Henderson, Franklin headline UFC 103 in Dallas

Dan Henderson’s victory over Rich Franklin in January was anything but decisive.

Though Henderson was awarded the split decision by the judges in Dublin, little was settled at the end of 15 minutes of action.

The two Ultimate Fighting Championship stars will attempt to reach a more conclusive resolution when they square off again in the main event of UFC 103 in Dallas on Sept. 19.

The bout was announced Monday.

Henderson fought just last week, scoring a knockout of Michael Bisping at UFC 100 at Mandalay Bay.

After the victory, Henderson indicated he would like to fight middleweight champion Anderson Silva again.

Instead, he will at least temporarily go back up to light heavyweight for a rematch with Franklin, who is coming off a win over Wanderlei Silva in June.

The UFC also confirmed Monday a rumored bout between Mirko “Cro Cop” Filipovic and Junior Dos Santos on the same card.

Filipovic was rumored to have backed out of a verbal contract extension with the UFC, but CEO Lorenzo Fertitta flew to Filipovic’s home in Zagreb, Croatia, and worked out a deal.

A previously announced fight on the card between Martin Kampmann and Mike Swick will likely determine the next challenger to Georges St. Pierre’s welterweight belt.

Frank Trigg will return to the UFC to face Josh Koscheck.

• TAYLOR ON COMEBACK TRAIL — No matter how many opponents Jesse Taylor beats, he will likely be best remembered for the damage he inflicted on a limousine in Las Vegas.

Taylor was thrown off “The Ultimate Fighter” before competing in the championship match when he was caught on tape kicking the window out of a limo in front of Palace Station.

He then went inside the hotel and was accused of intimidating customers and security guards, prompting his dismissal from the UFC.

He got a second chance in the organization, but lost his fight and made some questionable comments about the UFC’s handling of his situation and was once again sent packing.

Taylor has been doing his best to erase the memory of his actions and his bad-boy tag, going 7-0 since his departure.

“The UFC kind of labeled me with that, and I’m not sure if I’m really like that or not,” he said after defeating Yoon Dong Sik on the Dream 10 card in Japan on Monday.

Taylor has been active this year. Monday’s victory was his sixth of 2009 in as many fights. He was also coming off a win just more than a week earlier, when he beat Ruben Dario in Mexico City on July 11.

“I’ve been fighting quite a bit these days. I like to stay busy. I stay more focused and more grounded when I’m busy fighting,” he said. “I love to do it, and it keeps me out of trouble.”

In other Dream action Monday, highly touted lightweight Shinya Aoki earned an uneventful decision victory over Vitor Ribeiro, and Marius Zaromskis won twice on the same night to take the welterweight grand prix crown.

Paulo Filho returned from a nine-month absence due to personal problems to submit Melvin Manhoef.

Contact reporter Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com or 702-224-5507.