When Nick Diaz came to the UFC, he didn’t get an immediate title shot. When Alistair Overeem came to the UFC, he didn’t get an immediate title shot.
Dan Henderson‘s coming to the UFC; why should he get an immediate title shot? He shouldn’t, even though he’s acted like he should, which is exactly my point.
Said Henderson to MMAInterviews.tv earlier this month:
“I think the biggest fight that the UFC would make money on and the fans would want to see, I would think, would be me against the winner of (Jon) Jones and Rampage (Jackson).”
Just because someone is the champion of another organization doesn’t mean that they should automatically earn a shot at the most prestigious championship in MMA, the UFC belt.
I’m talking to you Shinya Aoki, Gilbert Melendez, Luke Rockhold and Hector Lombard.
There’s a reason for that, though. The competition outside of the UFC is simply not up to par with the competition inside the Octagon.
Henderson has won three fights since leaving the UFC, against Renato Sobral (not that great), Rafael Cavalcante (not that good) and Fedor Emelianenko (downside of his career).
The one loss he had since leaving the UFC came to Jake Shields at middleweight.
Maybe you remember Shields, he’s lost two in a row since coming to the UFC, including a 53-second TKO on Saturday night.
People who come to the UFC from other organizations haven’t looked as impressive. They need to earn their title shots the same way as other fighters.
However, there is one other way you should look at this scenario. Not only did Dan Henderson not earn his title shot, but if he were to get an immediate title shot, what do you do with Rashad Evans?
Evans has been one of the unluckiest fighters on the UFC roster, losing his title shot at two different chances due to injuries and other circumstances. If Hendo was to get an immediate title shot, Rashad Evans would be screwed again.
The timing is much better the way things are currently arranged. Jones fights Rampage at UFC 135, then the winner faces off against Rashad Evans around January.
Henderson and Mauricio “Shogun” Rua face off at UFC 139, and the winner of that can then take on the winner of the Evans-Jones/Rampage match.
It all works out for the best this way.
Tim McTiernan is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report. For the latest news on everything MMA, follow him on Twitter @tmt2393.
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