Dan Henderson's long-anticipated return to the UFC is now a reality.
Henderson (28-8 MMA, 4-2 UFC) has verbally agreed to fight former UFC light heavyweight champ Mauricio "Shogun" Rua (20-5 MMA, 4-3 UFC) at UFC 139. Sources close to the event today confirmed the news to MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) following an initial report from MMAWeekly.com.
UFC 139 takes place Nov. 19 at HP Pavilion in San Jose, Calif. While it's likely that Henderson vs. Rua will take main event or co-main event status on the pay-per-view card, the position of the bout could not be confirmed.
It's also unclear whether Henderson will vacate his Strikeforce light heavyweight belt, though all signs point to a fresh start two-plus years after he left the UFC.
Henderson was unable to come to terms with the UFC executives on a new contract following his explosive knockout of Michael Bisping at UFC 100 and in late 2009 signed a multi-fight deal with Strikeforce. The California-based promotion was purchased by UFC parent company Zuffa LLC this past March.
During his Strikeforce tenure, Henderson went 3-1 with the promotion and most recently took home a huge win when he stopped once-dominant Fedor Emelianenko with strikes this past July in a non-title heavyweight contest.
Following that triumph, he expressed hope that he might be able to fight in both Strikeforce and the UFC.
"I definitely feel like there's still a possibility for me to defend that belt in Strikeforce," he recently told Clinch Gear Radio. "But I think now that the UFC has bought Strikeforce, they need to make money off me, and I need to make money, so we'll see what happens.
"But I'd like to work out a deal where I'm fighting in both promotions.
This past March, he picked up the fourth major title of his career when he stopped Rafael "Feijao" Cavalcante to win the light heavyweight title. Before that, he knocked out former champ Renato "Babalu" Sobral to mute a decision loss to Jake Shields in his promotional debut.
With three consecutive victories by way of stoppage, Henderson, a former two-title PRIDE champion, has hardly seen his stock soar to greater highs.
In Rua, Henderson meets a former UFC champion on the rebound. "Shogun" stopped former champ Forrest Griffin in less than two minutes at UFC 134, which put him back on the right foot after he lost his title to now-champ Jon "Bones" Jones at UFC 128.
Source: Dan Henderson re-signs with UFC, meets Mauricio "Shogun" Rua at UFC 139
Did anybody think anything else then that Hendo would be back in UFC after all?
