Dan Henderson is nearly set for his first fight since an injury forced him out of a title fight with UFC light-heavyweight champion Jon Jones.

Henderson (29-8 MMA, 6-2 UFC) will meet fellow contender Lyoto Machida (18-3 MMA, 10-3 UFC) at UFC 156 on Me die weekend, he told Spike TV's "MMA Uncensored Live" on Thursday.

UFC officials, though, haven't made a formal announcement.

UFC 156 takes place Feb. 2 at Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas with a featherweight title fight between champion Jose Aldo and former lightweight champ Frankie Edgar. The main card, including the likely Henderson vs. Machida fight, airs on pay-per-view following prelims on FX and Facebook.

Henderson originally was scheduled to fight Jones at UFC 151 in September. However, a knee injury forced Henderson off the card (which UFC officials later canceled), and the division went on without him. First, Jones fought and defeated replacement Vitor Belfort at UFC 152, and then the champ and Chael Sonnen were named coaches for the upcoming 17th season of "The Ultimate Fighter." Jones and Sonnen then meet at a PPV event on April 27 in Newark, N.J.

So for Henderson, this a must-win fight to keep his title hopes alive. In what UFC President Dana White has suggested will be a No. 1 contender's bout, Henderson looks to defeat Machida for his fifth straight win and his eighth victory in his past nine fights. After a title reign in Strikeforce and a return to the UFC, Henderson topped Mauricio "Shogun" Rua in a "Fight of the Year" performance at UFC 139 a year ago. It marked his most recent performance.

Machida, meanwhile, hopes to reclaim the title he once held. Machida recently was on a 1-3 skid that included a title loss to Rua, a contentious split-decision defeat to Quinton "Rampage" Jackson, and a title loss to Jones. But Machida recently picked up a second-round knockout of Ryan Bader at UFC on FOX 4 to get back on track.

The latest UFC 156 card includes:
Champ Jose Aldo vs. Frankie Edgar - for featherweight title
Dan Henderson vs. Lyoto Machida*
Rashad Evans vs. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira*
* - Not officially announced



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Fight card is starting to look good

Dan Henderson said last week on MMA Uncensored Live that his light heavyweight bout with Lyoto Machida was penciled in for UFC 156 on February 2nd. But that may have been a bit premature. On Fuel TV's UFC Tonight, it was reported that the UFC doesn't feel comfortable booking the fight for that card right now due to lingering questions about Henderson's recovery from a knee injury.

Henderson (29-8) was supposed to get a light heavyweight title shot at champion Jon Jones at UFC 151, but his injury forced him out of the card and partially led to the cancellation of the entire event. In the aftermath of that, UFC president Dana White said Henderson would need another win to get that title shot back, and would be facing fellow top contender Machida (18-3). It was thought that bout was cemented into the schedule, but I guess not.

So, now what? They probably have to make up their minds on UFC 156 pretty quickly. It doesn't seem like a good idea at this rate, so a delay seems likely. But how much longer can they drag this out? UFC 157 is tentatively booked for Anaheim on February 23rd. Is an extra three weeks enough? Or does it stretch into March, even April? Henderson hasn't competed since November 2011 and at age 42, the clock is ticking. This probably needs to go down as soon as possible, even if the champ is tied up for a while.

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The UFC has decided to move the Light Heavyweight bout between Lyoto Machida and Dan Henderson to UFC 157 on February 23, 2013 in Anaheim, CA. The fight had initially been targeted for UFC 156 on February 2 in Las Vegas, Nevada.


The Brazilian web site Tatame.com is reporting that the Light Heavyweight match between Lyoto Machida and Dan Henderson which had been expected to take place as part of UFC 156 in Las Vegas has now been moved to UFC 157 in Anaheim.

UFC 156 is set to occur on February 2, 2013. UFC 157 is expected to happen on February 23, 2013.

Both men had hoped for a title shot against Jon Jones but Henderson tore his MCL and had to bow out of UFC 151, forcing the cancellation of that entire fight card. Machida had been promised a title shot after destroying Ryan Bader at UFC on Fox 4 in August.

But when he was offered a shot at Jones at UFC 152 in September, Machida turned down the fight, citing his need for more time. Jones will instead face Chael Sonnen next April after coaching opposite Sonnen on The Ultimate Fighter.



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well...dan henderson won't be a ufc champion unless he has a great cardio like fitch...