Gary A. Vasquez- US Presswire
Well it seems Dan Henderson will be back in action against Lyoto Machida according to Dana White. White confirmed the bout on MMA Fighting earlier today. Henderson was originally scheduled to face Jon Jones at UFC 151, but a lingering knee injury forced him out of the bout.
“[Machida] should have taken the fight. We’ve seen it, history always repeats itself. Look how long it took Rashad (Evans) to fight for the title again. So you wanted to fight Jon Jones, you climbed up to the title fight and you don’t take it. Now you’re fighting (expletive) Dan Henderson. Now you might not even get to the (expletive) title again. You lose to Dan Henderson you’re not anywhere near Jon Jones,” White said.
Machida also had the chance to face Jon Jones as a replacement, but elected to sit out because he wanted a full training camp to prepare for the bout. This move was stunning to White because Machida had said numerous times that he wanted the rematch and would do anything to get it. Despite all of the controversy, it now seems Machida will face Dan Henderson, which has the makings to be a classic.
A win for both fighters would be huge for their MMA careers, and it also brings them one step closer to challenging for the UFC light heavyweight championship. Dan Henderson will be trying to come back after a long layoff, and he wants to prove to everyone that he still can compete with the best in the division, which is exactly what Lyoto Machida is at this point.
Machida will looking to add another legend to his win column, and he will be trying to prove that he has what it takes to beat Jon Jones. Lyoto certainly shined in his last fight against Ryan Bader, which ended in dramatic fashion when Lyoto landed a devastating straight right on Bader.
Do you feel like this is an appropriate match up for both fighters? Share your thoughts in the comment section below or send me a tweet @MMA_FORTE.
