According to ESPN, Dan Henderson will attempt to wrest the 205-pound title from the grasp of Jon Jones when the pair meet in the main event of UFC 151, however, the old warhorse only accepted to fight the young phenom because believes he’ll be victorious.
“I’ll never go into a fight or accept a fight if I didn’t think I could beat the other guy up,” Henderson said.
Furthermore, contrary to the general consensus, the 41-year-old Californian denizen has no intentions of pinning all his hopes on his trademark H-Bomb to end the night’s proceedings.
His main stratagem is to win rounds. Nonetheless, if an opening occurs to detonate his famous overhand right, he’ll take full advantage of it.
“My focus is to win every round, not to land the ‘H-bomb,’” Henderson said. “I’ll make sure I win every round and if I hit him good along the way, hopefully it knocks him out.
“A lot of people who think [Jones is unbeatable] have never fought before. They see what he’s done from the outside. He’s done well with his style but I feel like he’s never fought anybody like me. [My style] really goes well against someone like him.”
Henderson is right in his assessment of “Bones” Jones with regards to some of the populace who believe he’s unbeatable—any fighter can be beaten on any given day.
However, at this moment in time, his record would suggest otherwise.
Save for the one blemish on his résumé—a disqualification for illegal use of elbows against Matt Hamill, which in all honesty should be dismissed as an aberration—the 24-year-old is unbeaten and no one thus far has even come close to tilting his coveted crown—even four former light heavyweight titlists.
To date, Jones’s (16-1 MMA, 10-1 UFC) rise to the MMA summit has been meteoric. In spite of all his achievements, Henderson believes he’s somewhat wet behind the ears and still has room for improvement.
“He’s young and sloppy a little bit,” Henderson said. “He still has a lot to learn, technically.”
If Henderson (29-8 MMA, 6-2 UFC) does upset the apple-cart and assumes the position of UFC light heavyweight champion he will have added to his already prestigious collection of belts which include the PRIDE middleweight and welterweight titles and also the Strikeforce light heavyweight belt.
And with that in mind, a title defense could be in the offing, but then there’s that small matter of getting past Jones.
“I’d like to do that but first I need to make sure I beat Jon Jones,” Henderson said.
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