With Frank Mir seemingly out of the mix as a UFC 146 heavyweight title challenger, fans and analysts alike are beginning to wonder who could possibly step in against UFC heavyweight champion Junior dos Santos.
JDS was initially scheduled to fight Alistair Overeem on May 26, but after “The Reem” failed a pre-fight drug test, that match up is in serious doubt.
Well, light heavyweight title contender Dan Henderson has casually thrown his name in the mix to further complicate an already confusing situation.
Friday evening, Hendo responded to a fan’s tweet:
For sure..RT @Jitterbug2Djent: @danhendo Would you take the JDS fight if offered?
— Dan Henderson (@danhendo) April 6, 2012
For the record, UFC President Dana White‘s announcement that Mir vs. Cain Velasquez will remain the co-main event at UFC 146 came after the former Pride star made his intentions known.
Just a funny coincidence, or an indication of a major future announcement by the UFC?
The Team Quest co-founder has fought the majority of his 37 professional fights at middleweight, but has been competing at 205 pounds full-time since December of 2010.
Henderson has competed at heavyweight once, to take on fellow Pride legend Fedor Emelianenko under the Strikeforce banner. Hendo won by first-round TKO.
At one point, Emalianenko was actually getting some fan support to replace “The Demolition Man” as a possible opponent for JDS, but that idea was shot down when it was revealed that “The Last Emperor” will be fighting on June 21.
Former Strikeforce fighter/professional wrestler Bobby Lashley seems to be his most likely opponent as of right now.
Another wild-card replacement exists in Samoan power puncher Mark Hunt, who currently has a Twitter campaign supporting him as a worthy title challenger.
Hunt said that he was flattered by the fan support, but that he personally thought the title fight would go to Mir.
Now that White has shot that notion down, is Hunt seriously being considered to headline a pay-per-view with “Cigano” next month?
One fun fact to consider if a Henderson vs. dos Santos super fight were to go down: Henderson weighed in at 207 pounds for his sole heavyweight bout, while JDS weighed 239 pounds when he won the gold strap from Cain Velasquez in November.
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