Henderson-‘Feijao’ Greenlit for March 5 Strikeforce

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Strikeforce’s rumored light heavyweight title bout between Rafael “Feijao” Cavalcante and Dan Henderson is now official, as the promotion announced Saturday night that the fight would take place March 5 at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio.

While Fejao-Henderson becomes the first ratified bout for the March 5 event, several other contests are reportedly in the works as well, including a women's 135-pound title tilt between Marloes Coenen and Miesha Tate and a pivotal middleweight scrap pitting Jason “Mayhem” Miller against Tim Kennedy.

Strikeforce's reigning 205-pound champion, Cavalcante rides a three-fight winning streak heading into his first title defense against Henderson. The Brazilian made his Strikeforce debut in 2009, losing by second-round TKO to American Kickboxing Academy product Mike Kyle. Since that loss, “Feijao” has been on a roll, knocking out Aaron Rosa and Antwain Britt, respectively. Most recently, the Black House product snatched the light heavyweight title from then-champion Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal, stopping the wrestler with elbows in the third round of their championship scrap at Strikeforce “Houston” in August.

Henderson is a fighter in need of no introduction. A 13-year veteran of the sport, Henderson held both the welterweight and middleweight title during his run with Pride Fighting Championships. Henderson made his second run in the UFC from 2007 to 2009, earning wins over Rich Franklin, Rousimar Palhares and Michael Bisping before making his Strikeforce debut against Jake Shields in 2010.

Sapped of his injury during the fight due to medical issues interfering with his weight cut, Henderson nearly finished the resilient Shields in the first frame before dropping a lopsided unanimous decision. In his last in-ring appearance, Henderson knocked out Renato “Babalu” Sobral on Dec. 4 in St. Louis.