Henderson’s Decision: Winners and Losers

Dan Henderson’s decision to leave Zuffa’s Ultimate Fighting Championship this weekend for the different -- not necessarily greener -- pastures of the CBS/Showtime Strikeforce umbrella is scheduled to play out over Henderson’s contracted four-fight, 16-month obligations beginning this spring.

Henderson’s wins -- as well as the quality of those wins and their relationship to quarter-hour ratings -- will go a long way in determining whether he made the right decision. Until then, it’s almost compulsory to speculate on what his decision means for all involved. (Facts can be such a burden.)

The Winners

Clinch Gear Henderson’s apparel company, blackballed by the UFC in light of his terse negotiations and not likely to be welcomed back, will get a serious visibility boost on network television. Who wouldn’t want to see Andy Rooney in a rash guard?

Gegard Mousasi Strikeforce’s 205-pound champion is in a division so barren of top-tier talent that his November fight with Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou was a non-title affair. Henderson belongs at 185, but he’s still hustled strongly enough at heavier weights to make this fight relevant.

Frank Shamrock He beat a so-green-he’s-belching Henderson in a grappling match in 1997; a rematch would draw money for both men. Better: Henderson will probably opt to strike with him, saving Shamrock’s rotting, geriatric knees from the troubles of all that annoying grappling.

Scott Coker Dana White’s spin can give you whiplash -- someone put him on the Tiger Woods situation -- but it’s hard to sweeten the idea that your co-number one contender for the middleweight title got off at the station. Coker grabbed a sharp UFC athlete who hasn’t yet faded…

Losers

Scott Coker …as well as a guy who hasn’t traditionally had an effect on business. Some personalities have that “it” factor. Whatever that is, and however you choose to define it, Henderson isn’t that guy. Whether the name he built in the UFC will resonate with viewers is one for Nielsen households.

Cung Le Henderson in the mix is bad news for Le, who sports a perfect record by virtue of never having faced a great wrestler.

Jake Shields Current Strikeforce middleweights are manageable challenges for Shields, who only recently came up to the 185-pound class. Fighting Henderson is a whole other area code.