It was happening, it wasn’t happening, and now it might be -- happening. Fanhouse reports that the UFC is looking to book a number-one contender’s bout between Dan Henderson and Nate Marquardt for their main event-strapped UFC 105 event in Manchester, England on November 14.
Since Marquardt and Henderson appear equally deserving of a title shot against Anderson Silva, the sensible thing to do is to make them fight…particularly for a show that needs some beef while standing in opposition to a high-profile Manny Pacquiao/Miguel Cotto bout the same evening. (But it still won’t be enough. Tape-delayed UK events traditionally pull underwhelming numbers: even though it’s easy enough to stay offline and avoid results, fans seem to have a sixth sense about stuttered sporting events. They don’t like them. At all.)
As Josh Gross of Sportsillustrated.com Twitted -- that word again -- earlier in the week, Henderson has yet to sign a new contract with the UFC. This is academic: there is no place else for Henderson to go. Japan? He spent years there. You don’t opt for 12 hours sitting on a plane if the money is comparable stateside. Strikeforce? Their middleweight division is probably their strongest, but if Henderson is getting a slice of the pay per view in the UFC, it’ll be hard to top.