Dan Henderson: I guess I should go to s*** talking school
As the uproar peaks over yesterday’s announcement that Chael Sonnen and Jon Jones will face off as coaches on the Ultimate Fighter and for the Light Heavyweight title, the man who almost had his shot at Jones has spoken up. Almost healed up from a partially torn MCL, Dan Henderson is a friend and training partner of the polarizing Chael Sonnen. However, that does not mean that he is happy about how the 205 lb. title scene has played out. Hoping for his shot at Jones, Hendo was supposedly matched up with Lyoto Machida for a title eliminator bout. This may still come to fruition, but if Henderson were to win, his promised title shot would be some time off. Henderson took to Twitter early on today to express his feelings about the situation bluntly:
I guess I should just quit training to win fights and to be exciting for the fans and just go to shit talking school. @danawhite
— Dan Henderson (@danhendo) October 17, 2012
So, Henderson is starting to realize that the UFC may focus on the business aspect of the sport rather than the true nature of the sport. It would seem that Henderson will never be the kind of trash talker that Sonnen and his former foe Michael Bisping are. He has always been one to let his fists do the talking in the Octagon or ring. We must remember that Henderson chose to wait the lengthy amount of time for a title shot after his epic bout with Shogun Rua at UFC 139 last November. Jones was set to face Machida and then Rashad Evans, whom he defeated. History has shown that those who wait long periods of time for a title shot rather than fighting again have some unfortunate results (although it appears Carlos Condit will have his day versus GSP as planned).
Did Hendo get the short end of the stick here, and would a more vocal and outspoken version of himself garner more attention in the media, thus promoting his brand further? Perhaps, but again, Hendo has never been that type of fighter. A bout with Machida is attractive, but by no means a guaranteed win for the former multi-class Pride champion. Where does Dan Henderson go from here?
