Dan Henderson: 'I had to swallow my pride and take a UFC pay cut'

Like Marsellus Wallace once said: "Fuck pride. Pride only hurts, it never helps."

Longtime mixed martial arts (MMA) veteran and former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) middleweight number one contender, Dan Henderson, was holding out for a compensation package that he felt was commensurate with his experience.

And it was nearly double what his former employer was offering.

That's because "Hendo" is now 43 years old and coming off three straight defeats, including the first knockout loss of his career. It's safe to say that Henderson is still dangerous, but perhaps not the same slugger who terrorized the ranks of PRIDE FC.

Once Henderson was able to accept what the market was willing to pay for his elderly services, he was able to re-up with the world's largest combat sports promotion.

From his interview with Steph Daniels.

"I know that Bellator is trying to make it, but they're spending a lot more money than they're bringing in. I'm not really sure about the World Series. I do think they're doing things a little more economically. There's really no other companies out there that are able to pay what the UFC is paying their top guys. Basically, you've got to take what you get sometimes. On the flip side of that, the UFC has built their organization big enough to be able to pay the top guys pretty decent, so you can't really complain too much about them. You know, I kind of had to swallow my pride a little bit and take a pay cut. They are giving me a chance to get back where I was if I get some wins on the books, though. It could be worse, but it could be better, as well."

He's back and already slotted to return to the cage.

Henderson has agreed to rematch Mauricio Rua in the main event of UFC Fight Night 38, which takes place on March 23, 2014 in Natal, Brazil (details). And there's no better way to prove to the world that he's still got some bang for the buck than by smashing "Shogun" in hostile territory.

Either way, "Hendo" is back where he belongs.