Dana White: Dan Henderson ‘Not Worth It’
As Dan Henderson’s free-agent flirtations with both Strikeforce and the UFC continued without resolution for the last few months, many…
As Dan Henderson’s free-agent flirtations with both Strikeforce and the UFC continued without resolution for the last few months, many seemed torn about whether the veteran would eventually return to the UFC.
UFC President Dana White, however, was not one of those people. Telling FanHouse that Henderson’s decision-making process forced him to change negotiating strategy and that he ultimately pushed Henderson into signing with Strikeforce, White made it clear that losing Henderson was not a big blow to his organization.
“He’s happy, but the reality is that I pushed him into signing that deal,” White told FanHouse. “I told people over the weekend that he’d sign within the next week.”
White says that while he originally entered negotiations in good faith, after three or four meetings with Henderson and his management, he realized it was unlikely the two sides would come to terms. Eventually, he lowered his original offer, effectively forcing Henderson’s hand in signing with Strikeforce.
“I wanted him to s**t or get off the pot,” he said. “He was in this limbo forever, and he needed more motivation to make a decision.
