Interviews
STRIKEFORCE QUOTABLES: Dan Henderson explains his decision to sign with Strikeforce
Dec 7, 2009 - 7:59:51 PM STRIKEFORCE QUOTABLES: Dan Henderson explains his decision to sign with Strikeforce

DISCUSS ALL THIS IN OUR NEW MMATORCH FORUM

...OH, ONE MORE THING - PLEASE BOOKMARK US & VISIT DAILY!

"The decision [to sign with Strikeforce] was based on a number of things. It wasn’t just a financial thing. It was the fact that I felt I wasn’t getting the fight that I wanted in the UFC. That was a big part of that -- that I wasn’t and that it got yanked away from me. I think I stepped up for the UFC a number of times and had earned that right again for a title fight. And the fact that publicity-wise, CBS offers quite a bit more than a pay-per-view and Spike TV... The [Silva] fight got pulled from me and was offered to Vitor [Belfort]. I met with them after Vitor fought Rich Franklin. I told them that it does irritate me. I said, ‘Why does Vitor get to jump the line when there’s me and (Nate) Marquardt here who can both fight for a title shot and Vitor’s never fought for the UFC at 185? He jumps the line, especially since I beat him.’ They acted surprised that I’d even fought him. They weren’t up on those details at the time. It jogged their memory, but either way, to put someone in there that I dominated not that long ago... Obviously, I was fighting in Pride for a long time and I’ve never been one to really jump ship. Had I felt a little bit more, I don’t know... I was planning on finishing my career in the UFC. When I signed with the UFC, that’s what I was planning on doing. I think that whatever transpired or how they handled me just didn’t work out at present. Especially for me at this point in my career, it was definitely Strikeforce. I don’t know what that says about the climate of the UFC. I think that they need to really respect the fighters a little bit more."

-Dan Henderson outlines to Loretta Hunt at Sherdog.com what went into him signing for Strikeforce.

Penick's Analysis: This really did come down to the UFC's decision to give the Middleweight Title shot to Vitor Belfort (though that bout's having a hell of a time getting put together at the moment), coupled with them not wanting to come close to what Henderson was apparently looking for. Dana White is clearly not the staple of respect when it comes to fighters, but at the same time he's right that the UFC doesn't need Henderson. Dan can conceivably be a two-division Champion again in Strikeforce, as he should be heavily favored against Jake Shields should they face off and should be at least slightly favored against Gegard Mousasi as well. This will be a good thing for Dan's exposure to the masses if they put him on a card on CBS, but without the promotional backing of the UFC it will be interesting to see how the CBS model works out for him. It has felt like just a matter of time until this signing happened, so it doesn't come as a surprise, but again he should be a fairly heavy favorite coming into a fight with anyone Strikeforce puts in front of him.

[Dan Henderson art credit Cory Gould (c) MMATorch]