Dan Henderson's future opponent uncertain, Tito Ortiz-Forrest Griffin III on hold

by Dann Stupp and John Morgan on Feb 16, 2012 at 2:40 pm ET
Some of the UFC light-heavyweight division's biggest names are in a bit of limbo.

Dan Henderson (29-8 MMA, 5-2 UFC), Forrest Griffin (18-7 MMA, 9-5 UFC) and Tito Ortiz (16-10-1 MMA, 15-10-1 UFC) all have UFC officials scratching their heads over what's next.

UFC president spoke to MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com) on Wednesday and gave updates on the trio of veterans, though no immediate bookings are scheduled for any of them.

Henderson, of course, has been on the sidelines since a grueling "Fight of the Year" win over Mauricio "Shogun" Rua in November at UFC 139. The former PRIDE and Strikeforce champion was in the running for a shot at UFC light-heavyweight champion Jon Jones, but the titleholder instead headlines April's UFC 145 event opposite Rashad Evans.

White said Henderson isn't interested in a fight with ex-champ Lyoto Machida, which is making it difficult to get him booked for an upcoming fight since he apparently doesn't want to wait for the Jones-Evans winner. The 41-year-old Henderson, who's won seven of his past eight fights, also has expressed interest in a rematch with middleweight champ Anderson Silva. However, Silva is expected to fight Chael Sonnen in June at UFC 147 in Brazil.

"He doesn't want to fight Machida," White said of Henderson. "He doesn't want to wait (either). He's going to have to wait. Who does he want to fight? I mean, I don't know what to do with Dan.

"Dan's either going to have to wait for Jones and Evans or wait for Silva – or fight somebody else. It's pretty simple."

Two others light heavyweights also remain unscheduled for upcoming shows. This past week, UFC CEO Lorenzo Fertitta tweeted news that the organization was planning to book a third meeting between notables Ortiz and Griffin. However, no date was given, and following rumors of a possible Ortiz injury, White suggested it may not be a done deal.

"It's not happening when Lorenzo thought it was going to happen," White said. "But yeah, it could (happen eventually)."

It's a fight both Ortiz and Griffin publicly have campaigned for in recent weeks. Ortiz won the first meeting via split decision at UFC 59, and Griffin won the second one (also via split decision) at UFC 106.

 

Now word is coming from the henderson camp that he was never offered a machida fight.

 

I too think Hendo would have his best shot at HW. IMO, no way he beats Jones or Silva.