Dan Henderson Isn’t Getting That Title Shot, Will Rematch Rich Franklin at UFC 103 Instead

(Whaddaya say, boys?  Once more, this time without eye-pokes?) 

Remember when the Dan Henderson–Michael Bisping scrap at UFC 100 was the fight to determine the number one contender in the middleweight division?  Neither does the UFC.  The organization announced today that Hendo’s reward for knocking Bisping out in the second round will be a rematch against Rich Franklin.  Who he already beat once.  So…congratulations?

Judging by the announcement on the UFC website, the official justification for this move is that the first fight was so close it “split the mixed martial arts community,” which is true to the extent that it is with any close fight (Akiyama-Belcher, Hardy-Davis, Franklin-Wanderlei) but it’s not as if a passionate mob of fans has been clamoring for a rematch since the first fight went down. 

Franklin-Henderson I fell somewhere between ‘methodical’ and ‘acceptably entertaining’ on the MMA bout ratings scale.  Let’s not pretend that anyone, as they sat back and watched Henderson knock Bisping into a world where he could taste color, thought to themselves, ‘But I wonder if he could beat Rich Franklin again.’

Long story short, Hendo’s getting screwed out of his championship rematch with Anderson Silva because the UFC needs a main event for UFC 103 in September.  Just like the car they gave him for coaching TUF 9 broke down before he even got it out of the state after UFC 100, the title shot he seemed to have earned evaporated just a little over a week after he got it.  

That might be something for Mike Swick and Martin Kampmann to keep in mind as they vie for the number one welterweight contender spot on the same fight card as Henderson-Franklin.  The UFC reserves the right to negate any and all such promises in the interest of doing whatever the fuck they want at any given time.