Dan Henderson is back in the UFC and will face Mauricio “Shogun” Rua Nov. 19 at UFC 139.
That’s according to a report tonight from MMAWeekly.com.
Henderson, 41, is the only fighter in MMA history to simultaneously hold titles in two different weight classes in a major promotion. He is coming off a resounding first-round TKO of former pound-for-pound king Fedor Emelinaneko, which was his fourth fight under the Strikeforce banner.
In returning to the UFC, Henderson is following in the footsteps of other former Strikeforce luminaries like Nick Diaz, Alistair Overeem and Cung Le. One other thing those footsteps have in common: they’re close together and appear to be moving as quickly away from Strikeforce as humanly possible.
So what does this latest defection mean for Strikeforce? I’m not a mergers-and-acquisitions expert, but all signs point to “not good.”
In the past six months, Strikeforcewhich was purchased in March by UFC parent company Zuffa—has seen its talent stocks positively gutted. The promotion lost its welterweight champion in Diaz, its heavyweight champion in Overeem and now its light heavyweight champion in Henderson. Only lightweight title holder Gilbert Melendez and newly crowned middleweight champ Luke Rockhold remain.
Remember also that Emelianenko, once thought to be Strikeforce’s meal ticket, was a ghost of his former self during his run there and now finds himself out of the promotion.
And if that wasn’t enough, keep in mind that former marquee names like Jake Shields and Jason “Mayhem” Miller have also left the promotion recently.
At the time of the purchase, UFC President Dana White said Strikeforce would “continue to run business as usual.” It seemed that continuation had a limited shelf life.
Because make no mistake: as of Hendo’s departure, the vultures are officially circling. The inevitable absorption might be good for Strikeforce fighters and front office types, including CEO Scott Coker, who appears to have a good relationship with White.
But for fans of Strikeforce, and of diversity in the world of MMA promotions, this could be a dark day.
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