Immediately following his victory over Rashad Evans at UFC 145, Jon Jones learned that he would be matched up against Dan Henderson in his next title defense.
Henderson, who was sitting cageside to view the main event, anticipated a potential meeting with either competitor and will attempt to become the only fighter in mixed martial arts history to hold three major championship titles from three different organizations.
The 42-year-old shared his opinion on the upcoming bout with the champion, who will make his fourth title defense since capturing it last year against Mauricio “Shogun” Rua at UFC 128.
“He looked pretty solid,” Henderson said while analyzing Jones’ performance. “He threw a lot of stuff that’s, I guess, typical of him. Unorthodox with some nasty elbows. A lot of kicks.”
Henderson had been holding out for a title shot since his last appearance at UFC 139. Since then, the 42-year old has turned down bouts with Antonio Rogerio Nogueira and a rematch with Rua.
Although he possesses efficient Greco-Roman wrestling skills, the former two-time Olympian has recently relied more on his striking prowess to determine the outcome of his bouts.
Henderson has finished a majority of his opposition with his devastating knockout power, including former champions Rafael Cavalcante and Fedor Emelianenko.
However, “Hendo” hopes to take a different approach heading into his title bout against Jones.
“You’ve really got to get inside and fight with him and end up in the clinch with him a lot. Jones is better than most guys in the clinch. … (But) that’s where I’m most comfortable,” he said. “At the same time I need to be real careful with catching one of those goofy elbows that he throws.”
Henderson poses as an interesting challenge to Jones and is considered by some fans to be the last legitimate challenge of Jones’ title reign.
The odds might not be in his favour, but at his age Henderson continues to outlast father time and remain a relevant figure at 205 pounds.
And with his career winding down, the UFC must take advantage of Henderson’s marketability for all they can.
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