• UFC/Strikeforce partnership

White open to champion v champion showdowns

ESPN staff
March 15, 2011
Dan Henderson may find himself welcoming over the likes of Rashad Evans to his Strikeforce territory in the future © Getty Images
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UFC president Dana White has bowed to the inevitable in the aftermath of Zuffa's purchase of Strikeforce, admitting that champion v champion superfights are likely to happen in the future.

White is not currently planning any cross-promotional bouts, but he left the door well and truly ajar to the idea during Monday's media conference call.

With the likes of Dan Henderson and Alistair Overeem holding light-heavyweight and heavyweight titles respectively in Strikeforce, the clamour for future showdowns with their UFC counterparts grows by the day.

White insists Strikeforce will run "business as usual", meaning he will not interfere with the current Heavyweight Grand Prix already underway, but he confessed all his decisions are eventually influenced by what the fans want.

"Will [UFC and Strikeforce] guys never face each other? No," said White. "Our job is to make sure the fans get the fights they want to see. It's just a matter of when."

Lorenzo Fertitta, UFC chairman and CEO, echoed the views of his president, commenting: "If the fans want to see it, as Dana says, that's what we do."

The duo's comments open up the possibility of future collisions between the likes of Henderson and Mauricio Shogun Rua, Jon Jones or Rashad Evans at 205lbs, and the option for collisions between Overeem and Cain Velasquez, Brock Lesnar or Junior Dos Santos in the heavyweight division.

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
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