Dan Henderson Signs with Strikeforce

Strikeforce is rapidly gaining momentum and it is almost every week that we hear that new fighters have signed with the promotion. Scott Coker is busy signing free-agents and talented fighters from different promotions and parts of the world in sharp contrast to the UFC which is dominated by US wrestlers and fighters from Brazil.

The latest news this week has been Dan Henderson signing with the promotion. Unhappy with the way the promotion has been treating him as of late, he has decided to move ahead and sign with Strikeforce. Pay has been one topic of hot discussion for him with the UFC viewing the fighter as one at the end of his career. The thing that really got Henderson upset however is the way the UFC has favored Vitor Belfort over him.

Vitor Belfort after a single fight with Rich Franklin at 195 has been given the shot to fight for the title against Anderson Silva at 185. The guy did not wait in line like Henderson and Marquandt, but has also never fought at 185 in the UFC which is almost ridiculous. Not only that, but the guy has been beaten by Henderson at Pride 32: The Real Deal back in 2006, so of course this would upset him.

In the middle of the negotiations, the UFC have gone out of their way to show the disrespect they have of their fighters however. They actually went and used the fact that Hendo has not renewed his contract with the UFC and banned his clothing line Clinch Gear. That is just the kind of thing the UFC does and that is why it is so important to have another organization that fighters can turn to and fight for.

Scott Coker has a chance today to build Strikeforce into a major player in the MMA promotion market and signing a UFC superstar like Dan Henderson is an important milestone.

Lets take a look at some interesting match-ups that Strikeforce has to headline its next few events.

HW division:

Fedor vs. Werdum and/or Overeem

Brett Rogers vs. Werdum and/or Overeem

Roger Gracie vs. Werdum and/or Brett Rogers

Bobby Lashley vs. Roger Gracie

Jeff Monson vs. Roger Gracie and/or Lashley

Muhammed Lawal vs. any of the above

Antonio Silva vs. Bob Sapp and/or Jan Nortje

need Josh Barnett, Andrei Arlovski, Sergei Kharitonov and Tim Sylvia in the mix

LHW division

Gegard Mousasi vs. Dan Henderson and/or Muhammed Lawal

Renato Sobral vs. Jeff Monson

Sokoudjou vs. Muhammed Lawal and/or Bobby Southworth and/or Mike Whitehead

they would do well by signing some more UFC talent here

MW division

Melvin Manhoef vs. Jason Miller

Ronaldo Jacare Souza vs. Jake Shields

Ronaldo Jacare Souza vs. Dan Henderson

Kazushi Sakuraba vs. Ronaldo Jacare Souza

LW and WW divisions: get fighters from Dream, these divisions are strong over there. Throw Shinya Aoki and Eddie Alvarez into the mix at LW and you've got a solid card.

So looks like there are plenty of top-notch fights to see for the MMA fan that is tired of weak UFC cards on PPV. Lets take a look now at the upcoming UFC matches.

UFC 107 (Dec 12) - good card, one of the best for a while but nowhere near Fedor vs Rogers in Nov. (UFC 105 and UFC 106 sucked so much, UFC 105 was not even worthwhile watching for free)

UFC 108 (Jan 2 '10) - decent card assuming Junior Dos Santos vs. Gilbert Yvel is on.

UFC 109 (Feb 6) - card full of second-rate fighters. Demian Maia thrown down to the preliminary card. Couture vs. Coleman is a fight that should be in the preliminary card. This event needs a champion or two like UFC 108.

So really you don't really get to watch any champions between Dec 12 and Feb 21. UFC organizes too many events with a thin card for each. Couture is now fighting in every event making a living but we want to see Anderson Silva, Machida, GSP and Lesnar. All these guys are out on the shelf and we don't even know when they will return. This is why Strikeforce has a good chance. It will take years to make it happen but if they do succeed and get the right media distribution, they good make it really big and not just in the US but across the globe.

Lets see some good marketing from Strikeforce, good production of the shows, flashy entrances, good commentary and solid cards. Add to that some good media distribution Scott, and Dana White will get fired.