Jon Jones to Daniel Cormier: You Beat a Guy That Was 50 Years Old in Your Last Fight

Jon Jones wasn’t impressed with Daniel Cormier’s win over Dan Henderson. | Dave Mandel/Sherdog.com

After debuting in the Octagon with heavyweight victories over Frank Mir and Roy Nelson, Cormier moved to 205 pounds, where he has garnered dominant triumphs against Patrick Cummins and Dan Henderson in his first two outings.

Cormier’s destruction of Henderson, a former Pride-Fighting Championships multi-division titlist and Strikeforce light heavyweight ruler, was arguably one of 2014’s most lopsided beatings. The American Kickboxing Academy stalwart landed multiple takedowns, tossed his opponent like a ragdoll and mounted “Hendo” in all three stanzas before earning a tapout with a third-round rear-naked choke at UFC 173.

While Henderson was an Olympian in Greco-Roman wrestling, Jones doesn’t see that May 24 matchup as having much bearing on his showdown with Cormier at UFC 182.

“Your last fight was against Dan Henderson,” Jones said on ”Bad Blood: Jon Jones vs. Daniel Cormier,” a special which airs Sunday on Fox Sports 1 at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT. “You beat a guy that was 50 years old. And now you’re stepping in there against a 27-year-old who’s going to come in there at 227 pounds – healthy, young and athletic.”

While Henderson actually turned 44 in August, Jones’ point remains the same: The Jackson-Wink MMA product is younger and bigger than the Team Quest founder, a former UFC middleweight challenger who checked in at 199 pounds for the bout vs. Cormier.

In addition, Henderson has lost four of his last five fights; Jones’ only defeat in 21 pro appearances was a disqualification loss to Matt Hamill that he was dominating before landing illegal 12-to-6 elbows. In short, Jones plans on giving Cormier a rude awakening on Jan. 3.

“If he thinks he’s getting in there against a Dan Henderson, or that’s giving him any type of sense of security where he thinks he’s just going to rule the light heavyweight division, he’s sadly mistaken,” Jones said.