Dan Henderson has issued a statement explaining exactly why he was forced to pull out of his light-heavyweight title fight with Jon Jones at UFC 151 next weekend.
It was no doubt a tough decision for the former Strikeforce and PRIDE champion to make knowing that he was leaving the UFC in a tough spot, but at the time he probably didn’t realize just how bad the fallout was going to be with Jones refusal to fight late replacement Chael Sonnen resulting in the UFC 151 event being canceled.
Nevertheless, even with that knowledge it was still the right decision to make as you don’t want to be going into a fight with one of the most dominant competitors in the history of the sport with a bad injury.
Read ‘Hendo’s’ full statement below.
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“Sadly and unfortunately, I partially tore a ligament in my knee in training. As a result I’ve had to make one of the toughest decisions that I have ever had to make…for the first time in my career I am forced to pull out of a fight, my fight with Jon Jones at UFC 151. Luckily, surgery is not needed at this time and I will be completely devoted to rehabing my knee as quickly as possible. I feel that I owe it to my fans and all the people supporting me to fight at my full potential in order to give myself a chance to win the UFC title. I appreciate the loyal support that I have felt from my fans. I want to thank all of my coaches and team of guys for the great support with my training camp. Most importantly, I appreciate their honesty when I needed them the most to make this very difficult decision. I also want to thank Dana and Lorenzo for being so understanding and supportive. I will continue to pursue the UFC belt with all of my heart!”
