Hendo only wants Silva

THE CANADIAN PRESS

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Strikeforce champion Dan Henderson, returning to the UFC for a third time, say his preference these days is to fight as a 205-pounder. But he has his eye on middleweight champion Anderson Silva.

"I prefer to fight light-heavyweight," Henderson told a news conference Tuesday to promote UFC 139. "I'm not fond of cutting weight any more.

"And there's only one fight I'd probably fight at 185 (pounds) and he won't fight right now, I guess," he said, referring to Silva.

"That's the fight we originally talked about,' he added. "Evidently he hurt himself."

UFC president Dana White confirmed that Silva injured his shoulder in his UFC 134 win over Yushin Okami on Aug. 27 and had been told to take off eight weeks.

"Hey listen Anderson Silva's fought everybody," White added. "It's not like the's ducking fights. He's never ducked a fight and when he's ready and if this thing (Henderson's upcoming fight) goes right, and Dan wants to cut that weight, then we talk about Anderson Silva."

The 41-year-old Henderson takes on former light-heavyweight champion Maurico (Shogun) Rua in the main event of UFC 139 in San Jose. Also on the Nov. 19 card at the HP Pavilion, Wanderlei (The Axe Murderer) Silva welcomes Strikeforce middleweight Cung Le to the UFC.

Anderson Silva submitted Henderson when they met at UFC 82 in March 2008.

A rematch "would be an interesting fight," said White. "So we'll see what happens.

"He's got to beat Shogun first and then we'll figure it out from there."

Henderson (28-8) left the UFC for Strikeforce in a contract dispute after knocking out Michael Bisping at UFC 100 in July 2009.

He promptly lost to Jake Shields before beating Renato (Babalu) Sobral, Rafael (Feijao) Cavalcante for the title and Russian star Fedor Emelianenko.

He rejoined the UFC after Zuffa, the UFC's parent company, acquired Strikeforce.

"Dan and I get along just fine," White said. "We butt heads here and there but we get along great. I respect him as a fighter. He's a durable, tough guy who's been out there beating the best in the world.

"And I can't hate him for knocking Fedor out either. I'm happy to have him back."

Henderson drew laughs, from White and others, when he followed that up by saying: "I guess it's a little bit ironic that every time I win a title somewhere Dana has to buy the company to get me back."

The former Olympic wrestler won championships in two different weight classes in Pride, which was also bought by the UFC.

Still he said he's happy to be back, saying he believed he had gone through Strikeforce's toughest talent.

"The best matchups for me are here in the UFC worldwide," said Henderson.

Rua (20-5) is coming off a win over former light-heavyweight champion Forrest Griffin at UFC 134. It was his first fight since losing his title to Jon (Bones) Jones in March.

White said Henderson-Rua was a natural matchup.

"A fight between two legends that have never fought each other, which is crazy, both being in the same weight division, both having fought in Pride, it was the fight that made sense."

Rua, 29, said fans had long wanted to see him fight Henderson.

"I'm sure it will be a crowd-pleaser," he said through his manager. "We're fighting for our goal, which is to reach the light-heavyweight belt again, so it only makes sense to fight the toughest guys and Dan Henderson is a top fighter."