Dan Henderson: Jon Jones Wouldn’t Beat Me Up Like He Did Glover Teixeira

UFC light-heavyweight champion Jon Jones capitalized on every inch of reach advantage he had over Glover Teixeira at UFC 172; dismantling his heavy-handed foe and putting on a great display for 25 minutes. The win was as convincing as it was brutal, but not everyone though ‘Bones’ was his normal self.

Speaking during a recent appearance on The MMA Hour, former two-weight Pride FC champion and MMA Legend Dan Henderson has his say on the proceedings in Baltimore:

“I don’t know, maybe [Jones] just felt that his chin got tested against Gustafsson and then he didn’t feel like a big deal to go in there and slug with somebody who could hit hard, instead of being on the outside using his length, making Glover come at him and then take him down,” Henderson told Ariel Helwani. “You know, he obviously won the fight, he won every round, but I just thought that normally he comes in with a good game plan and sticks to it, and I don’t think he was doing his game plan at all that first round.”

“I didn’t think he was fighting very smart in the first round, or the first half of the first round. He was just sitting there kind of fighting Glover’s fight and standing there banging with him.You know, I thought that was the only way Glover could win is to make Jones stand and bang with him. Jones was doing that a little too much, and then I think he kind of got back to his game plan a little bit getting in tight at the end, and Glover just didn’t look like he had very good of a clinch at all.

Henderson has been hanging around the top 10 of the division for a long time now, and has had numerous attempts at winning a title shot against Jon Jones. Losses to ashad Evans, Lyoto Machida and Vitor Belfort have set him back in his title pursuit, but Hendo finds himself in a great position at UFC 173.

Slated to face surging star Dan Cormier in a pivotal light-heavyweight match up, Henderson could well find himself getting the winner of the proposed Jones vs. Gustafsson rematch. The do-over of their epic UFC 165 bout has been a long time coming, likely the same as Henderson feels about his crack at Jon Jones. So how does ‘Dangerous’ Dan feel he would do in that bout?

“I think just getting in there, getting in tight with him and you know — my clinch game is different than anyone else’s, and I wouldn’t get beat up like [Teixeira did] in tight,” he said. “And obviously if you stand on the outside I’d have to deal with getting in closer, and outwrestle him, outpunch him, get in tight and close that distance faster. There’s a lot of things I’d have to change against someone like Jones, because he is so long.”

At this stage in his career, I think Henderson would have a lot of problems with a guy like Jones. ‘Bones’ is simply too young, fast, long and talented for Henderson. That’s my opinion, but if Hendo can beat Cormier, he should definitely get the next shot at the title. That’s a big if though, as Cormier comes in at a perfect 15-0 and holds many advantages of his own over the legendary Hendo.