"I was in the best shape of my whole career" - Former UFC title challenger laments missed opportunity to fight Jon Jones in 2012
Jon Jones is widely considered the greatest MMA fighter of all time. After a historic title reign at light heavyweight, 'Bones' captured the heavyweight title at UFC 285 earlier this year as he made light work of Ciryl Gane via first-round submission.
Although chances of success against Jon Jones have historically been slim to none, the New Yorker is still a dream fight for combat sports athletes. In a recent tweet, former UFC title challenger Dan Henderson lamented his missed opportunity to face the heavyweight champion.
Henderson was originally scheduled to challenge Jones for the light heavyweight title at UFC 151 in 2012. Unfortunately, the fight was ultimately scrapped, as Henderson suffered an MCL injury in the lead-up to the event.
Reminiscing the missed opportunity to face the UFC legend, 'Hendo' wrote:
"Really wish I didn’t get hurt for this. I was in best shape of my whole fight career."
Henderson has since retired from the sport, with his last fight coming in a decision loss to Michael Bisping at UFC 204 in 2016. The California native holds a pro record of 32-15 with wins over legendary names such as Mauricio 'Shogun' Rua and Fedor Emelianenko.
The reigning UFC heavyweight champion Jon Jones is currently gearing up for his first heavyweight title defense against widely regarded heavyweight GOAT Stipe Miocic at UFC 295 in November.
Jon Jones heaps praise on his opponent Stipe Miocic
Even before his successful heavyweight debut, Jon Jones had been hot on Stipe Miocic's heels. With the duo now scheduled to duke it out come November at Madison Square Garden, 'Bones' reveals why the fight is so special.
During episode 5 of the OverDogs Podcast, the light-heavyweight legend spoke at length about the immense respect he has for Miocic and why this is such an important fight of his career:
"Stipe has ba**s, he has courage. He is not the youngest fighter, but that is a man... Stipe, he is an honorable dude, and I know that he's a man at the end of the day... I think Stipe is a very capable athlete, and I think I owe it to Stipe to give him that chance to fight the best fighter ever, and I think Stipe owes it to me to give me that chance to fight the greatest heavyweight ever. I think we owe it to each other."
Catch Jon Jones' comments below (20:23):