Get ready, Gegard.
Former dual Pride FC middleweight and welterweight champion, Dan Henderson, could be headed to Strikeforce after he could not come to agreeable terms on a contract extension with the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), according to Yahoo!Sports.com.
UFC President Dana White had this to say on the stalemate:
"We have a good relationship with Henderson, and there are no hard feelings. He had a figure he believed he was worth, and we had our own figure, and we weren’t able to get together."
Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker told MMA Fanhouse that he's spoken with "Dangerous Dan," but would not elaborate on the content of those discussions. It's also unclear how soon Henderson would be able to compete for another organization -- UFC often has the the right to match contract offers in a free agent situation.
In addition, a representative from camp "Hollywood" indicates a jump to San Jose is far from imminent.
"We had a brief get-to-know-you session with (Strikeforce) and met them for coffee, but to say he's close to signing would be a gross misrepresentation. Until something is signed, nothing is ever over."
Regardless of where negotiations stand, this is certainly quite a turn of events. Especially since Henderson has mentioned numerous times recently that his goal is to remain a UFC fighter.
However, the former number one middleweight contender seemed adamant that in addition to more money, he also wanted another opportunity to challenge reigning division champion, Anderson Silva.
The latter didn't seem like a potential deal breaker after White all but assured Henderson would rematch Silva after his sensational knockout of Michael Bisping at UFC 100.
However, that was before Silva's manager, Ed Soares, made the case that Henderson should take on Nate Marquardt first to determine a clear-cut contender. In addition, Vitor Belfort -- who lost to Hendo at PRIDE 32 back in Oct. 2006 -- was not on the roster.
Now with Belfort in the fold he's in talks take on Silva at UFC 108, which perhaps was a big blow to Henderson's bargaining power at the negotiating table.
More on this breaking news as it develops.
***Updated Oct. 17 to include comments from Strikeforce and camp Henderson.
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