Dan Henderson wanted million dollar signing bonus
InsideFights.com has also learned that Henderson and the UFC are far apart on contract negotiations. Henderson is asking for a…
InsideFights.com has also learned that Henderson and the UFC are far apart on contract negotiations. Henderson is asking for a contract that will make him one of the highest-paid fighters on the roster, and the UFC offer is said to be considerably lower. The key sticking point in the negotiations has been Henderson’s request for a seven-figure signing bonus.
Both Henderson and the UFC have exhibited little desire to budge on the negotiations.
Henderson has repeated throughout the negotiation period that he has zero interest in going to Strikeforce. But sources close to his camp indicated to Sports Illustrated tonight that even though the UFC is his first choice, Henderson is now open to leaving.
“We’re at a stalemate right now,” White said. “The money that [Henderson] is asking for would make him by far the highest-paid guy in the UFC.”
– Dana White speaking to MMAJunkie about the Dan Henderson contract negotiations.
If this is true it’s an amazing revelation. Dan Henderson has never proven to be a huge draw and we can’t accurately gauge where he stands in the eyes of the PPV drawing public after his stint as a coach on The Ultimate Fighter since the blow-off fight for the season was on the loaded UFC 100 card.
Dana goes on to explain that Dan is welcome back to the UFC but only on the contractual terms that the UFC offered. Also, White ran into Hendo’s lawyer and Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker having dinner together in L.A. It’s hard to believe that if money is truly a motivating factor in Dan’s decision making process that Strikeforce will be able to offer the kind of deal that the UFC can. We’ll just have to continue to monitor the situation and see where it leads.
While I put a lot of blame on Anderson Silva for the middleweight mess yesterday, it’d be dishonest of me to not admit that Hendo may be deserving of a good chunk of blame when it comes to his own situation.