Dan Henderson Says That Strikeforce Is Another Option For Fighters

Posted by Larry Csonka on 12.08.2009

Plus some details on when he may fight...



- Dan Henderson was on MMAJunkie.com Radio, here are the highlights…

On More Top Fighters Moving To Strikeforce:
"It's inevitable," Henderson said. "For a while, there wasn't any other options, and fighters were not really keen on that idea of not having a place to shop around. They weren't real happy with the UFC kind of having a monopoly on everything. It's their way or the highway, and now there is another option. That makes [fighters] feel a little more comfortable."

On Being Happy With Strikeforce: "I'm pretty happy with every aspect of [my Strikeforce contract]," Henderson said. "I'm excited to be able to fight on CBS – that seems like it would be a pretty cool deal – and to be able to bring new fans to the sport, which is what's going to happen with CBS."

On Why They Signed Him: "I believe that was their objective by signing me," Henderson said. "They want to make sure that they use me as their marquee guy in the U.S. Fedor Emelianenko, as great as he is of a fighter, he's not that well-known in the U.S., and he doesn't speak English. It's a little tougher for them to send him out to different shows to help market Strikeforce."

On When He May Fight: "[My first Strikeforce fight] will be on the next CBS show, and I'm not sure when that is," Henderson said. "I've still got about four months, probably. We're not exactly sure of the date. Pretty much, after the first of the year, when the dust settles, I'm going to kind of figure out what weight class I want to fight."

On How He Feels About Leaving The UFC:"I was happy with every aspect of [the Strikeforce offer], money included," Henderson said. "Obviously, they were really adamant about wanting to try and sign me, so obviously they were very respectful. Dana has a reputation of not being so respectful. That's just how he is, and I think the fans know that. They also know and respect the fact that Dana's done a lot of great things for MMA. I appreciate that as well. I don't have any hard feelings. It is what it is now, and I finally decided where my next fight's going to be. I'm excited to start training and getting in shape and going over there to beat somebody up in Strikeforce."