Dan Henderson withdraws from UFC fight

Posted on Aug 23, 2012 in Sports | 0 comments

A knee injury sustained during training has forced Dan Henderson to withdraw from his Sept. 1 UFC light heavyweight title fight with Jon Jones, officials said.

“For the first time in 11 years we’re going to cancel an event,” Ultimate Fighting Championship President Dana White said during a conference call Thursday, SI.com reported. “This is probably one of my all-time lows.”

Henderson, 41, partially tore the medial collateral ligament in his right knee during training.

White said he tried to save the event by offering Henderson’s spot to middleweight fighter Chael Sonnen, but Jones, 25, declined, leaving White “disgusted.”

“We’ve never, ever had a fighter refuse to fight someone,” White said. “As much as he’s won and with all the things he’s accomplished in a short amount of time, he’s been a champion that hasn’t been very popular. I don’t think this is going to do wonders for his popularity.”

White called Jones’ trainer a “f–king sport killer” for telling him to decline the fight and said Jones is the first UFC champion in history to do so.

Copyright 2012 by United Press International