Dan Henderson Returns

by Michael Rome on Jun 24, 2008 6:45 PM EDT in News Comment 8 comments

MMA Weekly reports that Dan Henderson will return at UFC 88 to fight Rousimar Palhares:

It appears that Dan Henderson's return to the middleweight division wasn't a one-time deal to challenge UFC champion Anderson Silva. MMAWeekly.com has confirmed with sources close to the camp of Brazilian Top Team fighter Rousimar Palhares that he has signed to fight Henderson in a 185-pound divisional bout at UFC 88 on Sept. 6 in Atlanta.

This is a gigantic step up in competition for Palhares, who is really being given a shot to sink or swim. This shows how desparate they are to establish contenders for Anderson Silva. In any other division, guys like Palhares would have to win 3 or 4 UFC fights to get a shot at a guy like Dan.

On the other hand, it is a dangerous fight for Henderson. He has to win to keep his spot in the UFC, and a third loss in a row would really damage his reputation. A win over Palhares won't do much for his name either, but he is coming off two losses, and this is a good chance to rebound. I suspect the winner of this will get the winner of Cote/Almeida to determine a future title shot at Anderson Silva.

I am fairly surprised by this announcement, because I thought we'd be seeing Henderson and Franklin fight each other this year. Franklin's next fight is anybody's guess, we don't even know what weight class he'll be fighting at. A fight with Bisping in the UK might sell tickets, but frankly I'd rather see him at 205, fighting guys like Wanderlei Silva.

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Comments

I’m curious as to why Henderson would take this fight. It’s a no win situation for him. Maybe he looks at this fight as a rebound fight? Something to help him get back into the winning column?

by pud333 on Jun 24, 2008 7:45 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Maybe he’s one of those guys that wants to be challenged…

by goo on Jun 25, 2008 11:00 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

He’s coming off two losses, I don’t think his options are that great. I was kind of hoping we’d get Henderson/Machida, but no dice.

by Michael Rome on Jun 24, 2008 7:49 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I’m going to UFC 88…I wanted Hendo/Franklin :( Palhares is no joke though.

by Tha Realness on Jun 24, 2008 10:41 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Even with the slightly ‘out there’ fights that Joe Silva sometimes has a tendency to book, you can usually see a method to his madness. I’m really having trouble seeing the reasoning behind this one.

Still, I can’t say I’m not intrigued by it, and perhaps that’s reason enough.

by -Sam on Jun 25, 2008 5:35 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Dude

You all are a bunch of sissies, I’ll be the first to say this fight sucks. Palhares has how many wins in the UFC? I can concede that Palhares has a lot of talent but he needs to work himself up to fighting the top tier guys, no one is going to know who he is (from the mainstream crowd), at least Henderson was given two championship bouts to build up his rep. with the general public. The only plus I see from this fight is that the UFC is trying to throw Dan Henderson away by assuming Palhares is going to win.
The real match to set up here is Dan vs Rich.

"Common sense is in spite of, not as the result of education. "
-Victor Hugo

by Chonbody on Jun 25, 2008 12:25 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

LOL at your comment about Henderson getting 2 title unification bouts to “build up his rep”. Those were the toughest fights Hendo could’ve gotten, and he lost both, so he wasn’t built up to any casual fans.

Palhares is an amazing grappler. Henderson lost his last 2 fights, and is 37 years old. Henderson doesn’t get any easy fights right now, and Palhares has to beat the best if he wants to be the champ. There always has to be a loser in every fight.

by Hardcharger on Jun 25, 2008 1:14 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I agree with Chonbody. This fight is terrible. Give us Hendo/Franklin, a guaranteed money-maker and fan-pleaser, before Hendo loses 3 in a row and is out of the UFC.

by steak_knife on Jun 25, 2008 4:24 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs