UFC 146 latest: 'Hendo' interested in Dos Santos title fight, Mir-Velasquez 'will happen'

A few days after Alistair Overeem failed a drug test and likely cost himself a title shot, UFC officials have announced no replacement for his UFC 146 bout with heavyweight champion Junior Dos Santos.

However, there have been some interesting developments.

Veteran middleweight and light heavyweight Dan Henderson has expressed his interest in the bout, and UFC president Dana White seemingly has ruled out the possibility of Frank Mir stepping in.

UFC 146, of course, takes place May 26, and the pay-per-view main card airs from Las Vegas' MGM Grand Garden Arena. Overeem (36-11 MMA, 1-0 UFC) was expected to take on Dos Santos (14-1 MMA, 8-0 UFC) in the championship headliner, but the former Strikeforce and DREAM champ recently failed a surprise drug test (his T/E ratio was 14:1, well over the 6:1 cutoff), and the Nevada State Athletic Commission is now unlikely to license him for the fight.

In recent days, fans have launched campaigns to push for everyone from Mark Hunt (8-7 MMA, 3-1 UFC) to Fedor Emelianenko (33-4 MMA, 0-0 UFC) to Fabricio Werdum (15-5-1 MMA, 3-2 UFC) to be the replacement. However, many considered Mir (16-5 MMA, 14-5 UFC), who's currently slated to fight ex-champ Cain Velasquez (9-1 MMA, 7-1 UFC) on the UFC 146 main card, the leading candidate.

But UFC president BozoNeedles seemed to discount that possibility in a recent tweet when responding to a fan.

"Mir vs. Cain will happen," he tweeted early this morning, suggesting he won't break up that matchup.

Perhaps the UFC could look in a different weight class. Henderson (29-8 MMA, 5-2 UFC), for example, "for sure" would take the fight if offered, he tweeted on Friday.

Henderson is on a 7-1 run that includes fights at middleweight, light heavyweight and heavyweight. The heavyweight win came over Emelianenko under the Strikeforce banner. Henderson scored a knockout win then signed with the UFC and topped light heavyweight Mauricio "Shogun" Rua in a "Fight of the Year" performance at UFC 139.

Henderson certainly has the marketability, and his recent credentials – including wins over then-Strikeforce champ Rafael "Feijao" Cavalcante, Michael Bisping and Rich Franklin – speak for themselves. But even when fighting at heavyweight, Henderson weighed in at just 207 pounds. Dos Santos, by comparison, weighed 239 pounds for his title-clinching win over Velasquez in November.

Still, he may be a leading candidate. In a recent interview with MMAjunkie.com (www.mmajunkie.com), Hunt said he doesn't expect to get the fight, and Emelianenko – who was unlikely anyway because of a contentious relationship between the UFC and the fighter's management – has been announced for a June 21 event in Russia, possibly against Bobby Lashley.

Additionally, the other top-level heavyweights from the UFC 146 main card – Roy Nelson (16-7 MMA, 3-3 UFC) and Antonio Silva (16-3 MMA, 0-0 UFC) – are coming off losses.

http://mmajunkie.com/news/28149/ufc-146-latest-hendo-interested-in-title-fight-mir-velasquez-will-happen.mma

Hunt's comments are taken out of context.

He's just being humble and saying he's not expecting the shot (and was expecting it to go to Mir).

We know that it won't be Mir now, and it would have been a shame really for Mir-Cain to be cancelled, plus that's their main event. In any case, it is a better matchup than Mir-JDS, on paper.

Hunt has to be the current frontrunner.

Hendo would be a good replacement. He´s much smaller but with his wrestling and iron jaw it could turn out to be a fun fight.

Hunt vs. JDS would be sweet. I don't care to see Hendo vs. JDS. I would rather see Hendo fight the winner of Jones/Evans.

CDF47 wrote:Hunt vs. JDS would be sweet. I don't care to see Hendo vs. JDS. I would rather see Hendo fight the winner of Jones/Evans.

I have a feeling they will never give Hunt the titleshot. If he wins the title everything would be turned upside down in Zuffa land. Hunt lost to Mccorkle who´s with Bellator and he also lost to several other guys including Fedor. All their hype for the HW division would go down the toilet.

Johan Lofgren wrote:

CDF47 wrote:Hunt vs. JDS would be sweet. I don't care to see Hendo vs. JDS. I would rather see Hendo fight the winner of Jones/Evans.

I have a feeling they will never give Hunt the titleshot. If he wins the title everything would be turned upside down in Zuffa land. Hunt lost to Mccorkle who´s with Bellator and he also lost to several other guys including Fedor. All their hype for the HW division would go down the toilet.

Yeah, very true.

TBH, I don't reckon it matters to them as much as y'all do.