The sport's highest-profile free agent in recent months, Dan Henderson, is now Strikeforce bound.
As first reported by AOL FanHouse, MMAjunkie.com (
http://www.mmajunkie.com) has confirmed with Strikeforce officials that the former PRIDE title-holder and recent UFC fighter has agreed to a new deal with the California-based organization.
Terms of the multi-fight deal were not disclosed.
Henderson, a former top middleweight and light heavyweight contender in the UFC, fulfilled the fight terms of his previous contract with a knockout of Michael Bisping at UFC 100. However, while UFC officials hinted at a likely title shot for the winner, Henderson was passed over in favor of a bout between Vitor Belfort and UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva, which is tentatively slated for spring of 2010.
Henderson confirmed he was in negotiations with Strikeforce in November. Company officials confirmed the negotiations but declined to elaborate.
In October, UFC president Dana White said the 39-year-old Henderson, who made a base pay of $250,000 at UFC 100 ($150,000 of which came in the form of a win bonus), simply demanded too much and would have become "the highest-paid UFC fighter" if the UFC gave him what he wanted.
He later told MMAjunkie.com Radio Henderson never seemed serious about getting a deal done and may have been influenced by Tito Ortiz's recent new deal.
"The [expletive] that Dan came in and said in my office and what he wants, it's unrealistic, and he knows it," White said. "And it's basically based off of, 'I heard this guy is making this, and I heard this guy made (this much).' Basically, what everybody gets pissed off about is Tito. 'Oh, I heard Tito is making all this money, and Tito is this and that.' And it's because Tito likes to go out there and stay stuff like that or somebody in his camp did.
White suggested Strikeforce couldn't match what the UFC offered.
"The negotiations are done," White said. "I made [Henderson] an offer, and I guarantee you the offer that I made him, Strikeforce can't pay."
The addition of Henderson to Strikeforce provides a known commodity for future broadcasts on CBS or Showtime while also providing a legitimate contender to both the middleweight and light heavyweight divisions, which feature Jake Shields and Gegard Mousasi as respective champions.
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