Henderson-UFC Talks Moving Slowly

Dan Henderson and UFC owners Lorenzo Fertitta and Dana White met at the negotiation table last week in Las Vegas but left without a new agreement reached, said the top-ranked middleweight.

“It didn’t go quite as I hoped. Let’s put it that way,” Henderson told Sherdog.com Wednesday. “It could have been a lot better.”

The former two-division Pride champion said he and the UFC are currently haggling over a new five-fight deal. Talks are ongoing, said Henderson, but money is the obvious sticking point.

Henderson banked $350,000 for his crowd-pleasing second-round victory over Michael Bisping at UFC 100 on July 11 in Las Vegas, which included a $100,000 knockout bonus doled out that night by the promotion.

How much more Henderson is asking for has not been disclosed, though the two-time Olympic Greco-Roman wrestler is far from the first to turn down a renewal offer from the UFC.

“Obviously I feel my value has gone up enough to warrant what I’ve asked for. I don’t think I’m being greedy by any means,” said Henderson. “There’s a lot of numbers being thrown around out there and I feel I should be paid what I ask for. They feel like, I guess, I’m not worth that though.”

Henderson, 39, who said he became a free agent last month when his contract expired, has bided his time thus far, choosing not to negotiate with rival promotions like Strikeforce, which mounts its first major network effort Nov. 7 on CBS.

“I haven’t talked to anyone yet,” said Henderson. “I’m just kind of giving the UFC a chance to figure things out. I don’t want to be disrespectful in any way and I don’t want to waste anyone else’s time, like Strikeforce.”

Meanwhile, the UFC has diverted earlier plans to match Henderson against UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva in a rematch of their March 2008 fight at UFC 82.

White told The Los Angeles Times last Friday that the promotion had acquired verbal agreements to contest Silva against recent UFC 103 winner Vitor Belfort at UFC 108 on Jan. 2 in Las Vegas.

Belfort, a former UFC light heavyweight champion, would make his debut at 185 pounds for the promotion in the championship bout.

“Yeah, I’m not real thrilled about that,” said Henderson of the plans. “And I like Vitor. He’s a good guy and he’s been around for a long time, but I just don’t understand why he gets to jump to the front of the line, especially when I beat him.”

Henderson said he brought up his 2006 unanimous decision victory over Belfort at Pride 32 in Las Vegas at last week’s meeting, but he was met with puzzled faces.

“I think it’s something that might have slipped their minds, that (that fight) happened,” said Henderson. “I’m not exactly sure. You’ll have to ask them on that, but to me, that’s what it seemed like.”

Henderson is hoping Fertitta and White won’t forget his service to the promotion over the last two years. Since rejoining the promotion in 2007, Henderson has co-headlined four of the five events he’s appeared in.

“I feel like I have stepped up for them a number of times and have done things for them,” said Henderson.

In late July, Henderson said he was asked to rematch Rich Franklin at UFC 103 on Sept. 19 in Dallas, as the promotion was in need of a last-minute main bout to go head-to-head with a Mayweather-Marquez boxing card on the same night. Henderson agreed and was presented a new multi-fight contract a few days later, which he then passed on.

“We figured out we were a lot further away than we thought (on the contract),” said Henderson.

During a July 31 teleconference call, White announced that Franklin would face Belfort instead and that Henderson would wait to fight Silva next following the Brazilian’s 205-pound, non-title bout against Forrest Griffin at UFC 101 on Aug. 6. Henderson said White contacted him shortly after the media call and reiterated that he’d get the next middleweight title shot.

But when Henderson wouldn’t sign the new contract, other wheels were set in motion. With Belfort siphoned off to Silva in the new year, Henderson was offered another headlining bout against Nate Marquardt at UFC 105 on Nov. 14 in Manchester, England, under the same terms.

Henderson said he’s willing to face Marquardt once he and the promotion can come to a new agreement.

“I never turned Marquardt down,” said Henderson. “I basically made a statement saying that Marquardt and Anderson Silva are my next two fights regardless and I’ve got to beat them both to either become or stay the champ. I’m O.K. with fighting (Marquardt); we just have to come up with a deal.”

Henderson, who’d prefer 10 weeks to properly prepare for his next bout, believes he won’t fight again until the new year. And if a stalemate continues between himself and the UFC, Henderson understands he might have to begin looking elsewhere.

“Basically anywhere’s a possibility, but I’d like to make things work with the UFC,” said Henderson. “Since I’ve had a history with Japan, I guess that would be one place I’d talk to. Strikeforce, for sure, would be the next big U.S. promotion.”

Henderson said he walked away from the meeting with the feeling the ball was in the UFC’s court.

“I don’t know what they’re thinking,” said Henderson. “They haven’t gotten back to me at all since I flew out last week. I’m not trying to pin them over a barrel or anything. I feel like I was just undervalued before, especially toward the end of my contract.”