Jon Jones next title defense comes against one of the most experienced and deadly fighters in the game, Dan Henderson, but for the light-heavyweight champion it’s just another day at the office.
“I’ve just fought so many monsters – ‘Shogun, ‘Rampage’ Jackson, Lyoto Machida, Rashad Evans – Dan Henderson’s just another tough guy, he’s not this big mythical character for me,” Jones tells UFC.com in his pre-fight interview.
Part of what makes Jones so confident is his belief in his unpredictability in the Octagon which always leaves his opponents guessing.
“Fighting me can be like walking into a dark room, you really never know what to expect [with] a lot of random stuff that I do. I feel very confident that I can be the first man to TKO him. I’m going to slowly and methodically hit him, one hit at a time, until he decides that his body’s hurting and he wants the fight to be over. let nature take it’s course.”
Having said that, Jones is well aware that Henderson needs to connect just once with his heavy hands for this fight to be over.
“Dan Henderson is a winner. He’s an animal, he’s a beast. It’s no secret that Dan Henderson is a little bit of a one-trick pony. He just has that power – uppercut, overhand – he touches people, they go down.
“My objective is not to get hit at all. It’d be interesting to see how I handle it, one of those famous ‘H-Bombs.'”
Of course Henderson also has a strong wrestling background, but Jones sounds very confident that he can handle him in that regard despite the noticeable gap in their level of experience on the amateur circuit.
“When you put Dan Henderson with a guy who can wrestle with him, you gotta throw his wrestling out the window. I’m the guy who wrestled in junior college, he’s the guy who wrestled in the Olympics. If he gets taken by a junior college kid, it’s not going to look too cool.”
As far as Jones is concerned ‘Hendo’ is just another piece in the puzzle towards achieving his goal of building a legacy in the sport that will stand the test of time.
“I’m trying to be considered one of the greatest light-heavyweights of all time. I’ve come too far to slow down now.”
Watch Jones full interview below.
