Dan Henderson says he was hoping to jump ahead of Rashad Evans for UFC Title shot against Jon Jones

By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

"I guess Dana [White] promised Rashad [Evans] he was next for the title shot. But timing wise, it would have been better for me to fight Jones, and then have Rashad fight the winner. That would have been better than having Rashad come right back after fighting Phil Davis, and it's probably going to be pushed again if Rashad wins because he's going to have to fight me pretty quickly as well. Dana hasn't publicly stated that I'm next but that's the word. We'll see. The only fight that makes sense is a title shot, I was hoping to jump the line in front of Rashad, but I've got to wait until Rashad fights Jon Jones and then I'll fight the winner."

-Dan Henderson talks to ESPN UK about the title picture in the UFC's light heavyweight division, and where he feels he belongs.

Penick's Analysis: The only problem with Henderson's assessment is the fact that Evans had already been passed up twice for timing issues. While Jones may have been able to return by this month to face Henderson, it made more sense for the UFC from a business standpoint to wait the extra month to finally put this personal feud into the cage. Henderson is left on the side a bit because of that, and does deserve to fight for the title after his win over Shogun and the streak he's been on over the last year. That said, he's chosen not to take any other fights and wait out this title bout, so he's just got to stay patient and his fight will come later this year.

[Dan Henderson art by Grant Gould (c) MMATorch.com]

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