As expected, UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones will defend his title against Dan Henderson on September 1, 2012, in the main event of UFC 151.
The championship match-up, which will be Jones’ first title defense in Las Vegas, was announced by UFC President Dana White via Twitter late Wednesday night.
Jones (16-1), of course, recently retained his title by dominating longtime rival Rashad Evans over the course of five rounds en route to a unanimous decision victory at UFC 145. The match marked the first time the 24-year-old reached the judges’ scorecards since a 2009 victory over Stephan Bonnar.
Ultimately, Henderson serves as one of the final top-10 fighters in Jones’ path, as the young champion has essentially cleaned out the 205-pound division in a span of 14 months after an unprecedented string of victories over Ryan Bader, Shogun Rua, Quinton Jackson, Lyoto Machida and Evans.
However, at a spry 41 years old, Henderson (29-8) possesses one of the most celebrated résumés in mixed martial arts history, claiming multiple titles across weight classes while picking up notable wins over Fedor Emelianenko, Michael Bisping, Wanderlei Silva, Vitor Belfort and Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira.
He last fought at UFC 139, besting Shogun Rua in a legendary war of attrition that many believed to be one of the greatest MMA fights of all time.