Forty-one-year-old Dan Henderson has re-signed with the UFC and will make his return to the Octagon on Nov. 19 when he faces former UFC light heavyweight champ Mauricio “Shogun” Rua at UFC 139 at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, Calif.
MMAWeekly first reported the news on Monday and expects the bout to serve as the main event, replacing the former headliner between Cain Velasquez and Junior Dos Santos, which was moved to the Nov. 12 UFC on FOX card.
It is not yet known whether Henderson (28-8) will retain his Strikeforce light heavyweight title, although, he has expressed interest in fighting for both Strikeforce and the UFC.
Henderson’s last appearance inside the UFC Octagon took place in July 2009 when he knocked Michael “The Count” Bisping unconscious in the second round at UFC 100.
After contract negotiations with the UFC fell through, Henderson ended up signing with Strikeforce and made his debut in the promotion against then Strikeforce middleweight champion Jake Shields in April 2010.
After losing a unanimous decision to Shields, Henderson moved up to light heavyweight where he scored three straight knockout victories over Renato Sobral, Rafael Cavalcante and Fedor Emelianenko. The win over Cavalcante earned Henderson the Strikeforce light heavyweight title.
“Shogun” (20-5) has fought once since losing his 205-pound title to Jon Jones back in March. In August he faced former light heavyweight champion Forrest Griffin in a rematch at UFC 134 in Rio de Janeiro, scoring a first round knockout over the original Ultimate Fighter.
See ProMMAnow.com’s Upcoming Events page for the UFC 139 fight card as it stands now, and stay close as more bouts are announced in the coming weeks.