Hendo A Good Fit for Strikeforce?

Dan Henderson announced today that he’s just signed a four fight, 16 month contract with Strikeforce. Some people are surprised by the move, as Henderson was on the verge of getting a title shot within the UFC.  By signing with Strikeforce, Hendo probably gave up on his last chance to ever win a title in MMA’s premier organization. That being said, let us analyze Dan Henderson’s move to Strikeforce to see what the implications are for Dan, Strikeforce, and the UFC.

For Dan Henderson, the move is a good one.

Fighting for Strikeforce also gives Henderson the chance to really get promoted as a star attraction.  With the UFC, Henderson was just one star out of a fairly large group of stars capable of carrying a PPV. In Strikeforce, Hendo will be one of the very biggest names on an organization that still gets massive exposure, with Henderson probably ending up on network television. As one of the biggest names, Henderson will probably be promoted more by Strikeforce than he was by the UFC.

Any criticism that Henderson is walking away from the better competition in the UFC is pretty much groundless considering the possible opponents available for Henderson within the Strikeforce promotion, especially if Henderson fights at Light-Heavyweight. At 205 lbs, Henderson could quickly find himself in a title shot opposite the champion, Gegard Mousasi, who is regarded by some as a top-5 fighter within the weight class, and a possible pound-for-pound contender.

Beating Mousasi could only help Henderson’s legacy. Mo Lawal would also be a great challenge for Henderson. Lawal possesses explosive striking, and a great wrestling background, which would take away a lot of the advantages that Henderson usually has over other fighters.

Either one of these matches provides a real challenge for Henderson, and provides Strikeforce with another credible contender, which is required, since it looked like Strikeforce might have needed to jump the gun on a showdown between Lawal and Mousasi. Now Strikeforce has the chance to give Lawal a little bit of time to develop.

Other possible opponents for Henderson include free agents like 31 year-old BJJ ace Ricardo Arona, who beat Henderson by decision back in 2002.

The middleweight division in Strikeforce doesn’t have anyone as highly ranked as Mousasi, but bouts against Jake Shields or Ronaldo Souza still hold real interest.  If Henderson goes to middleweight, he’ll really legitimize the division, as he would be a legitimate champion, while anyone who beats him will receive a big boost in popularity.

For the UFC, the immediate situation is also just fine.  The UFC has enough talent and depth that while Henderson fights against Nate Marquardt or Anderson Silva would have been marketable, the UFC will be fine without those fights.

Henderson already lost his title fights to Quinton Jackson and Anderson Silva, so the UFC will still be able to lay claim to having the true world champions even if Henderson is able to gain a title belt in Strikeforce.

If there is any possible bad outcome for either the UFC or Strikeforce, that outcome is far off in the horizon. The UFC will be hoping that Henderson isn’t able to boost the popularity of Strikeforce. officially UFC competition since the signing of Fedor Emelianenko.

If Strikeforce manages to really expand and challenge UFC dominance, then the signing of Dan Henderson will be seen as one of the major contributing factors.

If on the other hand Strikeforce fails to gain any real momentum and experiences financial hardship, then the expensive contract of Dan Henderson will be seen as one of the reasons.

All of that adds up to a raising of the stakes in the game for MMA promotional supremacy currently being waged by Strikeforce and the UFC.

By Darren Wong for FightMania.com