A stir of excitement has crossed the globe as the world of mixed martial arts found out that Dan “Hendo” Henderson has finally agreed to drop a few pounds to a lower weight division and fight Brazil’s Anderson “Spider” Silva.

MMA fans are rejoicing.

Though Henderson lost his bid to unify the Ultimate Fighting Championship light heavyweight title with the Pride Fighting Championship title of the same weight class, he gets one more opportunity when he fights Anderson for the UFC middleweight title on March 1, in Columbus, Ohio.

It’s a heck of a dangling carrot he could not resist.

UFC president Dana White had been pestering Henderson for about a month.

“I’ve been trying to talk Dan Henderson into doing it but he doesn’t want to do it,” White said two weeks ago. “I terrorize him every day.”

But White persisted, chipping away at Henderson. Call after call had the UFC honcho giving reasons for the Pride middleweight champion to return to the Octagon and face the fighter who many MMA experts are calling the best fighter pound for pound in the world.

Best fighter in the world?

Henderson, 37, a reserved individual, has taken years of punishment as a collegiate wrestler and MMA fighter to reach his current greatness. Suddenly Anderson appears and he’s touted as the best in any weight division?

“I’ve seen him get beaten a couple of times in Pride,” said Henderson, who studies MMA fighters regardless of weight class. “He’s very skilled on his feet and definitely improved on the ground.”

It wasn’t easy for Henderson to forget about the 205-pound light heavyweight division and drop down to 185 pounds. Forget about the weight loss, it’s just that the fighter doesn’t agree that he lost his last fight against Quinton “Rampage” Jackson this past September in England.

“I felt I did enough to win that fight,” said Henderson, who regularly weighs around 200 pounds in between fights. “Quinton is a tough guy, but I felt I could have won the fight.”

Henderson doesn’t believe that anyone in the 205-pound weight class can beat him, including Jackson.

“I was able to go another five rounds if I needed to,” he says. “It was definitely a close fight and he’s a tough fighter.”

But now the world is calling Anderson, 32, the best fighter regardless of weight after he battered Rich Franklin, Chris Leben and Jeremy Horn. It stirs the competitive juices in Henderson because though he may not say it aloud, inside he feels he’s the best in the world. And he’s willing to fight to prove it.

“The more they talked about it the more excited I became,” Henderson said last week.

Henderson has beaten a slew of marquee fighters — including Wanderlei Silva, Vitor Belfort, Murilo Bustamante, Ryo Chonan and Renzo Gracie  that would scare the pants off most MMA veterans. He’s anxious to add Silva’s name to his collected scalps.

In a little more than three months, the world will truly know who is the best MMA fighter pound for pound.

IFL changes
The International Fight League this week announced Jay Larkin has been named CEO, following the resignation of Gareb Shamus, who was the co-founder of the organization in 2006.

“Gareb should be commended for his vision and leadership during that period,” said Larkin, who had previously held the title of chief operating officer and president. “I look forward to the challenge of taking that growing brand and working with our television partners, business partners, staff, coaches and athletes to make it the best organization possible for a very long time to come.”

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The former executive of Showtime had a large input for its sports programming, especially in boxing.

The IFL World Grand Prix finals will be held on Dec. 29, at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn. Five MMA title belts will be decided at the finals.

HDNet fight changes
Barely a week ago, HDNet Fights announced Jason “Mayhem” Miller would be facing Sean Salmon in a middleweight showdown at American Airlines Arena in Dallas on Dec. 15.

But first Salmon had a date at the Strikeforce event in San Jose last week against Jorge Santiago. Salmon was knocked out.

Needing a replacement, HDNet Fights signed Tim Kennedy a former foe of Miller to replace Salmon.

Miller is pleased.

“Couldn’t have worked out better for me,” Miller said. “The rematch with Tim is something I’ve wanted for a long time.”

The quick switch was due to an agreement with IFL, who worked it out with HDNet Fights.

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