UFC 151: 5 Concerns for Jon Jones Heading into Fight with Dan Henderson

UFC 151 is slated for September 1 and will feature a light heavyweight championship bout between Jon Jones and Dan Henderson. 

For Henderson, he gets the title shot he's been clamoring for. "Hendo" has only lost once in the last four years (Jake Shields) and his MMA skills have aged like a fine wine.

In the other corner there is Jon Jones. "Bones" will be making his fourth title defense and hopes to put recent negative events behind him for good.

Here are the concerns for Jon Jones heading into his fight versus Dan Henderson.

5. Hendo's Right Hand

Dan Henderson wins fights in one of two ways, knockout or decision.

The game plan for Jon Jones is going to include circling away from the powerful right hand of Henderson.

We've all seen what happens when an opponent moves the wrong way against Hendo (see Michael Bisping).

Of Henderson's 29 wins, 13 have come by way of knockout.

4. Dan's Wrestling

Henderson is widely known for his wrestling skills, but has only one true submission victory in his MMA career.

Although he doesn't submit fighters, he uses his world class wrestling to put himself in a great position to win a fight. Just as important, he also gets himself out of trouble using his wrestling.

Wrestling is what keeps Henderson out of danger and allows him to pull off wins such as he did against Fedor.

3. Trying to Be Too Exciting

"Bones" tends to try out things we've never seen before inside the Octagon.

In his last fight against Rashad Evans, Jones attempted to land elbows from a distance instead of jabs.

Although he was effective on most of those attempts, it also left himself very vulnerable to a counter strike from Evans, which Evans capitalized on a few times.

Jones doesn't need to bring out a bag of tricks to the fight with Hendo. He has the skill set and reach advantage (nearly 14 inches) to rely on what has already been successful for him in the past.

Henderson capitalizes seemingly instantaneously on mistakes and it usually only takes one for him to knock out his opponent.

2. How the Fans Will Welcome Him

Jones won't admit it, but the way his is welcomed by the fans as he walks to the Octagon is important to him.

As the perceived face of the UFC, his recent DUI arrest has put his reputation into a tail spin. We know he can fight, but can he maintain the love of the fans?

He already had a scattering of boos at the weigh-ins before his fight against Evans. Now, Jones finds himself going against a fighter that most MMA fans support.

Hated fighters aren't in Subway commercials or promoting the next fight on FOX. The types of fighters you see as the icons of the UFC are just like Jon Jones, prior to his incident last weekend.

Will fans boo Jones at UFC 151? I believe so. Not so much for his arrest, but the MMA community likes Dan Henderson more.

1. Dealing with a Complete Collapse

We've seen this type of story before. A rising star seemingly on top of the world until some sort of legal mishap occurs, which sends him into a tailspin.

All Jones has to do to restore his lore is not make the same mistake again and continue his winning streak.

If Jones disrespects the fans and media between now and UFC 151 and/or brushes off the DUI incident like it wasn't a big deal, he will put his personal reputation behind the eight ball.

Should "Bones" come out flat against Henderson and lose the fight, his fighting reputation will take a hit and he'll lose some of his luster.

The combination of him losing fans due to his personal behavior and Octagon performance would be detrimental to his career.