Jon Jones is in for some interesting times in the coming months.

After pretty much dispatching of any relevant threat — past or present — at light-heavyweight in the UFC over the past year or so, Jones has been flying high. His upcoming fight with Dan Henderson seems like an intriguing match up, though, as Henderson is a pure power striker with a solid wrestling base. His gas tank can be questionable sometimes, but he seems like a legitimate threat to Jones' title. That said, maybe Jones was trying to ready himself for the impact of the fight by getting loaded and totaling his Bentley the other day, but unfortunately only he knows the reasons for his poor choices outside the Octagon.

While I can't simulate Jones driving into a pole, I thought it might be fun to simulate the upcoming Jones-Henderson fight in UFC Undisputed 3. I set the computers to do battle at expert difficulty (because I felt the very top level might produce too many transitions), and I also enabled “simulation” settings for a proper stamina representation. Herb Dean seemed like the logical choice for a referee in title fight, so he got the nod.

Here's the play-by-play of the fight.

Round 1

Henderson and Jones step out to the middle of the ring. Henderson offers to touch gloves, but Jones declines — interesting. Henderson tries a spinning back-fist, which connects, and then Jones pushes the pace up against the cage. Henderson attempts to shoot in for a takedown, only to have Jones sprawl and take his back from side control. Jones rolls Henderson over to get side control on top and then starts landing some elbows. Jones quickly transitions to full mount but is unable to posture up to land any damage. Henderson hip escapes to half guard, but then Jones intentionally goes to side control to start landing more elbows.

Henderson is rocked! Jones contemplates going for a submission, but he ends up giving time for Henderson to recover. Jones still has Henderson down, draping himself over his back. Jones flops Henderson flat on his back, but Hendo quickly reverses the position and is on top of Jones in side control. Hendo dropping elbows like there's no tomorrow. Jones hip escapes to half control. Henderson continues to punch, even though not postured up. Back to side control, with Henderson landing punches and elbows.

Jones is rocked! Hendo continuing to land punches, but Jones survives. Jones attempts to scramble out from the bottom with a takedown and fails, so both men are back standing. Jones attempts a takedown late in the round, but Henderson is having none of it. The round ends with both men having done significant damage. Commentator Joe Rogan is surprised at how much ground fighting there was.

Round 2

Henderson quickly out to the center of the Octagon to confront Jones. Henderson throws a quick jab and then shoots in for a takedown, which succeeds. Hendo wasting no time, transitioning to full mount. Henderson landing minor damage from mount, but not postured up. Henderson moves Jones towards the cage, with both men in a seated position and Henderson on top. Both men now standing against the cage. Knees from Henderson. Both men swimming to get underhooks against the cage. Henderson quickly grabs a single-collar clinch and starts chucking uppercuts. Jones pushes him away, clearly bothered by the damage.

Both men now standing apart. Jones attempts to clinch, but Henderson pushes him away. Henderson attempts a takedown, which isn't successful. Both men exchange hard shots. Henderson goes for a takedown, and this time he gets it. Jones quickly sticks his foot in with a partial butterfly guard and chucks Hendo back. Both men back standing. Jones lands a cracking right hand and follows up with a spinning back-kick. Some jabs by Jones, followed by a leg kick. The leg kick seems to make Hendo mad, as he starts bombing Jones with right hooks and body shots. Jones is rocked! While Henderson continues the assault, Jones does a good job of covering up, giving him time to recover.

With both men lucid, Henderson throws a leg kick, maybe out of mockery. Jones catches the leg and delivers an absolutely scintillating spinning back-elbow that sends Henderson reeling to the mat. Appropriately, Rogan freaks out over this absurdly well-timed attack. Jones follows up the elbow with a shades-of-Michael-Bisping special, connecting with a giant flying punch to Henderson on the ground.

Henderson, still rocked, covers up effectively. Henderson hanging on while Jones attacks, and he manages to actually spin Jones over, mounting him. Both men are bleeding. Both men transition on the ground, sharing the advantage. Henderson gets the full mount again and stuns Jones with a huge right hand. Barely conscious, Jones grabs Henderson by the neck, preventing the fight from ending. The round ends with Henderson still on top.

Round 3

Henderson once again takes the center of the Octagon and puts Jones on his back with a takedown. Henderson lands some vicious elbows that have Jones' blood all over his arm. Hendo rocks Jones, but the champion is hanging on. Henderson grinds away on Jones with punches, and then he pushes him up against the cage. Both men standing against the cage. Henderson executes a beautiful trip, putting the champ on his back again. Full mount for Henderson. Henderson rocks Jones again! Hendo landing shots, but he's gassing as he does so. Jones hang on yet again. Rogan commenting that the fight is going to be stopped any second.

Both men scramble around on the ground, with Henderson still landing shots. Both men bleeding heavily up against the cage. Jones pushes Hendo away, and both men are staggering in the center of the Octagon. Henderson looks motivated, though, and flies in at Jones. Jones stops him cold with a front kick to the stomach and then follows it up with a double-leg takedown. Jones tries a huge haymaker on the ground, but Henderson blocks it. The round ends with both men gassed.

Round 4

Jones out to the center of the Octagon, and both men clinch up. Jones going for knees as Hendo tries uppercuts, with Jones backing Hendo into the cage. Jones drags Henderson to the mat and beats him up some. Both men back standing against the cage. Now they push out. A failed takedown by Henderson is countered by a successful one by Jones. Both men struggle on the ground, reversing each other and grasping for position. Jones lands a few solid strikes, but Henderson reverses and rains down some punches from mount. Jones finally pushes Henderson off, and both men are standing.

Henderson takes some abuse to get inside on Jones and land a few shots of his own. Hendo attempts a bizarre head kick, and he's pretty much gassed at this point. Jones is sensing blood. Repeated front kicks to the body from Jones, slowing the already laboring Henderson. Two failed takedowns by Henderson. Both men exchange some light jabs and leg kicks. Out of nowhere, Henderson bombs Jones with a right hand, sending him to the mat! Once again, though, Henderson fails to capitalize. Jones is barely hanging on. Elbows from Henderson.

Jones then reverses Hendo, getting on top of him. Jones too tired to hold him down, and both men are back standing. Both fighters visibly gassed. Some more leg kicks and front kicks from Jones to end the round.

Round 5

Henderson out to try a couple of takedowns, of which the second is fully blocked by a sprawl from Jones. Henderson not to be denied and bullies Jones from the sprawl and onto the ground. Jones stays patient and reverses Henderson into full guard. Some light strikes from Jones, followed by a bit of stalling. Henderson pushes Jones off, and both men are standing.

Hendo tries a spinning back-fist, and Jones shoots in at the same time, taking his back. Jones tries to wrap him up for the rear naked choke, but Henderson transitions into full guard during the attempt. Both men reverse out of the full guard several times, with neither getting the advantage. Jones finally establishes side control and goes for a crucifix position to end the fight with his patented elbows. It's not to be, as Henderson reverses the position and bombs some elbows of his own. Once again Jones is rocked, but once again, he survives. Jones must literally be a few strikes from having the fight stopped. More elbows from Henderson. He's doing huge damage. Jones surviving, pushes the fight back to the feet.

Some cage work from Henderson, grinding away on Jones. Another judo trip from the challenger, and Jones is on his back. Jones weathers the storm, and it's back to standing for both men. Some kicks and strikes from Jones followed by a double-leg takedown by him to end the fight.

Decision

After five rounds, all three judges score the fight 50-45 for the winner by unanimous decision.... and NEW light-heavyweight champion, Dan Henderson.

Analysis

A crazy fight by both men. Clearly the judges (which, let's face it, are always kind of wacky in the UFC Undisputed series), saw the damage done by Henderson and the amount of takedowns as the difference. Henderson landed two more takedowns, 7 to 5, thanks to those judo trips, and he also reversed Jones on the ground much more effectively. Jones' head damage at the end of the fight was at 85 percent, with Henderson only at 51. This was likely due to the 50-plus more head strikes that landed on Jones.

If the real fight plays out anything like this, we'll all be in for a real treat. I look forward to seeing it.