Submission Underground 2: Chael Sonnen on intrigue of today's Jon Jones vs. Dan Henderson headliner

MMA superstars Jon Jones and Dan Henderson meet today in the featured attraction of Submission Underground 2. According to promoter/fellow vet Chael Sonnen, there’s a reason this match is so intriguing.

Submission Underground 2 takes place at Roseland Theater in Portland, Ore., and it streams live on FloGrappling.com beginning at 5:30 p.m. ET (2:30 p.m. PT). The grappling event got some major star power with the additions of former UFC champ Jones and ex-PRIDE titleholder Henderson, who were actually slated to fight in the MMA cage before their UFC 151 matchup ultimately fell apart.

But Jones, who’s currently serving an MMA suspension after his latest out-of-the-cage gaffe, and Henderson, who retired in October following an October title loss to champ Michael Bisping, give the bout another shot – albeit in a slightly different format.

And according to Sonnen, that’s what makes the grappling exhibition so intriguing: Both fighters are surrendering their best weapons.

“Both of these guys lose their greatest assets,” Sonnen told our partners at Champions.co. “They return to their roots, which is wrestling. Jon Jones was a state champion in high school, national champion in junior college. Dan Henderson – two-time Olympian for this country in Greco-Roman wrestling.

“So we send them back to what they started with, what they were great at before they were MMA stars. So it’s very interesting. It’s very interesting to put them in that environment.”

And while Jones, who’s No. 1 in the USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie MMA light-heavyweight rankings and No. 2 pound-for-pound, has been a wrecking machine in the cage, lots of questions accompany his trip to the mats.

“On paper, it is the first time Jon Jones has entered a competition in a decade where it’s not a foregone conclusion that he’s going to win,” Sonnen said.

Check out the full interview above.

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