Most people will be picking Rashad Evans to win his upcoming UFC on Fox 2 battle against Phil Davis, both because he appears to hold a general advantage over Davis and also because it would finally open the door for the Evans-Jon Jones grudge match that fans have been clamoring for since this summer.
At least one man is hoping for the Phil Davis upset though and that's Dan Henderson, the former Strikeforce light heavyweight champ who recently put on a fight of the decade performance against Mauricio "Shogun" Rua at UFC 139 and will almost certainly be the next in line to face Bones should Evans come up short against Davis.
The 41-year-old bruiser has been on a tear lately, compiling a four-fight winning streak that includes the aforementioned victory over Rua, as well as complete starchings of Renato "Babalu" Sobral, Rafael "Feijao" Cavalcante and Fedor Emelianenko. Henderson plies his trade on the strength of serious wrestling chops and dynamite-packed fists and, though Jon Jones has run through every seasoned veteran put in his path, Henderson's longtime friend and training partner Randy Couture recently told ESPN UK that he doesn't see Hendo having the same issues that Jones' other opponents have with his reach and creativity.
"It'd be interesting to see Danny against Jon Jones," said Couture. "At the ripe old age of 40 Danny is coming into his own. He's firing on all cylinders right now.
"He's got a tremendous wrestling background, he's got one of the best right hands in the sport, it'd be interesting to see how he'd deal with Jon and how Jon would deal with him. I don't see reach being a huge issue. I don't see Jon being able to stay on the outside and pick Dan apart. There's going to have to be an engagement at some point in that cage and we'd get to see what type of punch Jon can take."
Henderson will find out where exactly he stands in the light heavyweight division when Evans and Davis do battle this January 28 at UFC on Fox 2.
At least one man is hoping for the Phil Davis upset though and that's Dan Henderson, the former Strikeforce light heavyweight champ who recently put on a fight of the decade performance against Mauricio "Shogun" Rua at UFC 139 and will almost certainly be the next in line to face Bones should Evans come up short against Davis.
The 41-year-old bruiser has been on a tear lately, compiling a four-fight winning streak that includes the aforementioned victory over Rua, as well as complete starchings of Renato "Babalu" Sobral, Rafael "Feijao" Cavalcante and Fedor Emelianenko. Henderson plies his trade on the strength of serious wrestling chops and dynamite-packed fists and, though Jon Jones has run through every seasoned veteran put in his path, Henderson's longtime friend and training partner Randy Couture recently told ESPN UK that he doesn't see Hendo having the same issues that Jones' other opponents have with his reach and creativity.
"It'd be interesting to see Danny against Jon Jones," said Couture. "At the ripe old age of 40 Danny is coming into his own. He's firing on all cylinders right now.
"He's got a tremendous wrestling background, he's got one of the best right hands in the sport, it'd be interesting to see how he'd deal with Jon and how Jon would deal with him. I don't see reach being a huge issue. I don't see Jon being able to stay on the outside and pick Dan apart. There's going to have to be an engagement at some point in that cage and we'd get to see what type of punch Jon can take."
Henderson will find out where exactly he stands in the light heavyweight division when Evans and Davis do battle this January 28 at UFC on Fox 2.
