UFC 151: Jon Jones says Dan Henderson is "an older, slower version of Rashad Evans"

By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Jon Jones has been a magnet for trash talk, it seems, bringing out negative comments from several opponents prior to their matchups. It caught him a little off guard against Quinton "Rampage" Jackson, and was completely expected into his fight with Rashad Evans earlier this year, but he was hoping to avoid that into his Sept. 1 fight with Dan Henderson.

That hasn't happened, to Jones' disappointment, but now he's entering the matchup with a different mindset than he had when the fight was initially put together.

"I just expected so much more out of him," Jones said in an interview with MMAFighting.com. "He's an older, more respectable guy. He's a guy's guy. I was a fan of his. But he doesn't respect me, so now, I have no respect for him, and I'm going to show that the night of the fight."

That newfound lack of respect for Henderson bled into a response to whether or not Henderson presented anything to him that he hasn't yet seen.

"No," Jones said. "I feel as if he's an older, slower version of Rashad Evans."

Even though he continues to have massive success inside the Octagon, Jones knows he hasn't done everything he wants to do, and he grounds himself with the goals he's still got beyond defeating Henderson.

"I haven't set any records," he said. "I'm not the biggest defending champ of all-time. That's Anderson Silva. I don't have the most takedowns in history. I think the only thing I'm doing that hasn't been done is that I haven't been taken down in any fight. But outside of that, I haven't set any records. There are people who have done so much more than me. I happen to have beaten some big names, but time could have been a factor. Some of these guys are coming down from glory while I'm really coming into my own. So, I really can't flatter myself and think I'm so amazing. I really haven't done anything."

Penick's Analysis: Jones, despite his excellent resume and skill set inside the cage, hasn't inspired widespread respect amongst his colleagues, and it's continued to lead to fighters taking shots at him. Henderson is just the latest, and for Jones it will now be about making his opponents respect him in the cage if they won't do so outside of it. He is the greatest light heavyweight we've seen come into the sport in years, and he could very well go down as the greatest ever. He's not there yet, but getting past another man who himself is in that conversation in Dan Henderson would be a major step forward for him.

[Jon Jones art by Grant Gould (c) MMATorch.com]

Source: http://www.mmatorch.com/artman2/publish/UFC_2/article_14180.shtml

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