A Tale of Two Belts

As we all know by now, Dan Henderson holds the Pride middleweight and light heavyweight belts and is poised to capture the UFC light heavyweight belt with a win over Rampage Jackson at UFC 75.

But with all the discussion about which belts (if any) would be on the line at UFC 75, there’s been no word from the UFC about Henderson fighting at 185.

Cue Dana White: “I thought when Dan Henderson came to the UFC that he'd want to fight at middleweight. He said he feels much more comfortable at light heavyweight and that's where he wants to stay.”

So does this mean he’ll just hold onto the middleweight Pride belt? Will he drop back down if he loses to Rampage? We'll see.

It's On!!!

According to a report from today's Stephen Quadros Show, Rampage Jackson and Dan Henderson will fight for the light-heavyweight title at UFC 75.

Only the UFC belt will be on the line, so if Hendo beats Jackson, he'll be leaving the building with three championship belts. Pimp.

My guess is that Dana and the brothers Fertitta are still figuring what to do with Pride and aren't quite ready to propagate the lineage of Pride championships.

No Unification at UFC 75

Well, I don’t have a dog for you to kick, but this is just as bad.

UFC president Dana White said last week during a conference call that the Quinton “Rampage” Jackson-Dan Henderson fight at UFC 75 will not unify the Pride and UFC light-heavyweight belts, The Orange County Register’s Carlos Arias has reported.

“No. What we’re doing with that thing is we’re respecting both (the UFC and Pide) titles. The UFC title is the UFC champion and we’re respecting Dan as the Pride champion. Quinton will walk out with his belt if Dan wins and vice versa,” White said.

Wait, wait, wait, wait. So will the fight only be three rounds? Will the belts ever be unified or will we have multiple champions? Will there be top contenders for each light-heavyweight belt? Will henderson ever be given the chance to unify middleweight belts, as well? What is this?!?!?

I can understand Dana’s logic for “respecting” the two belts. Jackson and Henderson each scored big-time knockouts to capture light-heavyweight gold, and they deserve their due respect. But will the fans really respect a belt worn by a champion who was just beaten?

Overall, I think this situation works out better for Henderson than it does for Jackson and the UFC. If Henderson were to lose his belt to Jackson, he’d still hold the Pride middleweight belt. Not too shabby.

Jackson, on the other hand, just beat the immensely popular, long-time LHW champ Charles David Liddell, so losing the belt after his first title defense to a glorified middleweight could be tough pill to swallow for the UFC light-heavyweight division. Plus, plenty of UFC fans have virtually no idea who Dan Henderson even is and may find themselves baffled if the virtually unknown Henderson were to hold three belts at once.

All I know is that if Dana White plans on having more non-title fights with champions, someone better tell Takanori Gomi it’s safe to come over to the UFC.

Morning Droppings

- Despite rumors about a possible Michael Bisping-Ken Shamrock fight at UFC 75, Bisping is still scheduled to face Matt Hamill, his original rumored opponent.

- In a CBS Sportsline interview, UFC lightweight Jens Pulver has confirmed reports that he’s interested in dropping back down to 145 pounds and fighting for the WEC.

- It looks like the Joey Villasenor-Ninja Rua June 22 Strikeforce/EliteXC fight is back on. The CSAC said last night that the medical issues surrounding Rua were "likely" resolved.

- The International Fight League World Team Championship, scheduled for September 20, has be moved from The Forum in L.A. to the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, FL.

- On Tagg Radio yesterday, Frank Trigg said that, according to Hayato Sakurai's trainer, Sakurai hasn't been contacted about this reported - and highly anticipated - fight with Diego Sanchez. Does this mean the fight is off? Was it ever really on? We'll see.

- I refuse to talk about Kimbo Slice until he wins an MMA fight (legitimately).

- Nikkan Sports is reporting that the "newborn" PRIDE will hold its first new event on August 18 at Saitama Super Arena. The theme of the show will be a “Japanese all-star” presentation, centered around Hidehiko Yoshida. No one reports baseless rumor like the Japanese media, so I'll believe this when I see it.

- Pride middleweight and light heavyweight champion Dan Henderson said that the UFC's $20,000 offer to Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou "was an insult."

Morning Droppings

- The California State Athletic Commission released details yesterday that the legendary Royce Gracie tested positive for such a copious amount of the anabolic steroid nandrolone, that the testing lab couldn't even register it. I don't like hearing news like this.

- Ken "The World's Most Ridiculous Goatee" Shamrock has confirmed that he’s in negotiations with the UFC for a return to the Octagon, but made no mention of who his next opponent will be. As for Shamrock, Shamrock explained, "That time will come when fans don’t want to watch me any longer and my body can't get ready to be at the top level." Check your watch, Ken.

- Now that Zuffa owners Frank and Lorenzo Fertitta have completed their purchase of Pride Fighting Championships, UFC president Dana White is reportedly toying with the idea of dissolving Pride and bringing many of its fighters into the UFC. "There's a lot of different things we could do right now. That is definitely one of the possibilities," White explained. I 'm not sure how I feel about this, so I reserve judgement until more facts are available.

- "Ruthless" Robbie Lawler's recently separated shoulder has pushed back ICON Sport's June 30 fight card to Sept. 15. Lawler, who became 185-lb. ICON champ after knocking out Frank Trigg in March, was injured while training and will be sidelined four to six weeks.