Henderson says he’s happy Jon Jones wants to knock him out

UFC Light Heavyweight champion Jon Jones referred to contender Dan Henderson as a one-trick pony and that Jones would be going for a TKO in their upcoming bout at UFC 151. Henderson responded on Tuesday night’s UFC Tonight on Fuel TV: “It must be a pretty good trick. It’s kept me in the sport this long and people keep wanting to see it. It’s kept me around for a long time. But it’s more about positioning. TKO me? I’d love for him to try. That means he’s coming after me and I won’t have to chase him.”

Hendo went on to say that he has never seen as much hype around a fighter as he has with Jones: “I don’t know, probably not this much. The sport has progressed so much and there’s so much more media than there used to be, so he’s benefiting from it. When Vitor (Belfort) came on, people hyped him up and said he had no weaknesses. But then Randy (Couture) beat him.”

The next subject that came up was the fact that many people are talking about this fight as a formality and that Jones is sure to win. Henderson does not seem to mind being underrated, in fact quite the opposite: “No, I kind of love it. I love being the underdog. I like being a little challenged. I need to step up and prove people wrong. It adds to my fire and motivates me. One of the biggest assets I have is my experience, my timing, my striking, my takedowns and the ability to mix it up.”

Henderson went on to say that he is very confident in his wrestling game against Jones: “I feel right at home when I’m wrestling. He’s taller and longer and gives problems in the clinch. But it’ll give me the opportunity to put him on his back.”

As to whether this might be his last fight in the UFC or the end of his career, Hendo is not saying: “I’m sure I’m not at the beginning of it, being 15 years in. I don’t know how many fights I have left. I’ll take them one-by-one right now. I’d like to go out on top. I should have that opportunity. Maybe I’ll want to test myself and my body a couple more times.”