With Jon Jones and Anderson Silva scheduled to defend against Rashad Evans and Chael Sonnen, respectively, it leaves UFC light heavyweight contender Dan Henderson in an awkward position.
At this point, it would seem like the 41-year-old’s chances of challenging for a UFC title are slim, but on the contrary, he isn’t looking for a title shot anytime soon.
In fact, Henderson is just hoping to fight again.
In an interview with ESPN.com, Henderson said he isn’t in the position to wait for an opponent to come around. If there is a fight that intrigues him, he’ll certainly step up and take it.
“That was never what I said or anything. My thoughts were I was waiting to see what happened with Rashad [Evans] and Phil Davis. That was the only thing I was going to wait for,” Henderson said.
Henderson recently turned down a fight with Antonio Rogerio Nogueira because he said he didn’t see any benefit from it. The former Pride middleweight champion said he only considered that bout at the time, depending on the outcome involving Evans’ bout with Phil Davis.
So with no one left at 205 pounds momentarily, Henderson thought of testing his skills elsewhere—possibly in another weight class.
“The problem is there’s really nobody right now who fits the bill for a title contention fight, that would make sense to fight me,” he said. “Maybe I’d fight at a different weight class. I don’t know if they see anybody at heavyweight that would make sense?”
Henderson’s last bout at heavyweight was against Fedor Emelianenko, which resulted in “Hendo” knocking out the Russian in the first round. Despite having to consume a lot of water to make weight for his bout with Emelianenko, Henderson said the thought of competing at heavyweight motivates him.
“Who do the fans want me to fight at heavyweight? I’d have to think about that,” he said. “I don’t know who is out there, but I did let the UFC know I’d be open to that as well.”
But wherever his next bout is contested, Henderson is hopeful it will lead him to a title shot, preferably at light heavyweight. And if there is one opponent in mind, Henderson would like it to be Jones, who he believes matches up well against.
“I think he’s definitely shown some inexperience,” he said of Jones. “He definitely—like anybody—has holes in his game, and I just think that my style would match up real well with him.”
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