UFC News: Randy Couture Says Chael Sonnen vs. Dan Henderson Could Happen

By John Heinis on November 30, 2012

UFC Hall of Famer Randy “The Natural” Couture is a good friend, and former training partner, of UFC light heavyweight contenders Chael Sonnen and Dan Henderson. While they have two very different paths to the 205-pound title, Couture believes “Hendo” vs. Sonnen could happen in the future.

The former light heavyweight champion said as much in an interview with CageJunkies.com (transcription via MMA Mania).

"Yeah I think they'd fight," Couture said of the potential match up. "They've wrestled each other for a spot on the Olympic team, they're wrestlers at the end of the day and now they're fighters, they're professionals, this is what we do ... I think they'd both put it on the line and fight when it came down to it."

Don’t count on the two Team Quest standouts facing off anytime soon though.

In an interview with The Fight Nerd in January, Sonnen sung Henderson’s praises for all he’s done to mentor him and further his career as a fighter.

“Dan's more than a friend so that's a little bit different," Sonnen said. "You're asking me to fight one of my coaches, you're asking me to fight a guy who helped train me, to teach me what I know, that's a significant difference than fighting a friend. You're talking about a student versus a master type situation ... I think that's more than they could ask of anybody."

On top of that, the former Strikeforce and PRIDE champion has agreed to be a coach for Sonnen’s team on the next season of “The Ultimate Fighter.” The former two-time middleweight title challenger is coaching opposite none other than reigning 205-pound kingpin Jon Jones.

The two will square off on April 27 at the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ. Henderson was scheduled to face off against Jones at UFC 151 in Sept., but the challenger had to pull out just eight days before the bout due to a knee injury.

Funny enough, Sonnen was tapped as a last-minute replacement but Jones declined the fight and the event ended up being cancelled altogether.

Henderson will return to the cage in February, taking on a former champion in Lyoto Machida at UFC 157.

Would Henderson and Sonnen ever trade shots in the Octagon given the right circumstances or would their long history together prevent them from ever duking it out in the cage?