Too much given away in a movie trailer, no matter how great will definitely leave very little to the imagination once the long format feature is available (see: Kick-Ass). Sometimes misrepresenting a film or a TV show by having the trailers or commercials present it one way and then shocking them can have similar results. But what if you don’t own those highlights and can’t make that trailer? Dan Henderson is the opposite of Kick-Ass that way, if you’ve never seen his highlight reel, you don’t know who he is and you’ve probably never seen the best of him. UFC and Dana White own those reels not his new employer, Strikeforce and Scott Coker, and that’s why putting him into the main event/title bout in his first appearance with the company is such a risky proposition.
Sure, he could pull out something amazing at the tail end of his career, he’s still a dangerous fighter capable of standing and trading with any of the best in his division. He’s still a great wrestler and a star in a sport just emerging on the international stage. He deserves to go out as such and be compensated for the career he’s had, which is why he went to Strikeforce who are just starting to hit their stride in the wake of Pro Elite/Elite XC’s collapse.
Dan Henderson has a ten year career of knockouts and decisions (and 1 submission). He’s not getting any younger or any faster and in a young man’s fight game, he’ll be matched up against a better, possibly stronger boxer at Strikeforce: Nashville. His most recent fight was in July (at UFC 100 over Michael Bisping) and will, most likely, go down as the most familiar and powerful statement in his Hall of Fame career. Strikeforce offered him the opportunity to be the man in their promotion in much the same way that Anderson Silva or Georges St. Pierre are the face of UFC, or Urijah Faber is in WEC, because of his highlight reel knockouts, work ethic and likeability. You can’t help but respect or like him.
Henderson is planned to be the man that people immediately connect with the organization and Scott Coker has put a lot of bank and clout behind this show. He needs it to succeed but he might have also alienated one of the most reputable and talented fighters in his organization during this process: Strikeforce Middleweight Champion Jake Shields.
Jake Shields has a lot to lose in this fight, as he will be testing the free agent waters this Spring. He’s a champion who finishes fights either via submission or KO and is more than willing to do whatever it takes to promote a card or a fight or make the necessary PR appearances to bring in fans. Right now, he’s the anti-Anderson Silva. He’s a good-to-great boxer with excellent technical grappling abilities (where many of Henderson’s 7 losses have come from). He’s a dangerous match-up for Hendo and in the process of garnering awareness for tonight’s show on CBS, Coker and the network have shifted the focus from the three seemingly incredible title bouts: during the Final Four of the NCAA Men’s Basketball tournament, CBS were focusing solely on Henderson’s title shot. Rightfully so, this irked Shields a bit, whether he will continue to admit to it publicly or not.
In his first fight in nearly a year, the 40 year old Henderson is being asked to take his prominent, albeit limited, national recognition and promote a fight on network television. He’s carried cards before, but if he DOESN’T win and Shields retains and still feels disgruntled, your champion walks out with three title matches under his belt and immediately steps into a potentially big money deal with Dana White and the UFC. Coker and company could be looking back on tonight as a pivotal evening for their company: if Hendo wins the belt, great. Your biggest “star” is now guaranteed to stick around a while longer to defend the strap. The gamble pays off. If Shields should pull off the upset, as I predicted, and find a way to get the win, he’s done what Michael Bisping, Vitor Belfort, Wanderlei Silva and Rich Franklin couldn’t do – stop a legend and also write himself a blank check in the form of his next contract.
Jake Shields deserved to be a bigger part of the promotional festivities, as did the dream matchup between Shinya Aoki and Gilbert Melendez. Instead, Dan Henderson, whose career highlights are property of the UFC after their purchase of PRIDE, and is a known commodity among MMA fans, was pushed as the face of this show. CBS should have known that their audience isn’t solely comprised of MMA fans; last week they received some of their highest ratings ever for Masters golf tournament coverage due to Tiger Woods’ return. They are appealing to both casual and hardcore fight fans with this weekend’s show. If they weren’t working for casual fans, why was Bobby Lashley (former WWE champion) originally on the card before he pulled off because he wasn’t guaranteed a slot on the broadcast? What about the fact that fighter-turned-MTV Reality host, Jason “Mayhem” Miller had his match moved onto the card in his place? If that’s not an attempt to ‘hook’ some casual fans, I don’t know what is.
When a casual fan tunes in to watch, they need to see exciting finishes and not just hear how good someone has been in other organizations. Without footage of Henderson, he’s just a fable to new viewers and there will be many tuning in tonight. Strikeforce had an opportunity to show Jake Shields winning in their ring and let those highlights and Melendez’ highlights speak for this card. Instead, they chose to bet the house on the hardcore fan coming to watch and bring a few friends along. Even if they do, seeing Henderson losing wouldn’t be new to us, he’s lost 2 of his last 5 fights.
Coker and CBS had better hope that they’ve made the right decision because if Jake Shields does win tonight, they’ll look foolish for not giving him what he deserved. He’s hungry and been disrespected with this gamble. Here’s to hoping Scott Coker didn’t expect “Kick-Ass” to be a family friendly super hero film; I hope he saw the trailer.
