Dan Henderson leaves UFC, signs with Strikeforce?

If this turns out to be true it’ll be a surprise but not a shock: The UFC middleweight picture might be getting a whole lot clearer if the story that Strikeforce has stolen Dan Henderson away from the promotion comes to fruition.

It’s no secret the two-time U.S. Olympic wrestler and former two-division PRIDE FC champ was unhappy with the way the UFC has handled things following his knockout of Michael Bisping at UFC 100. It was Hendo’s last fight on his UFC contract and he believed it put him next in line for a title shot against Anderson Silva. UFC president Dana White practically said as much at the time.

Well, we know what happened next. Nate Marquardt knocked out Demian Maia to stake his claim on the title shot and Silva balked at fighting either one, believing that since he’d already beaten both Hendo and Marquardt that the two should fight each other to determine a contender. Then the returning, resurgent Vitor Belfort leapfrogged everybody to get a crack at Silva at UFC 108 after he beat Rich Franklin, whom Henderson had also beaten.

Now, Yahoo! Sports‘ Kevin Iole is reporting that contract talks between the UFC and Henderson have stalemated and that Hendo is on the verge of locking up a deal with Strikeforce. I thought the talks were in limbo for awhile now but maybe they’re nearer the end than I was led to believe.

I do know that the UFC has always been Henderson’s stated priority in terms of where he fights and a Strikeforce deal does make sense.

Henderson is 39 and is looking for one last push toward a title. If that’s not going to happen in the UFC, then he might as well go elsewhere. He’d fit comfortably into the Strikeforce title mix at either middleweight or light heavyweight, divisions that aren’t as deep as in the UFC so it makes a title run less daunting.

What is surprising is that the UFC would let Henderson slip away – and to rival Strikeforce – over dollars, which appears to be the main sticking point of the contract dispute. The UFC has made a big deal about signing big names like Randy Couture and Matt Hughes to big contracts that will see both of them finish out their careers inside the octagon. Why no love for Dan Henderson?

As for Strikeforce, it’s a smart move at twice the price, whatever that may be. The promotion nabbed Fedor Emelianenko, locked down Gegard Mousasi, picked up Muhammed “King Mo” Lowal and now adds a PRIDE and UFC marquee name in Dan Henderson. If they could just find a way to get him on their November 7 Fedor vs. Brett Rogers card, the one airing live on CBS, that would be a serious coup de grace type move.