Dan Henderson Will Have to Wait a “Couple Weeks” Before Negotiating New UFC Deal

Following the final fight of his UFC contract, a loss to Vitor Belfort in the main event at UFC Fight Night 32, Dan Henderson will continue to seek a new deal with the organization.

According to UFC president Dana White, Henderson approached the executive about the subject before being transported to the hospital to get checked out on Saturday evening in Goiania, Goiás, Brazil. Henderson, however, will have to wait a short while before negotiations begin, according to White.

“Dan Henderson was transported to the hospital. I just saw him out back and he wants to do a new deal,” White said at the UFC Fight Night 32 post-fight news conference. “I said we’ll talk in a couple weeks. So we’ll see what happens.”

Leading into his match-up with Belfort, Henderson intended on negotiating for a four-fight deal with a win on Saturday night, according to a source close to the fighter. Unfortunately for the 16-year veteran, he lost the fight in striking fashion, being knocked out for the first time in his career when Belfort landed a head kick in the first round.

Henderson said during the week leading up to the fight that he wasn’t concerned that Saturday’s bout would be his last in the UFC. The fighter said that retirement would not be on a fight-by-fight basis, and he was confident that he could still compete with the other top fighters in the sport.

Retirement talk, according to Henderson, is at a minimum, two years away.

“I never said I was going to stop fighting,” he said. “Win or lose, I’m still going to fight.”

The loss to Belfort was Henderson’s third in a row, the previous two being to Rashad Evans at UFC 161 in June and Lyoto Machida at UFC 157 in February.

The three-fight skid Henderson currently finds himself in is the first of his career, having never lost more than two consecutive contests.