had the opportunity to prove what I can do being the main event since The Ultimate Fighter. I would say my five fights that I had in the UFC, everyone of them was sold out I believe. I’m sure that I had a little bit to do with that.
After UFC 100, I thought they could’ve done a lot with Henderson. Because of his ability to either fight at 205 or 185, he was a money player in the semi-main event role. Was he a true main eventer? Probably not, unless he was fighting for a title. But he would’ve been a strong second on most UFC cards.
What I think happened is that Anderson Silva for whatever reason just didn’t see a second fight with Henderson as a match-up he wanted. You’d think that you’d want to fight a guy who you already beat who will also give you possibly some great exposure because of his highlight reel knockout. And when Silva balked, it left White with no marquee fight for Henderson that would’ve made him worth what he was asking. Henderson said in the interview with Gross that they continued to offer him a fight with Nate Marquardt which would’ve been a dangerous one for him and one that might’ve been more of a lateral move than anything else, which made it risky.
White and Henderson stalemated each other. I always figured that Henderson would wait it out a bit and wait for White to come calling because of all the main events that are dropping because of injuries. But Henderson decided to move forward with Strikeforce.
He has one really strong fight in my opinion with Strikeforce Light Heavyweight Champion Gegard Mousasi. I think that is a fight many people will want to see. I’m not sure sure I want to see him with Jake Shields, but I’d love to see him in a striking battle with Cung Le. There are definitely a few opportunities for him.
