Strikeforce: Dan Henderson vs. Fedor Emelianenko-Will This Fight Happen?

Last Friday’s exciting and somewhat controversial Strikeforce event Strikeforce: Diaz vs. Daley left fans amazed and bewildered at the outcome of the co-main and main events.

As we witnessed last minute replacement and former UFC light heavyweight, Keith Jardine and Strikeforce’s No. 1 contender, Gerard Mousassi, go all three rounds in a back and forth battle that ended in a disappointing majority draw, there is now much to be discussed in regards to Zuffa LLC’s recent acquisition of Strikeforce and the future of the light heavyweight and heavyweight divisions.

Backstage after the fights, MMA H.E.A.T reporter Karyn Bryant caught up with MMA legend, UFC 17 Middleweight Tournament winner, former PRIDE welterweight and middleweight champion and now the Strikeforce light heavyweight champ, Dan “Hendo” Henderson, for a quick Q&A session regarding his next fight and the possibility of facing Fedor Emelianenko. They also discussed the UFC’s newest light heavyweight champion and now the youngest fighter in history to claim the light heavyweight title at just 23 years of age, Jonny “Bones” Jones.

Henderson is easily one of the most decorated veterans that the sport of MMA has to offer, boasting a professional MMA record of 27-8 with wins over many of the sport’s most formidable opponents and A-list fighters. At 40 years of age, Henderson is definitely a game opponent. (See Henderson’s list of accomplishments and awards here.)

Always willing to step up and never one to back down, the multi-division champ and owner of the Fightsports clothing line, Clinch Gear, “Hendo” doesn’t seem to care which weight class he fights at as long as he’s fighting top opponents.

Henderson spoke to Bryant about the possibility of fighting the former PRIDE and WAMMA heavyweight champion, Fedor Emelianenko. Henderson said that he’s not sure if or when the fight could take place, but that it’s a fight that he would “love to have” and it’s a fight that “makes sense” with Mousassi’s recent draw against Keith Jardine and Strikeforce heavyweight Mike Pyle’s recent injury.

He also dispelled the rumor that the fight would take place at a catch weight and said that he would move up to heavyweight to face the fighter who many once believed and some still believe to be the pound-for-pound greatest fighter of all-time.

Fedor had made it through most of his career with an impressive record of 31-1 with his only loss coming by way of doctor stoppage due to a cut against opponent Tsuyoshi Kohsaka in December of 2000.

While many believed the Russian to be unbeatable, that record has now changed, as well as his seemingly indestructible reputation. He has lost his last two fights, one by way of submission against Fabricio Werdum in Round 1 of Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Werdum and most recently a TKO loss due to doctor stoppage against Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva in Round 2 at Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Silva.

Henderson says that if the fight does happen, he would face Fedor at his (Henderson) current weight of 205 and that he might have to “drink a little water” to get over 206. He goes on to say that he has “never felt weak” against heavyweights and that it’s “all about positioning and not carrying their weight around.”

As an accomplished Greco-Roman wrestler, Henderson competed at the Summer Olympic Games in 1992 and 1996 and took home a bronze medal at the Pan American Games in 1995.

Fedor is considered to be one of MMA’s smaller heavyweights and Henderson would only be giving up about 25 lbs to the Russian submission specialist, making for a more theoretically equal matchup than one might assume.

Of course, there is always the possibility of Fedor landing a devastating blow that has crippled many of whom are considered the sport’s best strikers. Then again, “Hendo” has never been KO'd and has a vicious straight right of his own, recently dubbed the “H-Bomb” and rightly so.

Henderson’s last three wins have come by way of KO, the most notorious of which was a brutal dismantling of TUF 3 heavyweight winner and British UFC middleweight fighter, Michael “The Count” Bisping.

The question of Henderson taking on the UFC’s newly-crowned light heavyweight champion, Jon Jones, has recently surfaced as well. Whether or not this fight will actually take place all depends on the plans of Zuffa LLC’s possible merger of Strikeforce and the UFC, a possibility that the fans are dying for.

UFC president Dana White has said on multiple occasions, that a merger between Strikeforce and the UFC is nowhere on the horizon for now and that the current UFC champs have their hands full with upcoming fights and possible future bouts.

The fight between Henderson and Fedor seems much more likely to happen before a unification of Strikeforce and the UFC.

The question is, will this fight happen? As “Hendo” rightfully says, “Who knows?”

Fedor’s management has a history of making contract negotiations quite difficult over the years. The UFC has failed to sign Fedor after multiple attempts to find common ground with him and his management.

Now that Zuffa LLC owns Strikeforce, Fedor doesn’t have many options with regards to fighting in the States. If he wants to continue fighting top opponents, a notion that many have questioned as of late, he must come to terms with Dana White and Zuffa LLC.

Regardless of what happens next, we can expect to see exciting and history-making matchups in the very near future and the future looks bright!