UFC
With Dan Henderson bout looming, UFC Champ Jon Jones driven to break Tito Ortiz's record
Jul 24, 2012 - 9:40:57 PM With Dan Henderson bout looming, UFC Champ Jon Jones driven to break Tito Ortiz's record

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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

Current UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Jon Jones is inching closer to "best ever" status with every fight, taking out former champions and stiff challenges left and right throughout his time in the UFC. As he approaches his fight with Dan Henderson on Sept. 1 at UFC 151, the 25-year-old Champion has his eyes set on record after record in the UFC.

First up is consecutive title defenses in the 205 lb. division. The record was set by Tito Ortiz in 2002 when he made his fifth straight title defense, and Chuck Liddell came close by defending the title four straight times. Jones has already defended it thrice, besting Quinton "Rampage" Jackson, Lyoto Machida, and most recently Rashad Evans, making it four wins in title fights in a 13-month span.

With his bout against Henderson, he can tie Liddell in second place, but his driving goal at the moment is Ortiz's record.

"One of my primary goals right now is to top Tito's record, so that pushes me," Jones said in an interview with MMAJunkie.com. "I'm big on setting goals, and that's one of my goals. DVR also pushes me, too. You get knocked out, that's on TV forever. I know that I have to be at my best."

This bout with Henderson is an interesting contrast in styles. Henderson represents one of the last of the old guard, a supremely talented fighter who is nonetheless a threat in only a couple of aspects in the fight game. His wrestling is very good, and his big right hand is one of the best weapons in the sport period, but there isn't much more nuance or style to his game.

That said, Jones still understands the dangers that Henderson's skillset presents, and it's something he's definitely wary of coming into their bout in Las Vegas.

"I think [I'm most concerned] with his striking, that H-bomb," he said. "He's a very talented fighter. His hands are heat-seeking missiles. He can do some things from all different angles with that right hand."

On the other hand, Jones remains the epitome of what the next generation of the sport may be; his talents are spread far and wide in the game, with a vicious unpredictability to his striking attacks, a great grappling game, surprising submission acumen, and brutal ground and pound skills. When an opponent is good to great in almost every aspect of the sport, it wreaks havoc on preparations, and Jones has proven himself capable of flustering any and all of his opposition.

That's something that Henderson has to be wary of come Sept. 1, and if he can't handle it, Jones will be one fight away from tying Ortiz's record.

Penick's Analysis: Conventional wisdom on the 205 lb. division has the progression clear for Jones' immediate future. A win over Henderson means a likely title defense against Alexander Gustafsson by the end of the year, in which a win would give Jones a share of Ortiz's record. One more title defense in 2013 could set the new benchmark, and subsequently could be when Jones decides to make the move up to the heavyweight division, as the end game seems to be. It's all got to play out still, but he's put himself in a great position to help it along.

[Jon Jones art by Grant Gould (c) MMATorch.com]