Not taking anything away from Dan Henderson, but let’s face it, Jon “Bones” Jones is nothing short of a phenom.
Henderson and Jones are set to square off at UFC 151, and if Henderson beats Jones, it’s safe to say the world of Mixed Martial Arts would be in shock.
Henderson was able to defeat Fedor Emelianenko, who at one point was arguably the best non-UFC fighter. Nevertheless, Fedor lost to Antonio Silva and Fabricio Werdum prior to Henderson, proving he’s human after all.
On the other hand, the only loss on Jon Jones’ record came in the UFC Ultimate Fighter 10 Finale.
He was disqualified in the first round against Matt Hamill due to illegal elbows.
Considering the recap of TUF 10 on MMAjunkie.com, Jones was on the verge of winning this fight, almost easily.
With that said, it would be unfair to not give the upper-hand to Jon Jones, simply based on his past performances.
He hasn’t just won—he’s been embarrassingly dominant for the other fighter.
Lyoto Machida learned the hard way at UFC 140. What’s most impressive, consider the post-fight press conference provided by the Globe and Mail.
Not only does he show Machida tremendous respect, but his confidence level is obvious.
Dana White seems pretty confident too.
When considering the Los Angeles Times’ August MMA Rankings, Machida would be the next in line to fight Jon Jones if he beats Henderson.
Really? We saw the result of that matchup.
After Henderson, the most notable, and fresh, opponents for Jones are Phil Davis and Alexander Gustafsson, who are 9-1 and 14-1, respectively.
Considering Davis beat Gustafsson at UFC 112, and his most challenging fight will come in December at UFC on FOX 5 against Mauricio “Shogun” Rua; it will be some time before Gustafsson makes his way to a No. 1 contender spot.
After Davis’ fight with Rashad Evans, he could be well on his way in the Light Heavyweight division. However, his last was called a no-contest, and the Davis-Prado rematch will take place at UFC on FX 5 in early October.
Nevertheless, he still has some competition to face in the division, making Davis a long-term option as well.
Ryan Bader, who already lost to Jon Jones, recently lost to the “Dragon” Machida in the second round by punches.
It’s unlikely he’ll be seeing Jones again any time soon.
With Antonio Nogueira, Evans and Machida unscheduled for future fights, it will be interesting to see what happens after UFC 151 in the Light Heavyweight division.
“Rampage” Jackson is scheduled to fight Glover Teixeira at UFC 153, and as mentioned, “Shogun” Rua is scheduled to fight Alexander Gustafsson at UFC on FOX 5 in December.
If “Bones” Jones has his way with Henderson as he’s had with past fighters, it becomes very difficult to assess his future in the Light Heavyweight division.
There’s just nobody left.
It looks like the UFC might have to start looking into more Champion vs. Champion fights as they become increasingly dominant in their own divisions.
Now that Jones has signed an endorsement deal with Nike, he’s officially the real deal (via MMAFighting.com). Look for the swoosh on his trousers to support that, while he throws devastating knees and kicks in the direction of Henderson’s visage.
So, what’s left for Jones in the Light Heavyweight division?
We’ll leave that to UFC President Dana White to figure out.
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