UFC
Dan Henderson says he and the UFC are still "a little far apart" in negotiations on new contract
Jan 14, 2014 - 5:15:58 PM Dan Henderson says he and the UFC are still "a little far apart" in negotiations on new contract

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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

After finishing out his most recent UFC contract, Dan Henderson has said he doesn't want to fight anywhere else. Unfortunately for him, the offer he's received from the UFC isn't close to what he was hoping for.

"I was fairly surprised that it's as far away as what I thought I fair offer would have been," Henderson said in an interview with Ariel Helwani on The MMA Hour on Monday. "I don't know if I'd go so far as to say I was insulted, but I know what they're trying to accomplish and trying to get everybody for as cheap as they can. That's what they like to do."

"I don't take it personally, but it was a lot lower than I expected. What I was asking for is a decent pay cut from what I was making. Which I thought was fair."

Henderson says the UFC is trying to cut his pay by more than half with the offer they've sent him, a move made after a three-fight losing streak. Still, Henderson expects the two sides to get together to hash something out soon.

"I think they want me to come back," he said. "I don't want to go anywhere else, it's not even in my mind right now and I don't think they want me to go anywhere else either. It's just something where we're a little far apart, and we need to sit down and get it hashed out."

"...It's getting to that point that it's dragging on a little too long, and with the holidays and a couple of shows in December it did drag on a little bit. But I'm pretty sure we'll get it figured out in the next week or two."

Henderson's not entirely sure why the UFC is lowballing him on the offer as much as they have, but he had his own theory as to what's going on.

"I think, from what I've been hearing they're trying to lower everyone's purses win or lose, just because pay-per-view numbers aren't as high as they used to be," Henderson said. "They are having a lot more shows, a lot more pay-per-views, a lot more free cards, so obviously they're going to do less PPVs when they're offering so many more cards and shows. It's just a little too watered down to get as many numbers as they used to on every pay-per-view card."

Penick's Analysis: While he may be speaking truth in that final statement, it's probably not one the UFC's going to be happy to hear. That said, they're under no obligation to pay him a bunch of money to keep him around. He's lost three straight fights, and got knocked out cold in his most recent bout against Vitor Belfort. Yes, he's a long time veteran, and earned the money he received on the last contract. But that contract is over with, and many fighters in his spot don't get any offer at all after three straight losses. He's in a very weak spot from a negotiating standpoint, and while he might get the UFC to come up a bit to stick around, it's also entirely possible he doesn't wind up fighting again in the UFC.

[Dan Henderson art by Grant Gould (c) MMATorch.com]