It's Official: Dan Henderson Signs with Strikeforce

After months of speculation, Dan “Hollywood” Henderson has signed a four-fight, 16-month contract with North American based promotion Strikeforce.

Following his spectacular knockout victory over Michael Bisping at UFC 100, Henderson’s contract came up for renewal and a deal could not be reached. With a three-fight win streak, Henderson was looking for a pay raise as well as an immediate title shot.

What kind of numbers Henderson was looking for are unknown and depending on who you ask, they vary greatly. Dana White claimed numerous times that Henderson was looking to become the highest paid fighter in the company while Henderson himself stated that he just wanted a slight pay raise.

The move had been expected for a while since the apparent falling out with White over the last few months.

Dan Henderson provides a very valuable piece to the puzzle for Strikeforce. Without ever fighting for the company, he is automatically their most recognizable face. He comes in as a franchise player, without a doubt, who will raise the promotions stock overnight.

Strikeforce now has the task of how they want to use Henderson. The first question that needs to be answered is what weight class will “Hendo” fight at? Strikeforce obviously would prefer him to fight at Light-Heavyweight with their lack of names in the division. At this point Mousasi has no upcoming challengers on the horizon.

The Middleweight division is much different. Strikeforce has signed a plethora of talent over the last few months and do not need him there as badly. On top of this, Middleweight Champion Shields is undersized and going against an over-sized middleweight would present a lot of problems.

Either way, Dan Henderson proves to be a huge acquisition for a company that is looking to push themselves to the mainstream. Is Henderson the name that will push Strikeforce over the edge? Only time will tell.