Coming this summer: Fedor Emelianenko vs. Dan Henderson
Fedor Emelianenko is introduced to the crowd at the Izod Center in East Rutherford, N.J., on the first night of the Strikeforce Grand Prix. He lost to Antonio Silva in the quarterfinal round of the tournament later in the night. (Feb. 12, 2011) Credit: Newsday / Mario Gonzalez
A few minor contractual details and an exact date on the calendar remain the only obstacles to finalizing a fight between new Strikeforce light heavyweight champion Dan Henderson and the Russian heavyweight legend Fedor Emelianenko.
Strikeforce CEO Scott Coker confirmed that the bout will likely take place this summer, according to a report from MMAFighting.com.
Determining the weight at which the bout will take place has not been finalized yet, either. Emelianenko won't drop all the way to light heavyweight (205 pounds) for the bout, but could conceivably fight at a catchweight in the 215-220 range. Emelianenko (31-3) is listed at 230 pounds and lost his last fight to the much larger Antonio Silva in the first round of the Strikeforce Heavyweight Grand Prix.
Henderson, most recently knocked out Rafael "Feijao" Cavalcante to become the Strikeforce light heavyweight champion. The two-time Olympian in greco-roman wrestling has fought at light heavyweight and middleweight (185) for most of his career. Whether Henderson (27-8) agrees to a catchweight or makes the move up to heavyweight for the bout, one question remains: What happens to his title?
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