Dan Henderson and Vitor Belfort are all set to duke it out one more time in a light heavyweight main event bout at UFC Fight Night 32 on Nov. 9, 2013, in Goiania, Brazil, in a rematch over seven years in the making.
The two first went toe-to-toe at PRIDE 32 in 2006, which saw "Hendo" outpoint "The Phenom" for three rounds, earning a unanimous decision win in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Belfort is presently riding a two-fight winning streak at middleweight while Henderson is currently on a two-fight skid in the 205-pound division, suffering back-to-back losses to Lyoto Machida and Rashad Evans.
Should Henderson come up short against Belfort, it will mark the first time the former Olympian has lost three straight in his storied 16-year MMA career.
A loss in Brazil could be disastrous for "Hendo's" future inside the Octagon, as well, seeing as how the former PRIDE FC champ revealed to Rick J. Lee that his clash against "The Phenom" is the last fight on his current Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) contract.
His words:
"This is the last fight on my contract, actually. So, I don't know if we're going to renew now or wait and do it after. Either way is fine with me, but, I still plan on fighting another three times next year. I got about five fights left in me for sure and let's see what happens after that."
A win for "Dangerous Dan" could give him some wiggle room at the negotiation table, but the Team Quest leader knows defeating a red-hot Belfort will be a tall task. Not one to back down from a fight, the 42 year-old Henderson is confident he can do what he did seven years ago in "Sin City."
Only this time, he plans to finish the Brazilian striker.
"Vitor's a dangerous guy. He's got a lot of knockout power, he's quick. He moves forward real quick, as well, and closes the distance real quick so you have to be real careful with him. Sometimes, mentally he doesn't show up, sometimes he does. You never know what you're going to get, but I'm expecting to fight the toughest Belfort out there and he's been fighting well lately. The first time I fought him, I just stayed in his face and controlled him and won every round, I felt handily. I don't know if we got into big slugging matches too much, but I felt like I controlled him, beat him there and I'd like to do the same except finish him this time."
And while the Strikeforce veteran feels he has at least five more fights in him, whether or not they're inside the Octagon after November, remains to be seen.