Johny Hendricks is changing up a few things in 2015.
After losing his welterweight title to rival Robbie Lawler in a hard-fought split decision at UFC 181 back in December, Bigg Rigg was forced to end his year on one of the roughest turns of his career. While the rematch between Hendricks and Ruthless picked up where their first meeting left off and delivered another 25-minute war between the two top welterweights, the former two-time NCAA D-I national champion wrestler ultimately exited the Octagon as the former 170-pound UFC champion.
Considering how much adversity the former Oklahoma State University wrestling standout had to overcome just to claim the divisional throne, coming up short in his first official title defense undoubtedly left a sting. With that in mind, Hendricks is determined to turn things around in the new year, and he’s changed up several aspects of his approach coming into his first bout of 2015 against Matt Brown.
Where the former champion had used nutrition guru Mike Dolce to coach him through the weight-cutting process over the past few years, the Team TakeDown fighter opted to go a different route for his fight at UFC 185. In the lead-up to his fight with The Immortal on Saturday in Dallas, Hendricks decided to keep his nutritional efforts in house and personally took control of his own nutritional preparation.
On Thursday, the Texas transplant spoke to Ariel Helwani of MMA Fighting about his new approach to making weight and the current status of his relationship with Dolce:
We are not with [Mike] Dolce on this one. I wanted to do it on my own. I’ve learned a lot of stuff from Dolce and I’m using a lot of it. The way I prep my food and all that stuff I learned from him. But me and my wife—and with everybody talking about my weight—it’s time for me to man up and do it on my own. See what I can do.
Behind the scenes my wife does everything. Every Sunday we did meal prepping. What I’ve done is learn to make chicken, salmon and deer meat. You don’t have to do anything to deer meat to make it taste good, but on the chicken and salmon I’ve added low sodium things that make it taste good. I’ve added 30 calories or so to each meal, but for as hard as we work out, that’s taken care of in one workout. That’s what I’ve done. Some days when I’m hungry, I’m driving faster to get home and not looking at fast food because I’m really excited to get home and eat my chicken, salmon or deer meat.
As Hendricks has made some major changes to his approach heading into UFC 185, he’s hoping those efforts—alongside what he plans to do inside the Octagon—will put him back into a championship opportunity.
He was originally in talks with the UFC to get an immediate rematch with Lawler later this year, but the promotion opted to give Rory MacDonald the next title shot and slotted Hendricks to face Brown when the organization returned to Dallas on March 14. And while Hendricks realizes certain opportunities are within striking distance, he also appears to be getting hip to a few outside perspectives as well.
The heavy-handed country boy is notorious for his love of a good burger and cold beer and has spoken out publicly in the past about how difficult and grueling it’s been for him to make the 170-pound limit. Those elements have faded away in his lead-up to UFC 185, as the welterweight knockout artist arrived at fight week looking lean and mean and well under the weight he typically starts his cut at.
And while Hendricks’ new nutritional groove may be directly linked to the goals he hopes to accomplish, the fighter also suggested there is a particular look that warrants opportunity in the fight game:
I know if I go out there and do a good job against Matt Brown it’s mine to win or lose. I’m not looking at it any other way. I have to go out there and perform to my best ability and that’s why I did the weight cut and I’m going everything right. I’m getting that fighter look that everybody wants and making it easier on me to get to that belt.
Duane Finley is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. All quotes are obtained firsthand unless noted otherwise.
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