UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones knew that his next opponent was Dan Henderson, who once held that same title in Strikeforce. Now he has a date and a place: Sept. 1 in Las Vegas. UFC president Dana White announced the news on Twitter late Wednesday night.
For Henderson, the September date means he will have had nearly 10 months off between fights. His last bout was the Fight of the Year with Mauricio "Shogun" Rua, which Henderson won in five bloody rounds. He opted for the long layoff for the chance to win a UFC belt. Though he won a UFC tournament early in his career and has held belts in Strikeforce and Pride, Henderson has never been a UFC champion.
This will be just the second time Jones fights in 2012, a slowdown from the torrid pace he kept in 2011. He won a chance to fight for the belt, won the belt, and then defended the title twice last year. With little time off between bouts, it's completely understandable that he wouldn't want to fight as often this year.
With this fight booking, the UFC will be putting every belt except welterweight on the line between Memorial Day and Labor Day weekends. However, with Dominick Cruz's injury, Urijah Faber will be competing for an interim belt.
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Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/jon-jones-vs-dan-henderson-set-labor-day-134914007.html
Dan Henderson Josh Hendricks Ed Herman Heath Herring Branden Lee Hinkle
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