On 7th December, Dan Henderson signed a four fight deal with Strikeforce, after protracted contract negotions with the UFC stalled and ultimately failed for a numerous reasons. A prominent one was that Henderson wasn't getting the fights he wanted, and after his knockout win over Michael Bisping at UFC 100, a middleweight title shot was still nowhere near materialising. There were also rumblings that the UFC wasn't offering Henderson the financial rewards he believed he merited, although different sources claim different things with regards to the money side of things, so it is hard to tell who is at fault with that.
Regardless of the fine details of his split with the Ultimate Fighting Championship, Henderson will now embark on an exciting new journey, with rising promotion Strikeforce. For them, this signing is a massive coup, and arguably he will bring more name value to the organisation than the widely respected Fedor Emelianenko. However, the question remains; apart from earning some serious money, what is there for Henderson to do in Strikeforce?
'Hendo' the Heavyweight?
Henderson has already acknowledged that down the line, a fight with Fedor may be a possibility. The odds would be stacked against him in this one, as Fedor is a natural heavyweight, in contrast to Henderson who is comfortable in either the middleweight or light heavyweight ranks, but it would be an interesting fight nontheless. At this stage in his career, Henderson only wants fights that will really push him and get the best out of him, and a fight against Fedor would certainly do that.
A More Likely Scenario, Light Heavyweight
In the meantime though (as 'Hendo' surely won't jump into the heavyweight ranks straight away), a man named Gegard Mousasi awaits the iron chinned wrestler. Gegard has looked dominant in his last two fights, and many would argue that his excellent striking could pose a significant threat to Henderson.
The Most Likely Option, Remain at Middleweight (For Now)
One middleweight who would relish the prospect of taking on Henderson is current Strikeforce middlewight champion Jake Shields, who hasn't lost since 2004. The vegetarian, who has defeated great fighters such as Jason Miller and Paul Daley in recent times has been touted by some as the answer to GSP at welterweight, but to get that fight, Shields would have to move to the UFC, and there is seemingly no chance of that happening any time soon. While Henderson would probably beat him with his size advantage and slightly superior wrestling, this would be a good fight for 'Hendo' to make his Strikeforce debut in, and make everyone realise he's still for real despite jumping from the UFC.
Many are wondering what would have happened had Henderson fought the likes of Nate Marquardt and Chael Sonnen in his previous company, but in reality, it is hard to see where he would go after winning an 'eliminator' of sorts. If he'd got a rematch with Anderson Silva, nothing points to the fact anything would go any differently to their first fight either, so in this writer's opinion, Henderson's move to Strikeforce was refreshing to see.
This is because as a result of this move, we'll now get to see Henderson fight a different crop of top level guys and it is good to think that the UFC doesn't have a monopoly over all the top fighters in MMA. As Strikeforce puts up stiffer and stiffer competition against the company, better fights will emerge, and in the end, the fans are the true winners as all the top fights will happen.
To conclude, if you were initially upset the 'Hendo' has left the UFC, don't be! The sky truly is the limit for MMA when competition against the UFC is introduced, and there are lots of good possible matches for Henderson in Strikeforce. Hopefully, this will kickstart the global spread of Strikeforce, and make 'casual fans' realise that there is more to mixed martial arts than just the UFC.
