Welcome back, haters, he's been expecting you.
Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Light Heavyweight kingpin Jon Jones, who is expected to defend his 205-pound title against Dan Henderson later this year, knows he's got to conquer not just his opponent, but the former Strikeforce and PRIDE Champion's "huge fanbase" as well.
He's okay with that.
It comes with the championship territory, and the boo birds gave him a preview for his future "Hendo" tilt during the pre-fight festivities for UFC 145, the April 21 pay-per-view (PPV) event that saw "Bones" defend his strap against arch nemesis "Suga" Rashad Evans.
Jones breaks it all down during last weekend's press conference, after the jump.
"I feel great that I already have a mission. I'm going to work extremely hard to better myself. I did things that I could have done better and Dan Henderson is an awesome opponent. He's a winner. He has a huge fanbase and I'm sure the haters are going to come right away, which I'm okay with. There's just going to be a lot of things to conquer in this fight. He has extreme knockout power. I don't know who hits harder between him and Rampage but he has extreme knockout power and I'm excited to conquer it."
Henderson has been riding the pine since huffing and puffing his way past Mauricio Rua last November. While he teased a middleweight title fight against Anderson Silva later this year, the 41 year-old slugger instead opted to keep himself at the heavier weight -- while bailing Joe Silva out of a matchmaking conundrum.
At least for now.
So how about it haters, who's representing the boo-oh-nine when these two warriors mix it up on fight night? Let yourselves be heard!
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