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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief
Dan Henderson is officially done with his contracted fights with Strikeforce, and while he has said that he'd like to defend his Strikeforce belt, he's also got eyes on a UFC return as well. Specifically, he'd be interested in unifying his belt with the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship against the winner of UFC 135's Jon Jones vs. Quinton "Rampage" Jackson.
"I think that could be interesting going forward, a unification fight with the winner of that contest would be a good match," Henderson said in an interview with the Gareth Davies at the UK Telegraph.
Wherever he ends up, Henderson feels he's in a good position. After picking up his biggest win in the Octagon in knocking out Michael Bisping at UFC 100, Henderson failed to come to terms with the UFC, leading him to Strikeforce. Now, after posting a 3-1 record in that organization, he's back at the top of fans' minds after taking out Emelianenko.
"I'm the Strikeforce Light Heavyweight champion, I've beaten Fedor, and I'm unemployed, so we'll have to see what the talks are now after I've had a few weeks off," he said. "It's not a bad position to be in though."
Penick's Analysis: The UFC most likely wouldn't grant him an immediate title shot in a return, because if Rashad Evans beats Tito Ortiz and Jon Jones beats Rampage, that's the clear money-making fight for them. Still, like I wrote about yesterday, there are a number of fights that he can come back to the Octagon with that would mean a title shot with a win. A return to the UFC makes a lot of sense on a number of levels, and I hope we get to see him against the top guys in the division right now, because he can definitely compete with them.
[Dan Henderson art by Cory Gould (c) MMATorch.com]
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Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
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