Still eyeing the belt, Dan Henderson provokes Jon Jones: “He’s not authentic”

Despite having Rashad in front of him, Hendo still shows a desire to face Jones. Photo: Esther Lin/MMA Fighting

42-year-old veteran, fighting since 1997, Dan Henderson had a fight scheduled for September 2012, when he would challenge the Jon Jones. However, an injury to his knee caused a series of events that culminated in the cancellation of UFC 151. Hendo was then moved to face Lyoto Machida at UFC 157, when he ended up defeated and saw the champion walk away.

The former PRIDE and Strikeforce champion is scheduled to return to the Octagon on the 15th, when he will face the former UFC champion Rashad evans in the main fight of UFC 161, which will be held in the Canadian city of Winnipeg. A win over Rashad could put Hendo back on track with his main target.

“I would like to fight with Jon Jones more than I would like to fight with Anderson Silva”, said Hendo to the MMA Fighting website. “Just because I have a lot less respect for him as a person than I do for Anderson. He is not authentic. I think the way he portrays himself doesn't represent who he really is. I also think the fans have already seen what he is like.”

Henderson thinks youth and popularity made Jones a non-genuine fighter. “A lot of it is mainly caused by him being young and being catapulted into the public eye, so he's trying to portray himself in a different light. But he should just be himself”, added the oldest fighter on the current UFC roster.