It looks like Dan Henderson is now “the former” Strikeforce light heavyweight champion.
The Team Quest product has since re-signed with the UFC and will now be taking on fellow PRIDE veteran Mauricio “Shogun” Rua upon his return.
MMAWeekly.com confirmed the bout with sources close to the match, which takes place at UFC 139 in San Jose, California on November 19 at the famed HP Pavilion.
Henderson has had a long drawn out history with the Las Vegas based organization. He twice challenged for titles within the promotion, coming up short against then champ Quinton “Rampage” Jackson and current middleweight kingpin Anderson Silva, though the Californian had his moments.
He later signed a deal with Strikeforce, eventually earning the promotion’s 205-pound title after defeating Black House fighter Rafael “Feijao” with a third-round TKO. In his last outing, Henderson defeated former PRIDE champion Fedor Emelianenko in a heavyweight affair this July, starching “The Last Emperor” in a little over four-minutes.
As for Rua, he too is enjoying some success as of late. Last month in front of his fellow countryman in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, “Shogun” blitzed former champ Forrest Griffin in less than two-minutes, inside of the opening round, avenging a 2007 loss to The Ultimate Fighter season one winner. The victory helped ease the pain of a third-round TKO loss to Jon Jones (this past March, UFC 128), who now resides as the organization’s belt holder.
The winner of this PRIDE-esque throwback will likely serve as the next top contender to the light heavyweight title, which will be contested this Saturday as Jones meets the aforementioned Jackson at UFC 135 in Denver, Colorado.
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