Dan Henderson fell short in his first attempt to unify UFC and PRIDE titles. He'll get a second chance, UFC president Dana White announced Saturday, when the only man to hold the PRIDE 183-pound title fights UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva March 1 in Columbus, Ohio.
Silva, the top pound-for-pound fighter as ranked by Sherdog.com, has dominated since entering the UFC in June 2006. Using what many consider the most dangerous standup game in mixed martial arts, the 32-year-old Silva brutally finished each of his five fights in the Octagon while raising his overall record to 20-4.
Henderson, 37, returned to the UFC in September and put his PRIDE 205-pound title on the line against UFC light heavyweight champion Quinton Jackson. After five hard-fought rounds, Jackson walked away a unanimous decision winner.
Though he balked at the idea of dropping weight to fight Silva at 185 pounds, Henderson (22-6) eventually agreed to the bout after signing a contract extension with the UFC, Sherdog.com has learned.
