Johny Hendricks
During the live broadcast of tonight’s TUF 16 Finale the Ultimate Fighting Championship announced three key welterweight matchups for the upcoming UFC 158 event in Montreal, including a bout between Jake ‘The Juggernaut’ Ellenberger (28-6) and Johny ‘Bigg Rigg’ Hendricks (14-1) as that third fight.
The other two previously identified matches include a welterweight title match between champ Georges St-Pierre vs. Nick Diaz and a rematch between Rory MacDonald vs. Carlos Condit.
UFC 158: St-Pierre vs. Diaz is expected to take place on March 16, 2013 at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
Following last months UFC 154 event, after Hendricks knockout win against Martin Kampmann, Ellenberger took to Twitter (@EllenbergerMMA) to beg UFC president Dana White for a fight with ‘Bigg Rigg.’
– I would put my @ufc career on the line for a fight with Johnny Hendricks. @danawhite
Hendricks has won five straight in the Octagon since his first career loss back in December 2010 to Rick Story. ‘Bigg Rigg’ finished Kampmann at UFC 154 last month in Montreal in just 46-seconds by knockout, earning Hendricks a third “Knockout of the Night” bonus. His other wins in this current run include victories against Josh Koscheck, Jon Fitch, Mike Pierce and TJ Waldburger.
Ellenberger fought in October at UFC on FX 5, winning a decision against Jay Hieron at the Minnesota show. The victory put ‘The Juggernaught’ back into the win column after a second round TKO loss to Kampmann back in June. Before that loss, Ellenberger had won six straight fights.