Couldn't decide whether to just tack this onto the TUF thread but I'll go with a new one to see if it gets some referrals. Dan Henderson has signed for Strikeforce (sherdog.com) in a four-fight, 16-month deal. Henderson's last fight with the UFC was his demolition of Bisping at UFC 100.
This makes me happy. He probably deserved a fight with Anderson Silva but we've been there done that and I wouldn't have seen it ending any differently. This way we get a bunch of matches we ain't seen before.
Shields, Mousasi and King Mo would all be good match-ups for him at some stage, and Henderson v Manhoef would be a ton of fun. Fedor is probably more of a pipe dream for Dan, but who knows what could happen 12 months from now.
Reportedly Hendo's very first fight could be a title shot at Shields, and I cannot fathom the extent to which Shields will get decapitated. He doesn't strike all that well, it's very unlikely he can sub him, and if there's anyone in the division he can't outwrestle, it's Hendo. A Mousasi/Hendo fight would be very, very interesting.
Interesting fact on that, though: according to the contract M-1 demanded, Strikeforce is not allowed to book Mousasi on cards if Fedor's not already on them. Seems pretty lame for Gegard.
Originally posted by CarlCXInteresting fact on that, though: according to the contract M-1 demanded, Strikeforce is not allowed to book Mousasi on cards if Fedor's not already on them. Seems pretty lame for Gegard.
Now that you mention it, I remember hearing that somewhere and thinking I didn't really see the wisdom in it for anyone (including M1). It means if we get Gegard v Hendo then we'd have Fedor v Whoever on the same card though, right? I guess that's something.
In other Strikeforce news, they are rumoured to have signed Monson and finally got round to finalising the Evolution card. It is:
Josh Thomson vs Gilbert Melendez (LW championship) Matt Lindland vs Jacare Scott Smith vs Cung Le Robbie Lawler vs Trevor Prangley King Mo vs Mike Whitehead Antwain Britt vs Scott Lighty Daisuke Nakamura vs Bryan Travers Juan Nunez vs Luis Mendoza Bobby Stack vs Alexander Trevino Alexander Crispim vs AJ Fonseca
Probably a bit shy on top tier talent for some tastes, but should be a good card. Thomson v Melendez has me excited and I'm a fully signed up member of the King Mo fan club. Throw in Jacare and guys like Cung Le and Daisuke who always bring the fun and it's really all gravy as far as I'm concerned.
EDIT - credit Sherdog for the card, for that is where I nicked it from.
The Monson signing is interesting, but then, he's said for awhile now that after his fight with Travis Fulton this month (so as to ensure that Travis Fulton has, in fact, fought everyone in the world) he'll drop to 205 for awhile. Both the heavyweight and light-heavyweight divisions are pretty anemic in Strikeforce, so he's a welcome addition either way, but given the weakness he's displayed against decent to good strikers like Sylvia and Rizzo, folks like Mousasi, Sokoudjou and Hendo--all of whom are bigger than he is anyway--could eat him alive.
Which I dislike saying, because man, I like Monson.
Evolution does look like it'll be a lot of fun, but I'm still miffed at how they protect Cung Le. Not to say Scott Smith is bad, he's tough as nails and perfectly capable of putting Le down. But Le's whole "welp, I'm an actor now, see you in two years when I want a paycheck" deal is irritating, and they'd be so much better served by Le/Shields from a publicity standpoint. Distressing.
If I'm StrikeForce, I feed Shields to Henderson (no big loss, Shields can always drop back down to WW) and then book a Henderson vs. Fedor fight right away. If you put Mousasi in between, there's a good chance that Mousasi beats Dan, thus taking a lot of the luster away from a potential matchup with Fedor.
Kirk, crackers are a family food. Happy families. Maybe single people eat crackers, we don't know. Frankly, we don't want to know. It's a market we can do without.
The trouble there is a fight with Fedor isn't really a big coup for anyone. Hendo's not such a big name that he'd pop the ratings overmuch, but more than that, the people who do know Hendo know him as a middleweight. Especially if he beats Shields and takes the Strikeforce strap--then booking the fight means making the fans openly wonder why their heavyweight division is so thin that the guy pushed as the greatest heavyweight in the history of the planet is fighting a guy two weight classes below him. (again.)
Let alone the nightmare scenario it creates if Hendo actually beats Fedor.
It's annoying, because I'm a big fan of both men and I'm interested in the fight--I just don't think it makes sense business-wise.
Originally posted by CarlCXThe trouble there is a fight with Fedor isn't really a big coup for anyone. Hendo's not such a big name that he'd pop the ratings overmuch, but more than that, the people who do know Hendo know him as a middleweight.
Aye, Fedor only has two fights left on his contract anyway and by rights those should be against Werdum and Overeem. Not that he might not re-sign and I get where Big Bad's coming from, but Henderson v Fedor would look a lot better if he (Dan) was coming into it on the back of a win at LHW over Mousasi.
Anywho, continuing their recent trend of daily press releases Strikeforce have also signed Bobby Lashley (sherdog.com).
Whether he's actually any good is still a matter of some debate, but he gives them some name recognition and with 2-3 wins they could build him into something credible. Besides, his amateur wrestling pedigree isn't to be sniffed at. Put me in the "intrigued-but-not-totally-sold" camp.
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The fact you are making an argument for Reggie Miller as a worse villain then Rodman is sad. Besides the choke sign to Spike Lee, he was a class act through his career.
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