If you believe the betting odds for the UFC 151 main event between Dan Henderson and Jon Jones for the UFC Light Heavyweight Championship, then Dan Henderson is more than unlikely to walk out of Las Vegas with the title belt wrapped around his waist.
Of course, the prevailing opinion among the MMA community is that the astronomical odds being given against Henderson (as high as -700 for Jones and +536 for Henderson) are ridiculous. Could it be that the oddsmakers are trying to entice fans into betting on Henderson, just to rake in the cash when Jones wins? Stranger things have happened.
Make no mistake, Jones should win on September 1. Between his freakish reach, unorthodox striking, championship-level wrestling and great game-planning with Greg Jackson, Jones has no notable weakness for an opponent to exploit. Lyoto Machida was able to use his own unorthodox striking to take a round off of Jones back in December, but that's about as good as it's gotten against "Bones" during his four-year MMA career.
That having been said, however, Henderson has the attributes to challenge Jones in a way that he hasn't been challenged before. A two-time Olympian, Henderson is the best wrestler Jones has ever faced, bar none. On top of that, he has the always-dangerous combination of a granite chin (no knockout losses in 15 years of fighting) and a thunderous right hand. While Jones should win, it's by no means the guarantee the betting odds would lead you to believe it is.
If that package sounds familiar, it's because Hendo has used those attributes over the last 15 years to rack up a résumé that includes tournament wins in both PRIDE and the UFC, PRIDE championship reigns at both 185 and 203 pounds, a Strikeforce title at 205 pounds, and wins over the likes of Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira, Renzo Gracie, Wanderlei Silva, Fedor Emelianenko, and most recently, Mauricio "Shogun" Rua. He enters next weekend's championship bout as one of the top five pound-for-pound fighters in the world...a week after he turns 42.
With all that, it's worth asking: what does the fight with Jones mean for Henderson's legacy?
If he wins, it's obvious: Henderson goes down as the greatest ever at 205 pounds, and is deep into the conversation for best of all time pound-for-pound (although Anderson Silva has that title locked up for the foreseeable future). He'll have won a title in every significant promotion in modern MMA, finishing it off by winning a UFC title at 42.
If he loses, though, the answer is a little murkier. Henderson's longevity means that his career has bridged the gap between the early days of the UFC (his tournament win came at UFC 17 in 1998) and the modern era. His Pride titles were claimed with wins over Murilo Bustamante and Wanderlei Silva, so they can't be discounted, but the lack of a modern UFC title belt is a hole on his résumé. If he doesn't fill it next weekend against Jones, what does it mean?
In all likelihood, not much. The list of fighters who have won titles in two different weight classes is short. In the UFC, it's limited to BJ Penn and Randy Couture, with Frankie Edgar hoping to join them. None of those fighters, however, have held titles in two different weight classes simultaneously. Henderson has. His Strikeforce title win at age 40 compares favorably to Couture's win over Tim Sylvia at age 43. There's no denying that Henderson will go down as one of the all-time legends of MMA.
The only question now is whether his legacy still has a chance to grow...and only Jon Jones and Henderson himself hold the answer.
