Thursday, October 1 4:25 pm PT: In at least one aspect, Dan Henderson is a priceless commodity: he’s one of the few men to debut in 1997 that’s still relevant today. A dozen years logged in any sport is an admirable feat. And so Henderson is thinking maybe the UFC needs to deliver a large sum of cash by way of appreciation.
Henderson’s contract with the promotion ended at the final bell of the Mike Bisping fight; after being led to believe he was next in line for Anderson Silva’s title, Henderson found himself shuffled over to face Nate Marquardt while Vitor Belfort stepped over both. It might be enough to make a guy feel jilted -- and money has a way of saying sorry.
Henderson didn’t reveal how much he was asking for, but it’s certainly a raise from the $250,000 purse he netted (not including a knockout bonus) for the Bisping fight. With pay-per-view royalties factored in, a number of UFC headliners can bank seven figure paydays. It sounds like Henderson wants his black AmEx, too.
Is he worth it? Henderson has long been the blue-collar competitor: no flash, no ego, just a savage right hand and a willingness to fight anyone from middleweights to heavyweights. There’s financial reward in consistently winning, but the money Henderson is asking for might be reserved for athletes who win and sell tickets. I’m not sure there’s proof he’s a big draw: bouts with Anderson Silva and Rich Franklin were alleged to be among the least profitable on pay television in recent memory.
If Henderson wants to be paid, maybe he should consider attacking a plywood door.
Thursday, October 1 1:08 pm PT: It’s not official, but signs are still pointing to an Anderson Silva/Vitor Belfort title bout for January 2. And if it transpires, Wanderlei Silva doesn’t think it will be too enjoyable an evening for Belfort.
The show is available for download here. Oh, and for those that are wondering about archives for Monday and Wednesday, the archived volumes are now available on the Sherdog Radio Network home page.
Thursday, October 1 12:16 pm PT: Strikeforce may not have considerable depth in any division, but they have enough personalities to make any given evening interesting: Fanhouse is reporting that former WWE attraction Bobby Lashley is in talks with the promotion to make their Nov. 7 date on CBS.
Lashley has been stirring interest primarily for looking like an off-season Mr. Olympia and possessing credible grappling skills: his pressure positioning against Roger Gracie’s stellar submission work would be something worthwhile. And there’s obvious appeal in seeing a pro wrestling attraction take on Fedor Emelianenko: in 30-plus career fights, the Russian hasn’t spent much time in the ring with a wrestler capable of keeping him down. Maybe Lashley can.
Thursday, October 1 12:01 am PT: If you have to lose -- and considering Kimbo Slice’s relative inexperience against dough-waisted veteran Roy Nelson, he had to -- it’s best to go down swinging. And that’s exactly what Slice did during Wednesday’s fight, which attracted more media attention than some of the UFC’s premium-TV offerings.
Slice began the episode ruminating about his relationship with God, decided that some of his problems were attributable to the “enem-me,” and had cast members testifying to his humility. Just when you thought the thug-life persona had disappeared entirely, he was seen chuckling over an anecdote involving guns and somehow convinced a cameraman to zoom in on a mouthpiece sporting the name of a popular adult website. (I don’t think that’ll make the replay.)
Slice never looked rattled on the feet and refused to go down easily, but it didn’t look difficult for Nelson to snare him in a crucifix in both the first and second rounds. Nelson didn’t get a lot of torque on his punches, but absorbing strikes is never the goal. Nelson won. And promptly requested a cheeseburger. Don’t tell me the man doesn’t stick to a gimmick.
And so Slice gets bounced in the first round. What next? Several more weeks of Slice in the background, maybe popping up as an alternate in the event someone gets injured, and a definite December date for a live event. It was not the kind of fight that will cost him many fans, but it was the kind of show that should earn him a few new ones.
