UFC
Fedor Emelianenko vs. Dan Henderson to headline July 30 Strikeforce event on Showtime
May 3, 2011 - 9:45:25 PM Fedor Emelianenko vs. Dan Henderson to headline July 30 Strikeforce event on Showtime

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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

A heavyweight bout between Fedor Emelianenko and Dan Henderson will headline a July 30 Strikeforce event on Showtime in the Chicago area, according to multiple reports on Tuesday.

Though MMAJunkie.com on Monday reported the possibility of the fight and the location, Jonathan Snowden at SBNation.com and Josh Gross at ESPN.com on Tuesday each reported that the fight is expected to officially be announced shortly.

The Sears Centre in Hoffman Estates, Ill. is expected to play host to the event, the second time Strikeforce has headlined the venue with a Fedor Emelianenko fight.

The Emelianenko vs. Henderson fight will technically take place at heavyweight, though both fighters are likely to come into the bout close to the discussed 220 lb. catchweight.

Both fighters enter the fight heading in different directions, with Emelianenko losing his last two bouts to Fabricio Werdum and Antonio "Bigfoot" Silva and Henderson knocking out Renato "Babalu" Sobral and Rafael "Feijao" Cavalcante in his last two fights.

Penick's Analysis: It's good to hear more solid confirmation that this fight is happening and there will hopefully not be any more "negotiations" that need to take place. This is a great fight for each of them, and it is a little surprising it's taken until now to get booked. But still, the important part is, it's happening, and it's happening on Showtime instead of pay-per-view. This will be another good card for Strikeforce and will make for a nice cap to July after UFC 132 kicks the month off.