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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief
Though he said last week that he and the UFC were "a little far apart" on terms for a new deal, it appears Dan Henderson may be sticking around after all. According to a report from Tatame.com out of Brazil, Henderson will return on March 23 in a main event fight against Mauricio "Shogun" Rua in Natal, Brazil.
The bout would be a rematch of their brutal, grueling, and epic five-round fight back at UFC 139 in 2011, which Henderson won by decision in slightly controversial fashion given Shogun's late-round surge.
That win, Henderson's first fight since returning from Strikeforce as that organization's Light Heavyweight Champion, was supposed to bring Henderson to a title fight against Jon Jones. Unfortunately, a knee injury suffered in the summer of 2012 canceled that fight, and Henderson wound up losing decisions to Lyoto Machida and Rashad Evans before getting stopped by Vitor Belfort, all in 2013.
Rua, meanwhile, has had his own ups and downs since the Henderson loss. He bounced back from that in 2012 when he stopped Brandon Vera, but he then lost to Alexander Gustafsson before getting submitted by Chael Sonnen. He returned to the win column in December, though, knocking out James Te Huna in his best performance since capturing the title from Lyoto Machida in 2010.
The UFC has not yet officially announced the March 23 event, and it's not yet known where the event will be broadcast in the U.S.
Penick's Analysis: Honestly this is the fight that makes the most sense for Henderson if he's going to be continuing on after the three-fight losing streak. And it makes sense for Shogun as well, as he gets a chance to avenge that loss in 2011. Giving them a main event slot in Brazil works, as they're among the more high profile names the UFC would put on a card like this, and it also gives Shogun and Henderson another five round fight to work with.
[Dan Henderson art by Grant Gould (c) MMATorch.com]
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Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
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