Last January, UFC lightweight Michael Johnson deemed 2012 “The Year of The Menace,” and set his sights on accumulating enough victories to end the year on the outskirts of the top 10.
He likened his climb from the low end of the 155-pound ranks to Mortal Kombat, the incredibly addictive fighting game from the early ‘90s. Just like Lord Raiden in the game, Johnson would have to defeat multiple foes in order to reach the fringes of contention by the time it was time to sing “Auld Lang Syne” again.
Through the first 10 months of the year, things were right on course. Decision wins over Shane Roller and Tony Ferguson preceded a second round knockout victory over Danny Castillo in October. Three consecutive wins had Johnson climbing the rankings, and an opportunity to fight for a fourth time in December appeared to be all that was standing between the 26-year-old member of “The Blackzilians” and the goal he set for himself nearly a year earlier.
Just as progressing through a game like Mortal Kombat is difficult to do on a single quarter, so too is stacking up consecutive wins in one of the deepest, most talented divisions in the UFC. Rather than reaching his target of ending 2012 within reach of the upper echelon, Johnson was turned back.
Lord Raiden was defeated, the screen asking a simple question: “Continue?”
“I’m definitely on my second quarter,” laughed Johnson a week before departing for Sweden for his first fight of 2103.
Losing in the UFC is a lot like losing in the game. You don’t get to pick right back up where you left off; instead, you have to take a step back before you can move forward. Johnson will now face veteran Reza Madadi, looking to make up the ground he lost in December when his climb up the rankings was halted by Myles Jury.
“Hopefully they look at it like a second chance, I don’t know. I don’t want to say a second chance because I don’t really think I took a huge step back. I’m just looking at this fight like another tune-up fight for me to get my mind right, and get a look at these bigger name opponents.
“I feel like 2012 was still a good year,” Johnson said. “Hell, I went 3-1 last year. It might not have ended the way I wanted it to, but I still beat three very tough guys, and lost a decision to a tough guy. It’s not like I went in there and got my ass beat; he decisioned me. I just have to look at it that way.”
There is a different tone to Johnson’s voice this year as he talks about his upcoming fight in Sweden. Losing can do that to you.
Last year he was light, carefree; questions were answered in long, rolling thoughts dotted with laughter and jokes. This year, his responses come in short, candid bursts; no wasted words, no beating around the bush.
Question. Answer. Next.
It feels like a product of his fight with Jury at UFC 155 and the intense focus that has fallen on the South Florida-based fight team he is a part of. Just as things were going well individually and collectively, Johnson and several other members of “The Blackzilians” hit a bump in the road, and now it’s time to get back on course.
“I did everything right up until the fight, except fight,” said Johnson of his performance on the UFC’s annual end-of-the-year event. “I just wasn’t mentally ready. It’s one of those things that happen. It’s one of the many mysteries of being a fighter: you’ve done everything to prepare, and then you get in there and you just don’t perform or you just get lost. That’s exactly what it was; I just didn’t perform.
“I came in way too relaxed,” he continued, offering an explanation for his poor showing. “I wasn’t threatened. I wasn’t nervous about anything, and that was the bad part. I felt that he couldn’t do anything to hurt me, and I pretty much went into the fight worriless. A scared fighter is the more dangerous fighter rather than a relaxed fighter, and I was just way too relaxed.
“I just have to get back to being hungry, and not being too comfortable in there. I have to realize these guys are here for a reason, they do have tools that can put me in jeopardy, they are good in some aspects, and they have some things that I need to be concerned about. I need to put myself in a position to where I’m more aware of what (my opponents) can do to me, what they’re capable of doing, and not so much me looking at it like, `There is absolutely nothing these guys can do to me.’
“We’re just in a slump,” Johnson added in regards to the recent struggles of his teammates inside the Octagon. “Every good team has their slumps, and we just need to keep our focus and get back to the winning side.
“We need to kind of be left alone. We’ve got all this hype built up around the team, we got all this publicity, and everybody expects great things because the camera is always on us. We have these big expectations, and then when we get a couple losses, all of a sudden we’re the worst team ever. It’s just a slump. We still do everything right. We’re still working hard, pushing each other hard, and we’re going to get back to starting to win fights.”
The former Ultimate Fighter finalist will get the opportunity to be the one to get his team back in the win column on April 6 in Sweden when he takes on the 32-year-old Madadi, who lost a questionable split decision to Cristiano Marcello last time out.
Though born in Tehran, Iran, the lightweight “Mad Dog” has called Sweden home for a number of years, and will be competing in his own backyard for the second time in three UFC appearances. While some people might cringe at the idea of crossing the Atlantic Ocean to face an opponent on their home turf, the confident 155-pound contender Johnson relishes the chance to play the part of the bad guy.
“I love the opportunity to travel and go to Sweden. I’m looking forward to all the boos that are going to be waiting for me at the weigh-ins. I’m going to enjoy going into a guy’s home country and beating him in front of all his fans. I’m embracing that for sure. It’s fuel to my fire.”
Not that Johnson needed added motivation.
After coming so close to reaching the goal he set for himself last January, the man known as “The Menace” knows he needs an impressive performance against Madadi in order to convince both fans and the UFC brass that he’s a legitimate threat in the lightweight division, that he’s deserving of bigger matchups moving forward, and that’s exactly what he intends to do when he steps into the cage inside the Ericsson Globe Arena.
“It’s a lot of pressure to go out here and beat the guy that I’m supposed to beat,” admitted Johnson. “I don’t think he’s as skilled as me, but I have something to prove now that I lost to Myles. I’ve got to make people remember the beginning of last year, and what I did except for the last fight. I have to show people that I am a dominant force in this division, and I’m not going anywhere.
“I’m not travelling all the way to Sweden, out of my comfort zone to lose; that’s definitely not an issue. I’m not going over there to put forth a s***** performance and not do what I’m supposed to do.
“I’m going into this fight with a total killer’s mentality. I’m going to go out here and try to finish him as early as possible. I’m not backing up once. I’m going to stay in his face the whole way, and once he gives me an opening, once he slips up, I’m going to end it.”
Last January, UFC lightweight Michael Johnson deemed 2012 “The Year of The Menace,” and set his sights on accumulating enough victories to end the year on the outskirts of the top 10.
He likened his climb from the low end of the 155-pound ranks to Mortal Kombat, the incredibly addictive fighting game from the early ‘90s. Just like Lord Raiden in the game, Johnson would have to defeat multiple foes in order to reach the fringes of contention by the time it was time to sing “Auld Lang Syne” again.
Through the first 10 months of the year, things were right on course. Decision wins over Shane Roller and Tony Ferguson preceded a second round knockout victory over Danny Castillo in October. Three consecutive wins had Johnson climbing the rankings, and an opportunity to fight for a fourth time in December appeared to be all that was standing between the 26-year-old member of “The Blackzilians” and the goal he set for himself nearly a year earlier.
Just as progressing through a game like Mortal Kombat is difficult to do on a single quarter, so too is stacking up consecutive wins in one of the deepest, most talented divisions in the UFC. Rather than reaching his target of ending 2012 within reach of the upper echelon, Johnson was turned back.
Lord Raiden was defeated, the screen asking a simple question: “Continue?”
“I’m definitely on my second quarter,” laughed Johnson a week before departing for Sweden for his first fight of 2103.
Losing in the UFC is a lot like losing in the game. You don’t get to pick right back up where you left off; instead, you have to take a step back before you can move forward. Johnson will now face veteran Reza Madadi, looking to make up the ground he lost in December when his climb up the rankings was halted by Myles Jury.
“Hopefully they look at it like a second chance, I don’t know. I don’t want to say a second chance because I don’t really think I took a huge step back. I’m just looking at this fight like another tune-up fight for me to get my mind right, and get a look at these bigger name opponents.
“I feel like 2012 was still a good year,” Johnson said. “Hell, I went 3-1 last year. It might not have ended the way I wanted it to, but I still beat three very tough guys, and lost a decision to a tough guy. It’s not like I went in there and got my ass beat; he decisioned me. I just have to look at it that way.”
There is a different tone to Johnson’s voice this year as he talks about his upcoming fight in Sweden. Losing can do that to you.
Last year he was light, carefree; questions were answered in long, rolling thoughts dotted with laughter and jokes. This year, his responses come in short, candid bursts; no wasted words, no beating around the bush.
Question. Answer. Next.
It feels like a product of his fight with Jury at UFC 155 and the intense focus that has fallen on the South Florida-based fight team he is a part of. Just as things were going well individually and collectively, Johnson and several other members of “The Blackzilians” hit a bump in the road, and now it’s time to get back on course.
“I did everything right up until the fight, except fight,” said Johnson of his performance on the UFC’s annual end-of-the-year event. “I just wasn’t mentally ready. It’s one of those things that happen. It’s one of the many mysteries of being a fighter: you’ve done everything to prepare, and then you get in there and you just don’t perform or you just get lost. That’s exactly what it was; I just didn’t perform.
“I came in way too relaxed,” he continued, offering an explanation for his poor showing. “I wasn’t threatened. I wasn’t nervous about anything, and that was the bad part. I felt that he couldn’t do anything to hurt me, and I pretty much went into the fight worriless. A scared fighter is the more dangerous fighter rather than a relaxed fighter, and I was just way too relaxed.
“I just have to get back to being hungry, and not being too comfortable in there. I have to realize these guys are here for a reason, they do have tools that can put me in jeopardy, they are good in some aspects, and they have some things that I need to be concerned about. I need to put myself in a position to where I’m more aware of what (my opponents) can do to me, what they’re capable of doing, and not so much me looking at it like, `There is absolutely nothing these guys can do to me.’
“We’re just in a slump,” Johnson added in regards to the recent struggles of his teammates inside the Octagon. “Every good team has their slumps, and we just need to keep our focus and get back to the winning side.
“We need to kind of be left alone. We’ve got all this hype built up around the team, we got all this publicity, and everybody expects great things because the camera is always on us. We have these big expectations, and then when we get a couple losses, all of a sudden we’re the worst team ever. It’s just a slump. We still do everything right. We’re still working hard, pushing each other hard, and we’re going to get back to starting to win fights.”
The former Ultimate Fighter finalist will get the opportunity to be the one to get his team back in the win column on April 6 in Sweden when he takes on the 32-year-old Madadi, who lost a questionable split decision to Cristiano Marcello last time out.
Though born in Tehran, Iran, the lightweight “Mad Dog” has called Sweden home for a number of years, and will be competing in his own backyard for the second time in three UFC appearances. While some people might cringe at the idea of crossing the Atlantic Ocean to face an opponent on their home turf, the confident 155-pound contender Johnson relishes the chance to play the part of the bad guy.
“I love the opportunity to travel and go to Sweden. I’m looking forward to all the boos that are going to be waiting for me at the weigh-ins. I’m going to enjoy going into a guy’s home country and beating him in front of all his fans. I’m embracing that for sure. It’s fuel to my fire.”
Not that Johnson needed added motivation.
After coming so close to reaching the goal he set for himself last January, the man known as “The Menace” knows he needs an impressive performance against Madadi in order to convince both fans and the UFC brass that he’s a legitimate threat in the lightweight division, that he’s deserving of bigger matchups moving forward, and that’s exactly what he intends to do when he steps into the cage inside the Ericsson Globe Arena.
“It’s a lot of pressure to go out here and beat the guy that I’m supposed to beat,” admitted Johnson. “I don’t think he’s as skilled as me, but I have something to prove now that I lost to Myles. I’ve got to make people remember the beginning of last year, and what I did except for the last fight. I have to show people that I am a dominant force in this division, and I’m not going anywhere.
“I’m not travelling all the way to Sweden, out of my comfort zone to lose; that’s definitely not an issue. I’m not going over there to put forth a s***** performance and not do what I’m supposed to do.
“I’m going into this fight with a total killer’s mentality. I’m going to go out here and try to finish him as early as possible. I’m not backing up once. I’m going to stay in his face the whole way, and once he gives me an opening, once he slips up, I’m going to end it.”
Consider last week and this one to be the UFC equivalent of Spring Break.
Not the wild and crazy, “We’re going to Cabo!” Spring Break that served as the backdrop for so many MTV specials, bad teen comedies, and even worse slasher flicks, but the Spring Break where you went back home, and were handed a list of tasks to complete while you pressed pause on your scholastic pursuits.
After all, the inside of the garage isn’t going to paint itself, is it Spencer?
After rattling off seven events through the first 11 weeks of 2013, the UFC has hit a two week stretch without an event, freeing loyal and dedicated fight fans up to do any number of things with their Saturday night. If you’re like me and have watched all 11 of those events from start to finish, may I suggest doing something nice for the significant other in your life?
Don’t think of it strictly as making up for being zoned out watching fights for seven of the last 11 Saturdays, though; this is also a pre-emptive strike, because once April arrives, there is a very good chance you’ll return to that aforementioned state, as every Saturday in the month ahead comes complete with its own fight card, and they’re all excellent.
Here’s a look at what’s on deck for the UFC’s action-packed April.
UFC SWEDEN 2013 – STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN – APRIL 6
For the second consecutive year, the UFC makes an April appearance at the Ericsson Globe Arena in Stockholm, Sweden for an event that will air live on FUEL TV.
Also returning for the second consecutive year is Swedish light heavyweight contender Alexander Gustafsson. The 26-year-old will once again be the last man to walk to the cage, as “The Mauler” puts his six-fight winning streak on the line against former Strikeforce light heavyweight champion Gegard Mousasi in the main event.
Although Lyoto Machida appears to have the inside track on the next shot at championship gold in the 205-pound ranks, the winner of this fight will certainly be able to make a strong case for deserving a crack at the belt as well. Mousasi has lost just once in the last six-plus years, and upending the local favorite in his UFC debut would make him an instant contender, while a victory for Gustafsson will leave him without any logical next step other than a title shot.
In the co-main event, second-generation UFC competitor Ryan Couture makes his debut in the Octagon, stepping into a tough bout with former Ultimate Fighter winner Ross Pearson.
Two other fights to watch for on this event are the top-10 bantamweight matchup between Brad Pickett and Mike Easton, both of whom are coming off tough losses and are looking to re-establish themselves in the divisional title picture, and the featherweight scrap pitting Marcus Brimage against UFC newcomer Conor McGregor. Brimage has gone a perfect 3-0 since his time on Season 14 of The Ultimate Fighter, and has knocked off prospects Jimy Hettes and Maximo Blanco in his last two outings, while McGregor, a two-division champion in the UK’s Cage Warriors organization, enters on an eight-fight winning streak with a steady amount of hype behind him.
THE ULTIMATE FIGHTER 17 FINALE – LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – APRIL 13
After a shoulder injury forced flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson to the sidelines, bantamweights Urijah Faber and Scott Jorgensen have been tabbed to headline this year’s TUF Finale at the Mandalay Bay Events Center.
It’s an intriguing matchup that pits good friends against one another, with a chance to move one step closer to title contention going to the winner. Faber, coming off his UFC 157 victory over Ivan Menjivar, actually helped get Jorgensen involved in MMA following his days as a standout wrestler at Boise State University, but that won’t stop the duo from duking it out inside the Octagon.
This season’s finale will also provide us with one of next season’s coaches as well, as Miesha Tate and Cat Zingano square off in the second women’s bantamweight contest to be contested in the UFC, and there is a lot at stake. UFC President Dana White announced recently that not only will the winner of this bout be the next to challenge Ronda Rousey for her women’s bantamweight title, but they’ll also coach opposite the unbeaten champion on the first co-ed season of The Ultimate Fighter later this year.
Add in the TUF 17 middleweight finale and a bout between hungry heavyweights Travis Browne and Gabriel Gonzaga, and you’ve got a four-fight collection that should produce some can’t miss moments.
UFC ON FOX 7 – SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA – APRIL 20
While the top three fights on this card could earn the event the “UFC vs. Strikeforce” tag, an equally appropriate way to characterize this card is “stacked.” From top to bottom, this might be the most impressive collection of fights the UFC has delivered this year.
The main event features a “Champion vs. Champion” pairing in the lightweight division, as Benson Henderson welcomes Gilbert Melendez to the UFC in a battle to determine which man is the undisputed top lightweight in the sport today.
In the penultimate fight of the night, Daniel Cormier makes his much-anticipated UFC debut against the man he was supposed to meet on the final Strikeforce card, former two-time heavyweight champion Frank Mir. Rounding out the main card are potential high-octane bouts between Nathan Diaz and Josh Thomson, and welterweights Jordan Mein and Matt Brown.
But that’s not all – the preliminary portion of this card packs a punch as well.
After matching wits and strategies against each other as opposing coaches on Season 17 of The Ultimate Fighter, Jon Jones and Chael Sonnen will put their respective skills and strengths as competitors to the test in the main event of UFC 159, with the UFC light heavyweight title going to the victor.
It’s a fight not many people believed Sonnen earned, but then again, chances are very few expected him to be such a magnanimous, diligent coach to “Team Darkside” either.
Though the main event doesn’t carry the bad blood and trash talk many expected it to as of right now, the co-main event makes up for it, as Michael Bisping and Alan Belcher meet in a pivotal middleweight clash. “The Count” and “The Talent” have been taking shots at each other long before this bout was put together, and they’ve continued since the pairing was announced, but come April 27, they’ll each have to back up their big talk inside the cage.
The Bisping-Belcher clash isn’t the only grudge match scheduled to take place at the Prudential Center though, as light heavyweights Phil Davis and Vinny Magalhaes square off to resolve their differences in the cage as well. Add in a heavyweight pairing pitting Roy Nelson against Cheick Kongo, and Jersey’s own Jim Miller welcoming Pat “Bam Bam” Healy to the biggest stage in the sport, and UFC 159 is poised to be a powerhouse pay-per-view event.
Consider last week and this one to be the UFC equivalent of Spring Break.
Not the wild and crazy, “We’re going to Cabo!” Spring Break that served as the backdrop for so many MTV specials, bad teen comedies, and even worse slasher flicks, but the Spring Break where you went back home, and were handed a list of tasks to complete while you pressed pause on your scholastic pursuits.
After all, the inside of the garage isn’t going to paint itself, is it Spencer?
After rattling off seven events through the first 11 weeks of 2013, the UFC has hit a two week stretch without an event, freeing loyal and dedicated fight fans up to do any number of things with their Saturday night. If you’re like me and have watched all 11 of those events from start to finish, may I suggest doing something nice for the significant other in your life?
Don’t think of it strictly as making up for being zoned out watching fights for seven of the last 11 Saturdays, though; this is also a pre-emptive strike, because once April arrives, there is a very good chance you’ll return to that aforementioned state, as every Saturday in the month ahead comes complete with its own fight card, and they’re all excellent.
Here’s a look at what’s on deck for the UFC’s action-packed April.
UFC SWEDEN 2013 – STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN – APRIL 6
For the second consecutive year, the UFC makes an April appearance at the Ericsson Globe Arena in Stockholm, Sweden for an event that will air live on FUEL TV.
Also returning for the second consecutive year is Swedish light heavyweight contender Alexander Gustafsson. The 26-year-old will once again be the last man to walk to the cage, as “The Mauler” puts his six-fight winning streak on the line against former Strikeforce light heavyweight champion Gegard Mousasi in the main event.
Although Lyoto Machida appears to have the inside track on the next shot at championship gold in the 205-pound ranks, the winner of this fight will certainly be able to make a strong case for deserving a crack at the belt as well. Mousasi has lost just once in the last six-plus years, and upending the local favorite in his UFC debut would make him an instant contender, while a victory for Gustafsson will leave him without any logical next step other than a title shot.
In the co-main event, second-generation UFC competitor Ryan Couture makes his debut in the Octagon, stepping into a tough bout with former Ultimate Fighter winner Ross Pearson.
Two other fights to watch for on this event are the top-10 bantamweight matchup between Brad Pickett and Mike Easton, both of whom are coming off tough losses and are looking to re-establish themselves in the divisional title picture, and the featherweight scrap pitting Marcus Brimage against UFC newcomer Conor McGregor. Brimage has gone a perfect 3-0 since his time on Season 14 of The Ultimate Fighter, and has knocked off prospects Jimy Hettes and Maximo Blanco in his last two outings, while McGregor, a two-division champion in the UK’s Cage Warriors organization, enters on an eight-fight winning streak with a steady amount of hype behind him.
THE ULTIMATE FIGHTER 17 FINALE – LAS VEGAS, NEVADA – APRIL 13
After a shoulder injury forced flyweight champion Demetrious Johnson to the sidelines, bantamweights Urijah Faber and Scott Jorgensen have been tabbed to headline this year’s TUF Finale at the Mandalay Bay Events Center.
It’s an intriguing matchup that pits good friends against one another, with a chance to move one step closer to title contention going to the winner. Faber, coming off his UFC 157 victory over Ivan Menjivar, actually helped get Jorgensen involved in MMA following his days as a standout wrestler at Boise State University, but that won’t stop the duo from duking it out inside the Octagon.
This season’s finale will also provide us with one of next season’s coaches as well, as Miesha Tate and Cat Zingano square off in the second women’s bantamweight contest to be contested in the UFC, and there is a lot at stake. UFC President Dana White announced recently that not only will the winner of this bout be the next to challenge Ronda Rousey for her women’s bantamweight title, but they’ll also coach opposite the unbeaten champion on the first co-ed season of The Ultimate Fighter later this year.
Add in the TUF 17 middleweight finale and a bout between hungry heavyweights Travis Browne and Gabriel Gonzaga, and you’ve got a four-fight collection that should produce some can’t miss moments.
UFC ON FOX 7 – SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA – APRIL 20
While the top three fights on this card could earn the event the “UFC vs. Strikeforce” tag, an equally appropriate way to characterize this card is “stacked.” From top to bottom, this might be the most impressive collection of fights the UFC has delivered this year.
The main event features a “Champion vs. Champion” pairing in the lightweight division, as Benson Henderson welcomes Gilbert Melendez to the UFC in a battle to determine which man is the undisputed top lightweight in the sport today.
In the penultimate fight of the night, Daniel Cormier makes his much-anticipated UFC debut against the man he was supposed to meet on the final Strikeforce card, former two-time heavyweight champion Frank Mir. Rounding out the main card are potential high-octane bouts between Nathan Diaz and Josh Thomson, and welterweights Jordan Mein and Matt Brown.
But that’s not all – the preliminary portion of this card packs a punch as well.
After matching wits and strategies against each other as opposing coaches on Season 17 of The Ultimate Fighter, Jon Jones and Chael Sonnen will put their respective skills and strengths as competitors to the test in the main event of UFC 159, with the UFC light heavyweight title going to the victor.
It’s a fight not many people believed Sonnen earned, but then again, chances are very few expected him to be such a magnanimous, diligent coach to “Team Darkside” either.
Though the main event doesn’t carry the bad blood and trash talk many expected it to as of right now, the co-main event makes up for it, as Michael Bisping and Alan Belcher meet in a pivotal middleweight clash. “The Count” and “The Talent” have been taking shots at each other long before this bout was put together, and they’ve continued since the pairing was announced, but come April 27, they’ll each have to back up their big talk inside the cage.
The Bisping-Belcher clash isn’t the only grudge match scheduled to take place at the Prudential Center though, as light heavyweights Phil Davis and Vinny Magalhaes square off to resolve their differences in the cage as well. Add in a heavyweight pairing pitting Roy Nelson against Cheick Kongo, and Jersey’s own Jim Miller welcoming Pat “Bam Bam” Healy to the biggest stage in the sport, and UFC 159 is poised to be a powerhouse pay-per-view event.
Every time a former member of the World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) roster competes in the UFC, Twitter lights up with a familiar hashtag: #WECNeverForget.
Over the years, the organization with the blue gloves, blue canvas, and blue cage built a passionate and loyal following with fight fans who fell hard for the non-stop action and excitement a WEC fight card routinely delivered.
Both when it was a fully-stocked company with a complete set of weight classes and even after it was pared down to just lightweight, featherweight, and bantamweight, the WEC was akin to that great little dive bar down the street from your house that had killer eats, a great selection, and turned into the place where you saw a handful of bands before they got big. You brought your friends there when they were in town, and tried to convince a few colleagues that they’d really dig this joint, but you were selective; you didn’t want too many people crowding what felt like your personal slice of awesomeness.
Eventually they shuttered the doors, but not before going out with one last kick-ass night. All the familiar faces were there, plus a few new ones, and you knew that even though your favorite old haunt was no more, you’d still see those regulars, and they’d still be doing outstanding things.
As you would expect, the lighter weight classes are teeming with fighters who cut their teeth in the fondly remembered fight company.
At bantamweight, champion Dominick Cruz, and nine of the top 10-ranked fighters in the division, including interim champion Renan Barao and the man he’ll face next, Eddie Wineland, all competed under the WEC banner. Mike Easton is the only non-WEC alum to crack the divisional top 10.
But the WEC’s fingerprints can be found outside of the three lightest weight classes in the UFC as well. In fact, at least one fighter in every division between lightweight and light heavyweight competed under the WEC banner at one time or another. While some of the names are obvious, others might have been forgotten.
Here’s a look at the UFC competitors making sure we #NeverForget the WEC.
Benson Henderson: the UFC lightweight champion immediately jumps to mind when talk turns to the WEC competitors enjoying success on the big stage, as “Smooth” was a standout in the organization, winning five consecutive contests to claim the lightweight title before dropping the belt to…
Anthony Pettis: in the final minute of the final fight on the final event in WEC history, Pettis unleashed “The Showtime Kick.” Still one of the single most creative and impressive moves ever utilized, the kick capped Pettis’ championship victory over Henderson, and was a fitting final moment for the organization that always delivered excitement.
Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone: no discussion of former WEC lightweights would be complete without Cerrone, who strapped on the blue gloves 10 times in just over three years. “Cowboy” earned seven wins in the WEC, with two of his losses coming against Henderson, while the other came against his heated rival…
Jamie Varner: before he was a terrific comeback story, Varner was one of the top dogs in the WEC lightweight division. He won the belt from Rob McCullough in his second appearance, defended it against Marcus Hicks, and then again against Cerrone in their controversial encounter at WEC 38.
Danny Castillo: “Last Call” answered the call from the WEC eight times, amassing a 5-3 record while sharing the cage with the likes of Cerrone, Pettis, Dustin Poirier, and Ricardo Lamas.
Anthony Njokuani: “The Assassin” made seven appearances in the WEC. After losing his opening appearance with the company to Henderson, Njokuani rattled off three straight victories over Bart Palaszewski, Muhsin Corbbrey, and Chris Horodecki, collecting Knockout of the Night honors each time.
Johny Hendricks: before he was the #1 contender in the UFC welterweight division, Hendricks was a “wet behind his cauliflower ears” MMA newcomer who notched a pair of victories in the WEC before moving to the Octagon.
Mark Munoz: much like Hendricks, Munoz first caught the attention of fight fans with a pair of wins inside the WEC cage. “The Filipino Wrecking Machine” earned a pair of first-round stoppages as a light heavyweight prior to making the jump to the UFC.
Brian Stann: after beginning his career with a fight in Portland, Oregon, Stann’s next six fights came in the WEC, where he defeated Doug Marshall to claim the light heavyweight title before losing the belt to Steve Cantwell in his final appearance with the company at WEC 35.
Chael Sonnen: Paulo Filho may be on record as the final middleweight champion in WEC history, but that’s only because the Brazilian missed weight for his rematch with Sonnen, turning the bout into a non-title affair. Sonnen earned a unanimous decision win in their rematch, and Filho ended up shipping him the championship belt.
And how could we forget the two men headlining April 13th’s TUF 17 finale card in Las Vegas, Urijah Faber and Scott Jorgensen? “The California Kid” was the man who put the WEC and the lighter weight classes on the map in North America, and now the former WEC featherweight boss is chasing glory 10 pounds south at bantamweight, where his buddy “Young Guns” Jorgensen has set up shop for years as one of the best 135-pounders in the game.
Every time a former member of the World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC) roster competes in the UFC, Twitter lights up with a familiar hashtag: #WECNeverForget.
Over the years, the organization with the blue gloves, blue canvas, and blue cage built a passionate and loyal following with fight fans who fell hard for the non-stop action and excitement a WEC fight card routinely delivered.
Both when it was a fully-stocked company with a complete set of weight classes and even after it was pared down to just lightweight, featherweight, and bantamweight, the WEC was akin to that great little dive bar down the street from your house that had killer eats, a great selection, and turned into the place where you saw a handful of bands before they got big. You brought your friends there when they were in town, and tried to convince a few colleagues that they’d really dig this joint, but you were selective; you didn’t want too many people crowding what felt like your personal slice of awesomeness.
Eventually they shuttered the doors, but not before going out with one last kick-ass night. All the familiar faces were there, plus a few new ones, and you knew that even though your favorite old haunt was no more, you’d still see those regulars, and they’d still be doing outstanding things.
As you would expect, the lighter weight classes are teeming with fighters who cut their teeth in the fondly remembered fight company.
At bantamweight, champion Dominick Cruz, and nine of the top 10-ranked fighters in the division, including interim champion Renan Barao and the man he’ll face next, Eddie Wineland, all competed under the WEC banner. Mike Easton is the only non-WEC alum to crack the divisional top 10.
But the WEC’s fingerprints can be found outside of the three lightest weight classes in the UFC as well. In fact, at least one fighter in every division between lightweight and light heavyweight competed under the WEC banner at one time or another. While some of the names are obvious, others might have been forgotten.
Here’s a look at the UFC competitors making sure we #NeverForget the WEC.
Benson Henderson: the UFC lightweight champion immediately jumps to mind when talk turns to the WEC competitors enjoying success on the big stage, as “Smooth” was a standout in the organization, winning five consecutive contests to claim the lightweight title before dropping the belt to…
Anthony Pettis: in the final minute of the final fight on the final event in WEC history, Pettis unleashed “The Showtime Kick.” Still one of the single most creative and impressive moves ever utilized, the kick capped Pettis’ championship victory over Henderson, and was a fitting final moment for the organization that always delivered excitement.
Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone: no discussion of former WEC lightweights would be complete without Cerrone, who strapped on the blue gloves 10 times in just over three years. “Cowboy” earned seven wins in the WEC, with two of his losses coming against Henderson, while the other came against his heated rival…
Jamie Varner: before he was a terrific comeback story, Varner was one of the top dogs in the WEC lightweight division. He won the belt from Rob McCullough in his second appearance, defended it against Marcus Hicks, and then again against Cerrone in their controversial encounter at WEC 38.
Danny Castillo: “Last Call” answered the call from the WEC eight times, amassing a 5-3 record while sharing the cage with the likes of Cerrone, Pettis, Dustin Poirier, and Ricardo Lamas.
Anthony Njokuani: “The Assassin” made seven appearances in the WEC. After losing his opening appearance with the company to Henderson, Njokuani rattled off three straight victories over Bart Palaszewski, Muhsin Corbbrey, and Chris Horodecki, collecting Knockout of the Night honors each time.
Johny Hendricks: before he was the #1 contender in the UFC welterweight division, Hendricks was a “wet behind his cauliflower ears” MMA newcomer who notched a pair of victories in the WEC before moving to the Octagon.
Mark Munoz: much like Hendricks, Munoz first caught the attention of fight fans with a pair of wins inside the WEC cage. “The Filipino Wrecking Machine” earned a pair of first-round stoppages as a light heavyweight prior to making the jump to the UFC.
Brian Stann: after beginning his career with a fight in Portland, Oregon, Stann’s next six fights came in the WEC, where he defeated Doug Marshall to claim the light heavyweight title before losing the belt to Steve Cantwell in his final appearance with the company at WEC 35.
Chael Sonnen: Paulo Filho may be on record as the final middleweight champion in WEC history, but that’s only because the Brazilian missed weight for his rematch with Sonnen, turning the bout into a non-title affair. Sonnen earned a unanimous decision win in their rematch, and Filho ended up shipping him the championship belt.
And how could we forget the two men headlining April 13th’s TUF 17 finale card in Las Vegas, Urijah Faber and Scott Jorgensen? “The California Kid” was the man who put the WEC and the lighter weight classes on the map in North America, and now the former WEC featherweight boss is chasing glory 10 pounds south at bantamweight, where his buddy “Young Guns” Jorgensen has set up shop for years as one of the best 135-pounders in the game.
If you go see Olympus Has Fallen this weekend, keep an eye out for Tyron Woodley. Amidst the explosions and gunfire and Morgan Freeman being Morgan Freeman, the UFC welterweight makes his acting debut as a Secret Service agent in the “bad guys have taken over the White House” action flick.
And yes, that’s also him as a sniper on the roof too.
“I’m Secret Service, so when you see those limos pulling up in the trailer, that’s me standing there burning up in the Shreveport sun,” Woodley admitted, discussing his new side gig and potential post-fight career. “I’m SWAT, so I come out of the White House blasting and get shot up again. I’m a sniper, and I’m also a DC cop, so when the trash trucks blow through those police cars, I’m the one that’s running trying not to get hit by the car. I got my little test of danger in this movie.
“I die a lot,” he laughed, “but they had to have me die soon because I have a distinct face. I don’t have any lines or anything, but they said, `Your face is so distinct and you’ve got a couple close-ups, so if we use those clips, we can’t have you get shot on the lawn when the explosion goes off and then be the guy on the roof 10 minutes later as a different person.’”
Woodley has been interested in testing the Hollywood waters for some time, but wanted to wait for the right time. The St. Louis, Missouri native came away from his UFC debut unscathed, having earned a knockout win over veteran Jay Hieron in just 36 seconds at UFC 156 in early February. In shape and with an opening in his calendar, “The Chosen One” saw the chance he was looking for, took it, and now he’s caught the acting bug.
“This was a perfect time: I just got off a fight, had some free time, and I had the opportunity to get in there and mix it up. Some friends of mine – Arnold Chon, my speed and power training coach for a lot of the powerful, speed combinations that I used – he’s been a stunt guy for quite some time now. He got me involved with it, and also Lin Oeding, who introduced me to Yves Edwards in 2006.
“These guys have been in the business for a long time, and I’ve been bugging them for a long time to get me in there because I want to see if I like it or not. It was a great experience. I did that one. I had a chance to do another one here recently called Blunt Force, which is just a small film, but I had a chance to do that. That one I actually have one or two lines in, and Dan Henderson’s in that one too, so that was cool that they brought in two MMA guys. I have a couple opportunities for two or three more here after my next fight too.”
Rest assured, fight fans, the former Strikeforce standout isn’t planning on hanging up his four-ounce gloves to make a permanent move to Tinsel Town.
“I definitely want to focus on making it a post-fight career. It’s easy to get out there, make a good weekly rate, have fun doing it, and have an opportunity to make some residuals afterwards, but for me, I think the people that are in the fight game have basically done that the wrong way – they’ve made it a career too soon, and it kind of hurt their fighting.
“I don’t want to be one of those guys. I want to make sure I focus on achieving my goals, getting to a world title, and then from the point when I retire, it would definitely be something I was interested in.”
With Olympus Has Fallen in theatres and Woodley having already enjoyed a small premiere with his friends and family at his American Top Team Evolution gym in Rock Hills, the 11-1 welterweight contender has his shifted his focus back to his current career, and his upcoming fight with Jake Shields at UFC 161.
The pairing came together in the midst of the mad dash to fill the vacancy opposite Carlos Condit when Rory MacDonald was sidelined in advance of UFC 158.
Rewind to the UFC 156 post-fight press conference, where Woodley informed UFC President Dana White (and the assembled media) that his passport was up-to-date, and should anyone get injured on the way to the welterweight showcase in Montreal, he’d be ready to step up.
When MacDonald was forced out, both Woodley and Shields started lobbying for the opportunity to replace him, but the UFC opted to elevate Johny Hendricks, and back-fill his place opposite Jake Ellenberger with Nate Marquardt. Even with the new line-up established, Woodley still pressed for a way to make it onto the card.
“(Shields) was asking hard for Carlos Condit, and I thought, `Well if he’s going to ask for Condit on March 16, and I was trying to fight Condit on March 16, we should fight.’” explained the former University of Missouri wrestling standout. “I was really pushing for us to fight on March 16. If you’re going to be in shape to fight Condit on that day, you should be in shape to fight me on that day, and I think it would have been better than the Mike Ricci fight.
“The Mike Ricci fight, in my opinion, shouldn’t have been on the pay-per-view,” he continued. “They could have just went all out (with welterweights). Jordan Mein was freakin’ amazing that night, Bobby Voelker and (Patrick) Cote had an entertaining fight; the welterweights really held it down on that card, and they could have replaced that bout right there and had me and Jake Shields open up the pay-per-view portion, and I think fans would have gotten their money’s worth.”
While the chance to fight in Montreal didn’t materialize, the bout with Shields did, and the two Strikeforce alums will square off when the UFC debuts in Winnipeg this summer. Not only is Woodley looking forward to the matchup, but he’s equally excited to compete before the rabid sports fans who will fill the MTS Centre on June 15.
“I know Winnipeg is a great city and has fans that really support not just UFC, but sports in general. I think we’re going be received well by the fans, and I think it’s going to be a great environment and a great atmosphere to fight in.
“For me, I always have my eyes set on the guys at the top. It’s nothing personal; it’s not that I think he’s a chump and I can walk over him. When he was in Strikeforce, he was the champ, so my eyes are always on the top. It’s the same thing with Nick Diaz; I always envision getting to the top. I’ve already been game planning, thinking about these opponents for years. He wanted to fight Condit, like I said before, and there was an opportunity for him to be in shape for that fight, so I said, `Let’s do it.’
“It’s a classic style matchup,” said Woodley of the pairing with Shields before getting into a quick breakdown of how the two match up. “His grappling is going to be better than mine. My striking is going to be better than his. My power’s going to be better. My speed is going to be better. He has a great chin, so he’ll get that chin tested, and I think all those things added up make for a great fight. He’s fought for the UFC title before, so for me, it’s a great resume builder.”
While his win over Hieron last month might have been many UFC fans’ first introduction to Woodley, the 30-year-old has paid his dues, having faced a steady diet of under-appreciated, but exceptionally talented, competition under the Strikeforce banner before making the move into the Octagon.
Wins over the likes of Paul Daley, Tarec Saffiedine, and Jordan Mein is why Woodley was so fond of saying he earned his way to a title shot in the now-defunct organization. Now that the final two in that trio are starting to garner greater recognition, Woodley knows that continued strong showings in the UFC will send people back to his resume, where they’ll see a fighter who is very much deserving of a place in the upper echelon of the welterweight division.
“A lot of people don’t realize it until they look back in hindsight. People don’t realize that Jordan Mein didn’t look like he did against Dan Miller or how he did against Tyler Stinson (against me). The kid’s phenomenal.
“So me beating him, beating Tarec Saffiedine – if you watched these guys against somebody else, these guys are showcasing great skills, and none of these guys were able to do that to me. I won every striking war between Tarec, Paul Daley, and Jordan, and now people see what I mean when I said I had to earn my title shot. I had to go out and fight Andre Galvao, who is one of the best grapplers on Planet Earth. If I slip on a banana peel he wraps his arms around my neck and it might be a wrap. I think it’s just good that people can go back, look at my resume, and see the people that I’ve beaten.”
His debut performance in the UFC earned high marks, and produced raised expectations for his sophomore effort, but Woodley isn’t the least bit fazed. In fact, he welcomes the attention, and intends to keep delivering the same kind of performances each and every time he steps into the cage until he reaches his goal of becoming UFC welterweight champion.
“I’m making a statement to all the welterweights, I’m making a statement to the fans, and I’m making a statement to the boss man that he can expect this from now on. I may not knock everybody out, but I can try to, and if I can’t knock you out, I can slam you down, and do some punishment from the top.
“I just want (Dana White) and my coaches and everybody that trains me to know, `You guys have put a lot of work in with me, I train hard, and I possess a lot of skills that I feel God has gifted me with, and I’m gonna use them, every time, from now on.’ This is Tyron Woodley. This is my fight style, and it’s going to give problems to everyone in the welterweight class.
“From now on, I just focus on making it stronger, and doing more of what I didn’t get to do last time. After Jake Shields, I should definitely be in the top 10 in the world, and then after my next fight, I should be in the top 5. And then after that, I should be the next person fighting for the world title.”
Then, and only then, will he think about really pursuing his acting career.
If you go see Olympus Has Fallen this weekend, keep an eye out for Tyron Woodley. Amidst the explosions and gunfire and Morgan Freeman being Morgan Freeman, the UFC welterweight makes his acting debut as a Secret Service agent in the “bad guys have taken over the White House” action flick.
And yes, that’s also him as a sniper on the roof too.
“I’m Secret Service, so when you see those limos pulling up in the trailer, that’s me standing there burning up in the Shreveport sun,” Woodley admitted, discussing his new side gig and potential post-fight career. “I’m SWAT, so I come out of the White House blasting and get shot up again. I’m a sniper, and I’m also a DC cop, so when the trash trucks blow through those police cars, I’m the one that’s running trying not to get hit by the car. I got my little test of danger in this movie.
“I die a lot,” he laughed, “but they had to have me die soon because I have a distinct face. I don’t have any lines or anything, but they said, `Your face is so distinct and you’ve got a couple close-ups, so if we use those clips, we can’t have you get shot on the lawn when the explosion goes off and then be the guy on the roof 10 minutes later as a different person.’”
Woodley has been interested in testing the Hollywood waters for some time, but wanted to wait for the right time. The St. Louis, Missouri native came away from his UFC debut unscathed, having earned a knockout win over veteran Jay Hieron in just 36 seconds at UFC 156 in early February. In shape and with an opening in his calendar, “The Chosen One” saw the chance he was looking for, took it, and now he’s caught the acting bug.
“This was a perfect time: I just got off a fight, had some free time, and I had the opportunity to get in there and mix it up. Some friends of mine – Arnold Chon, my speed and power training coach for a lot of the powerful, speed combinations that I used – he’s been a stunt guy for quite some time now. He got me involved with it, and also Lin Oeding, who introduced me to Yves Edwards in 2006.
“These guys have been in the business for a long time, and I’ve been bugging them for a long time to get me in there because I want to see if I like it or not. It was a great experience. I did that one. I had a chance to do another one here recently called Blunt Force, which is just a small film, but I had a chance to do that. That one I actually have one or two lines in, and Dan Henderson’s in that one too, so that was cool that they brought in two MMA guys. I have a couple opportunities for two or three more here after my next fight too.”
Rest assured, fight fans, the former Strikeforce standout isn’t planning on hanging up his four-ounce gloves to make a permanent move to Tinsel Town.
“I definitely want to focus on making it a post-fight career. It’s easy to get out there, make a good weekly rate, have fun doing it, and have an opportunity to make some residuals afterwards, but for me, I think the people that are in the fight game have basically done that the wrong way – they’ve made it a career too soon, and it kind of hurt their fighting.
“I don’t want to be one of those guys. I want to make sure I focus on achieving my goals, getting to a world title, and then from the point when I retire, it would definitely be something I was interested in.”
With Olympus Has Fallen in theatres and Woodley having already enjoyed a small premiere with his friends and family at his American Top Team Evolution gym in Rock Hills, the 11-1 welterweight contender has his shifted his focus back to his current career, and his upcoming fight with Jake Shields at UFC 161.
The pairing came together in the midst of the mad dash to fill the vacancy opposite Carlos Condit when Rory MacDonald was sidelined in advance of UFC 158.
Rewind to the UFC 156 post-fight press conference, where Woodley informed UFC President Dana White (and the assembled media) that his passport was up-to-date, and should anyone get injured on the way to the welterweight showcase in Montreal, he’d be ready to step up.
When MacDonald was forced out, both Woodley and Shields started lobbying for the opportunity to replace him, but the UFC opted to elevate Johny Hendricks, and back-fill his place opposite Jake Ellenberger with Nate Marquardt. Even with the new line-up established, Woodley still pressed for a way to make it onto the card.
“(Shields) was asking hard for Carlos Condit, and I thought, `Well if he’s going to ask for Condit on March 16, and I was trying to fight Condit on March 16, we should fight.’” explained the former University of Missouri wrestling standout. “I was really pushing for us to fight on March 16. If you’re going to be in shape to fight Condit on that day, you should be in shape to fight me on that day, and I think it would have been better than the Mike Ricci fight.
“The Mike Ricci fight, in my opinion, shouldn’t have been on the pay-per-view,” he continued. “They could have just went all out (with welterweights). Jordan Mein was freakin’ amazing that night, Bobby Voelker and (Patrick) Cote had an entertaining fight; the welterweights really held it down on that card, and they could have replaced that bout right there and had me and Jake Shields open up the pay-per-view portion, and I think fans would have gotten their money’s worth.”
While the chance to fight in Montreal didn’t materialize, the bout with Shields did, and the two Strikeforce alums will square off when the UFC debuts in Winnipeg this summer. Not only is Woodley looking forward to the matchup, but he’s equally excited to compete before the rabid sports fans who will fill the MTS Centre on June 15.
“I know Winnipeg is a great city and has fans that really support not just UFC, but sports in general. I think we’re going be received well by the fans, and I think it’s going to be a great environment and a great atmosphere to fight in.
“For me, I always have my eyes set on the guys at the top. It’s nothing personal; it’s not that I think he’s a chump and I can walk over him. When he was in Strikeforce, he was the champ, so my eyes are always on the top. It’s the same thing with Nick Diaz; I always envision getting to the top. I’ve already been game planning, thinking about these opponents for years. He wanted to fight Condit, like I said before, and there was an opportunity for him to be in shape for that fight, so I said, `Let’s do it.’
“It’s a classic style matchup,” said Woodley of the pairing with Shields before getting into a quick breakdown of how the two match up. “His grappling is going to be better than mine. My striking is going to be better than his. My power’s going to be better. My speed is going to be better. He has a great chin, so he’ll get that chin tested, and I think all those things added up make for a great fight. He’s fought for the UFC title before, so for me, it’s a great resume builder.”
While his win over Hieron last month might have been many UFC fans’ first introduction to Woodley, the 30-year-old has paid his dues, having faced a steady diet of under-appreciated, but exceptionally talented, competition under the Strikeforce banner before making the move into the Octagon.
Wins over the likes of Paul Daley, Tarec Saffiedine, and Jordan Mein is why Woodley was so fond of saying he earned his way to a title shot in the now-defunct organization. Now that the final two in that trio are starting to garner greater recognition, Woodley knows that continued strong showings in the UFC will send people back to his resume, where they’ll see a fighter who is very much deserving of a place in the upper echelon of the welterweight division.
“A lot of people don’t realize it until they look back in hindsight. People don’t realize that Jordan Mein didn’t look like he did against Dan Miller or how he did against Tyler Stinson (against me). The kid’s phenomenal.
“So me beating him, beating Tarec Saffiedine – if you watched these guys against somebody else, these guys are showcasing great skills, and none of these guys were able to do that to me. I won every striking war between Tarec, Paul Daley, and Jordan, and now people see what I mean when I said I had to earn my title shot. I had to go out and fight Andre Galvao, who is one of the best grapplers on Planet Earth. If I slip on a banana peel he wraps his arms around my neck and it might be a wrap. I think it’s just good that people can go back, look at my resume, and see the people that I’ve beaten.”
His debut performance in the UFC earned high marks, and produced raised expectations for his sophomore effort, but Woodley isn’t the least bit fazed. In fact, he welcomes the attention, and intends to keep delivering the same kind of performances each and every time he steps into the cage until he reaches his goal of becoming UFC welterweight champion.
“I’m making a statement to all the welterweights, I’m making a statement to the fans, and I’m making a statement to the boss man that he can expect this from now on. I may not knock everybody out, but I can try to, and if I can’t knock you out, I can slam you down, and do some punishment from the top.
“I just want (Dana White) and my coaches and everybody that trains me to know, `You guys have put a lot of work in with me, I train hard, and I possess a lot of skills that I feel God has gifted me with, and I’m gonna use them, every time, from now on.’ This is Tyron Woodley. This is my fight style, and it’s going to give problems to everyone in the welterweight class.
“From now on, I just focus on making it stronger, and doing more of what I didn’t get to do last time. After Jake Shields, I should definitely be in the top 10 in the world, and then after my next fight, I should be in the top 5. And then after that, I should be the next person fighting for the world title.”
Then, and only then, will he think about really pursuing his acting career.
Every year, one narrative seems to step up and dominate the UFC year.
In 2011, the incredible rise of Jon Jones was clearly the “Story of the Year” in the UFC, as the prodigious light heavyweight talent earned four victories in the span of ten months, rising to the top of the division with his win over Mauricio “Shogun” Rua in March before defending the title twice over the final four months of the year.
Last year, rather than a fighter stepping out as the biggest story, the rash of injuries that tore through the roster, producing innumerable lineup changes and the first event cancellation in UFC history was the most discussed narrative.
Though we’re just three months into the year, the success of former Strikeforce fighters inside the Octagon is already emerging as a clear early favorite to be the dominant talking point of 2013.
FIRST QUARTER IMPACT PERFORMERS
Any discussion of the impact arrivals from Strikeforce has to start with the UFC women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey. The former Olympic bronze medalist is a promotional force of nature, and equally as impactful inside the cage as well.
The build-up to her UFC debut was covered more extensively than any fight in recent memory, and her headlining turn with Liz Carmouche atop the UFC 157 Pay-Per-View was a complete success. In addition to retaining her title with another first round armbar victory, Rousey established herself as a legitimate headlining act in the UFC, and a certified star in the sport.
The spotlight isn’t going to wane any time soon either, as “Rowdy” will get her wish to serve as a coach on The Ultimate Fighter next season, leading a mixed cast of bantamweights opposite the winner of the upcoming Miesha Tate–Cat Zingano fight in April on FX.
While the women’s bantamweight champ has made the biggest splash of any crossover competitor so far this year, the unbeaten Rousey isn’t alone on the list of former Strikeforce fighters to have already delivered big things inside the Octagon in 2013.
Last Saturday night in Montreal, young Canadian welterweight Jordan Mein added his name to the growing list of UFC first-timers to make an impression in the opening months of this year. The 23-year-old Lethbridge, Alberta native announced himself as someone to watch in the welterweight division by escaping an early armbar to become the first man to stop veteran Dan Miller.
After more than seven years away from the Octagon, Robbie Lawler made a successful return to the UFC last month, earning a first round knockout win over Josh Koscheck at UFC 157 in Anaheim. That same night, Nah-Shon Burrell and Yuri Villefort opened up the show with a wildly entertaining back-and-forth battle, displaying a tremendous sense of urgency from the opening bell to the final horn.
UFC 156 produced three wins for former Strikeforce competitors.
The last man to beat Mein, Tyron Woodley, also made a splash in his UFC debut in the opening stages of the year, knocking out Jay Hieron in just 36 seconds. With the win, “The Chosen One” inserted himself in the thick of the chase in the welterweight division, and the former University of Missouri wrestling standout will be looking to take another step up the rankings this summer when he takes on another Strikeforce alumnus, Jake Shields, at UFC 161 in Winnipeg, Manitoba.
Lightweight veteran and Team Jackson-Winkeljohn product Isaac Vallie-Flagg outworked Yves Edwards to push his unbeaten streak to 12 and collect his first UFC victory, while Bobby Green captured Dana White’s attention with his third round submission win over Jacob Volkmann. White could not stop praising Green after the event, lauding his ability to overcome a questionable referee’s stand up and his drive to finish Volkmann in the third to ensure he earned the win.
MORE NAMES TO WATCH ON THE WAY
While there is no question that several fighters that have migrated to the UFC since the collapse of Strikeforce have already impressed, there are even more talented athletes who have yet to make their first appearance in the Octagon who could easily add their names to the list of impact arrivals from the closed down company in the coming months.
Gegard Mousasi makes his debut early next month in a headlining turn opposite Alexander Gustafsson in his hometown of Sweden. The former Strikeforce light heavyweight champion has the chance to halt the surging Swede’s climb towards a title shot, and inject himself into the conversation at the same time with a victory.
Once considered a can’t miss prospect, injuries have hindered Mousasi in recent years; he missed all of 2012 after suffering a torn ACL, and dealt with various maladies in the year before that as well. He’s still only 27 years old, however, and already has a great deal of experience under his belt, so it’s quite possible that he could return to make an immediate impression in the 205-pound ranks.
In the co-main event of next month’s FUEL TV fight card in Sweden, second-generation UFC competitor Ryan Couture squares off with former Ultimate Fighter winner Ross Pearson. Coming off a controversial split decision win over KJ Noons on the final Strikeforce event, a win over Pearson would extend Couture’s winning streak to five and give him strong footing to start his climbing in the treacherous lightweight division.
As mentioned earlier, Miesha Tate has the opportunity to not only earn a rematch with Ronda Rousey when she faces off with Cat Zingano on the Ultimate Fighter 17 Finale card, but a victory would also place the former women’s bantamweight champion opposite the current titleholder as a coach on Season 18 of the long-running reality TV competition as well.
Midway through the month of April, the UFC heads to San Jose, where, fittingly enough, a number of Strikeforce alums will make their UFC debuts.
After scoring a unanimous decision win over Robbie Lawler in his middleweight debut, Kung Fu fighter Lorenz “The Monsoon” Larkin looks to maintain his unbeaten record in a pivotal bout on the fringes of contention with French-born, Montreal-based Francis Carmont.
Lightweights Jorge Masvidal and Josh Thomson have a chance to quickly establish themselves as players in the UFC’s deepest division, as “Gamebred” and “The Punk” square off with Tim Means and Nathan Diaz respectively, the former on the preliminary portion of the card, the latter on the four-fight main card broadcast on FOX.
In the co-main event of the evening, Strikeforce World Heavyweight Grand Prix winner Daniel Cormier makes his highly anticipated debut in the Octagon, squaring off with former heavyweight champion Frank Mir. It’s a fight that Cormier specifically asked for, having been originally lined up to face the submission specialist on the final Strikeforce show before Mir pulled out with an injury.
Unbeaten through the first 11 fights of his career, many view the two-time Olympian as a serious championship threat in either the heavyweight or light heavyweight division, but first he’s got to get through Mir.
Headlining this year’s second UFC on FOX event is Strikeforce lightweight champion Gilbert Melendez, who will go toe-to-toe with Benson Henderson in a “Champion vs. Champion” clash. This is the chance “El Nino” has been waiting for: an opportunity to not only prove that he belongs amongst the best in the division, but that he is the very best in the world in the lightweight division.
A winner of seven consecutive contests dating back to April 2009, extending his winning streak to eight with a championship victory over last year’s Fighter of the Year Henderson would leave little room for argument that the “Skrap Pack” member is indeed tops in the 155-pound ranks.
A week later at UFC 159, Pat Healy, the man Melendez was twice supposed to face under the Strikeforce banner, will get an opportunity to establish himself as a contender in the UFC with a main card matchup opposite perennial contender Jim Miller in New Jersey.
The durable veteran Healy has won six straight and nine of his last 10, defeating the likes of Maximo Blanco, Caros Fodor, and Mizuto Hirota along the way. While a date with Melendez never ended up materializing, “Bam Bam” could make a big first impression with a win over Miller on his home turf at the end of April.
In May, the last two Strikeforce middleweight champions head to Jaragua do Sul, Brazil for their UFC debuts, looking to make waves in the deep end of the 185-pound division.
Luke Rockhold, the last middleweight champion, will headline UFC on FX 8 opposite Vitor Belfort on May 18, while the man he defeated for the title, Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza, takes on streaking contender Costa Philippou in the co-main event of the evening.
Another in the long line of elite competitors from the American Kickboxing Academy in San Jose, Rockhold boasts a 10-1 mark overall, and has won nine straight outings. Getting to double digits by defeating a former title challenger and respected veteran like Belfort would make the 28-year-old Californian an immediate player in the middleweight title chase.
The same goes for Souza should he be able to halt Philippou’s recent run of success. “Jacare” has rebounded from his championship loss to Rockhold with a trio of wins over Bristol Marunde, Derek Brunson, and Ed Herman, and he has the chance to step right into the top 10 with a win over the Serra-Longo Fight Team member in May.
Former lightweight and welterweight title challenger KJ Noons enters into the thick of the fray on Memorial Day weekend at UFC 160 in a bout with Donald Cerrone that is guaranteed to produce fireworks, while middleweight standouts Tim Kennedy and Roger Gracie will look to do the same as part of the Fourth of July fight card at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
The last remaining Strikeforce convert waiting on a UFC opportunity is welterweight champion Tarec Saffiedine, who is still awaiting a dance partner for his UFC debut.
Though he was flying under the radar heading into his breakthrough win against Nate Marquardt in final Strikeforce fight ever, the Belgian kickboxer won’t be sneaking up on anybody in the welterweight division whenever his initial opportunity comes.
With a number of outstanding performances already in the books through the first three months of the year, and another four months worth of intriguing opportunities already lined up, it certainly looks like the arrival and immediate impact of the Strikeforce alums is going to be a central storyline in the UFC for the remainder of 2013.
Every year, one narrative seems to step up and dominate the UFC year.
In 2011, the incredible rise of Jon Jones was clearly the “Story of the Year” in the UFC, as the prodigious light heavyweight talent earned four victories in the span of ten months, rising to the top of the division with his win over Mauricio “Shogun” Rua in March before defending the title twice over the final four months of the year.
Last year, rather than a fighter stepping out as the biggest story, the rash of injuries that tore through the roster, producing innumerable lineup changes and the first event cancellation in UFC history was the most discussed narrative.
Though we’re just three months into the year, the success of former Strikeforce fighters inside the Octagon is already emerging as a clear early favorite to be the dominant talking point of 2013.
FIRST QUARTER IMPACT PERFORMERS
Any discussion of the impact arrivals from Strikeforce has to start with the UFC women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey. The former Olympic bronze medalist is a promotional force of nature, and equally as impactful inside the cage as well.
The build-up to her UFC debut was covered more extensively than any fight in recent memory, and her headlining turn with Liz Carmouche atop the UFC 157 Pay-Per-View was a complete success. In addition to retaining her title with another first round armbar victory, Rousey established herself as a legitimate headlining act in the UFC, and a certified star in the sport.
The spotlight isn’t going to wane any time soon either, as “Rowdy” will get her wish to serve as a coach on The Ultimate Fighter next season, leading a mixed cast of bantamweights opposite the winner of the upcoming Miesha Tate–Cat Zingano fight in April on FX.
While the women’s bantamweight champ has made the biggest splash of any crossover competitor so far this year, the unbeaten Rousey isn’t alone on the list of former Strikeforce fighters to have already delivered big things inside the Octagon in 2013.
Last Saturday night in Montreal, young Canadian welterweight Jordan Mein added his name to the growing list of UFC first-timers to make an impression in the opening months of this year. The 23-year-old Lethbridge, Alberta native announced himself as someone to watch in the welterweight division by escaping an early armbar to become the first man to stop veteran Dan Miller.
After more than seven years away from the Octagon, Robbie Lawler made a successful return to the UFC last month, earning a first round knockout win over Josh Koscheck at UFC 157 in Anaheim. That same night, Nah-Shon Burrell and Yuri Villefort opened up the show with a wildly entertaining back-and-forth battle, displaying a tremendous sense of urgency from the opening bell to the final horn.
UFC 156 produced three wins for former Strikeforce competitors.
The last man to beat Mein, Tyron Woodley, also made a splash in his UFC debut in the opening stages of the year, knocking out Jay Hieron in just 36 seconds. With the win, “The Chosen One” inserted himself in the thick of the chase in the welterweight division, and the former University of Missouri wrestling standout will be looking to take another step up the rankings this summer when he takes on another Strikeforce alumnus, Jake Shields, at UFC 161 in Winnipeg, Manitoba.
Lightweight veteran and Team Jackson-Winkeljohn product Isaac Vallie-Flagg outworked Yves Edwards to push his unbeaten streak to 12 and collect his first UFC victory, while Bobby Green captured Dana White’s attention with his third round submission win over Jacob Volkmann. White could not stop praising Green after the event, lauding his ability to overcome a questionable referee’s stand up and his drive to finish Volkmann in the third to ensure he earned the win.
MORE NAMES TO WATCH ON THE WAY
While there is no question that several fighters that have migrated to the UFC since the collapse of Strikeforce have already impressed, there are even more talented athletes who have yet to make their first appearance in the Octagon who could easily add their names to the list of impact arrivals from the closed down company in the coming months.
Gegard Mousasi makes his debut early next month in a headlining turn opposite Alexander Gustafsson in his hometown of Sweden. The former Strikeforce light heavyweight champion has the chance to halt the surging Swede’s climb towards a title shot, and inject himself into the conversation at the same time with a victory.
Once considered a can’t miss prospect, injuries have hindered Mousasi in recent years; he missed all of 2012 after suffering a torn ACL, and dealt with various maladies in the year before that as well. He’s still only 27 years old, however, and already has a great deal of experience under his belt, so it’s quite possible that he could return to make an immediate impression in the 205-pound ranks.
In the co-main event of next month’s FUEL TV fight card in Sweden, second-generation UFC competitor Ryan Couture squares off with former Ultimate Fighter winner Ross Pearson. Coming off a controversial split decision win over KJ Noons on the final Strikeforce event, a win over Pearson would extend Couture’s winning streak to five and give him strong footing to start his climbing in the treacherous lightweight division.
As mentioned earlier, Miesha Tate has the opportunity to not only earn a rematch with Ronda Rousey when she faces off with Cat Zingano on the Ultimate Fighter 17 Finale card, but a victory would also place the former women’s bantamweight champion opposite the current titleholder as a coach on Season 18 of the long-running reality TV competition as well.
Midway through the month of April, the UFC heads to San Jose, where, fittingly enough, a number of Strikeforce alums will make their UFC debuts.
After scoring a unanimous decision win over Robbie Lawler in his middleweight debut, Kung Fu fighter Lorenz “The Monsoon” Larkin looks to maintain his unbeaten record in a pivotal bout on the fringes of contention with French-born, Montreal-based Francis Carmont.
Lightweights Jorge Masvidal and Josh Thomson have a chance to quickly establish themselves as players in the UFC’s deepest division, as “Gamebred” and “The Punk” square off with Tim Means and Nathan Diaz respectively, the former on the preliminary portion of the card, the latter on the four-fight main card broadcast on FOX.
In the co-main event of the evening, Strikeforce World Heavyweight Grand Prix winner Daniel Cormier makes his highly anticipated debut in the Octagon, squaring off with former heavyweight champion Frank Mir. It’s a fight that Cormier specifically asked for, having been originally lined up to face the submission specialist on the final Strikeforce show before Mir pulled out with an injury.
Unbeaten through the first 11 fights of his career, many view the two-time Olympian as a serious championship threat in either the heavyweight or light heavyweight division, but first he’s got to get through Mir.
Headlining this year’s second UFC on FOX event is Strikeforce lightweight champion Gilbert Melendez, who will go toe-to-toe with Benson Henderson in a “Champion vs. Champion” clash. This is the chance “El Nino” has been waiting for: an opportunity to not only prove that he belongs amongst the best in the division, but that he is the very best in the world in the lightweight division.
A winner of seven consecutive contests dating back to April 2009, extending his winning streak to eight with a championship victory over last year’s Fighter of the Year Henderson would leave little room for argument that the “Skrap Pack” member is indeed tops in the 155-pound ranks.
A week later at UFC 159, Pat Healy, the man Melendez was twice supposed to face under the Strikeforce banner, will get an opportunity to establish himself as a contender in the UFC with a main card matchup opposite perennial contender Jim Miller in New Jersey.
The durable veteran Healy has won six straight and nine of his last 10, defeating the likes of Maximo Blanco, Caros Fodor, and Mizuto Hirota along the way. While a date with Melendez never ended up materializing, “Bam Bam” could make a big first impression with a win over Miller on his home turf at the end of April.
In May, the last two Strikeforce middleweight champions head to Jaragua do Sul, Brazil for their UFC debuts, looking to make waves in the deep end of the 185-pound division.
Luke Rockhold, the last middleweight champion, will headline UFC on FX 8 opposite Vitor Belfort on May 18, while the man he defeated for the title, Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza, takes on streaking contender Costa Philippou in the co-main event of the evening.
Another in the long line of elite competitors from the American Kickboxing Academy in San Jose, Rockhold boasts a 10-1 mark overall, and has won nine straight outings. Getting to double digits by defeating a former title challenger and respected veteran like Belfort would make the 28-year-old Californian an immediate player in the middleweight title chase.
The same goes for Souza should he be able to halt Philippou’s recent run of success. “Jacare” has rebounded from his championship loss to Rockhold with a trio of wins over Bristol Marunde, Derek Brunson, and Ed Herman, and he has the chance to step right into the top 10 with a win over the Serra-Longo Fight Team member in May.
Former lightweight and welterweight title challenger KJ Noons enters into the thick of the fray on Memorial Day weekend at UFC 160 in a bout with Donald Cerrone that is guaranteed to produce fireworks, while middleweight standouts Tim Kennedy and Roger Gracie will look to do the same as part of the Fourth of July fight card at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
The last remaining Strikeforce convert waiting on a UFC opportunity is welterweight champion Tarec Saffiedine, who is still awaiting a dance partner for his UFC debut.
Though he was flying under the radar heading into his breakthrough win against Nate Marquardt in final Strikeforce fight ever, the Belgian kickboxer won’t be sneaking up on anybody in the welterweight division whenever his initial opportunity comes.
With a number of outstanding performances already in the books through the first three months of the year, and another four months worth of intriguing opportunities already lined up, it certainly looks like the arrival and immediate impact of the Strikeforce alums is going to be a central storyline in the UFC for the remainder of 2013.
No one would have really faulted Johny Hendricks if he had spent the last three months publicly bemoaning the UFC’s decision to book welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre against Nick Diaz this weekend at UFC 158 in Montreal.
In fact, a good number of people probably would have lined up behind Hendricks to shout supportive comments like “Yeah!” and “You tell ‘em Johny!” as he made points illustrating why he – and not Diaz – should have been the one listed as “challenger” in Saturday’s main event title fight.
With five consecutive victories, including back-to-back wins over Josh Koscheck and Martin Kampmann, the 29-year-old southpaw from Ada, Oklahoma has done just about everything you could ask of a fighter when it comes to making an emphatic case for title contention.
Hendricks ended 2011 by knocking out perennial contender Jon Fitch in just 12 seconds, and then earned a split decision win over Fitch’s long-time friend and former AKA teammate Koscheck in May to push his winning streak to four. The night St-Pierre returned to defeat interim champion Carlos Condit at UFC 154, Hendricks dropped Kampmann with the same powerful left hand that starched Fitch 11 months earlier.
In spite of all of his recent success and the consensus public opinion being that the former two-time Division I National champion wrestler from Oklahoma State should be the next man to share the cage with the long-reigning welterweight champion, the UFC tabbed Diaz instead, ceding to St-Pierre’s request for a meeting with the former Strikeforce titleholder.
You can why a three-month tirade from Hendricks directed towards St-Pierre, Diaz, and the current championship situation would be understandable, maybe even justified.
But that’s just not who Johny Hendricks is, and he’s not about to become that kind of guy either.
“Good Lord willin’, it happens,” says Hendricks sincerely in regards to getting the chance to fight for the UFC welterweight title. “It is what it is. You gotta sit there and say, `All right – I haven’t done this, I haven’t done this; what’s gonna get me to the next step? Do I have to call out somebody? Do I have to say certain things?’ I took a step back, and I was like, `I’m not gonna change who I am just to get…’”
He pauses, looking for the right words, mindful of saying the right thing – or perhaps not saying the wrong thing.
“If the fans want me to be a jerk, I’m not going to. If they want me to talk trash and all these things, just so people will want to listen to me, I don’t want to do that. I don’t want to be that kind of fighter.
“I always say that I’ve got girls,” continues the proud father of two. “One day, if they watch my fights – they see what kind of person I am, and I’m sitting here trying to raise them a certain way, and in the video it shows a totally different person, they’re gonna be like, `Why do I have to listen to you? Look at this video right here.’ And that’s a path I definitely don’t want to cross, so I was just like, `All right – I’m gonna take a step back, calm down, and just keep moving forward.’”
He laughs, thinking of the day his daughters grow up and start to challenge the rules he and his wife Christina have laid out for them. The thought also puts his current professional situation into perspective as well.
“Who cares if it’s not that one,” he adds. “Good Lord willin’ I can get my hand raised for this one, and then I can go.”
For the second time in a row, Hendricks will compete in the penultimate fight of the evening with St-Pierre defending his title in the finale at the Bell Centre in Montreal. After needing just 46 seconds to stop Kampmann before the French-Canadian champion bested Condit at UFC 154, this time around it is Hendricks who will share the cage with “The Natural Born Killer,” though that wasn’t the original plan.
Initially, Condit was slated to rematch surging Canadian Rory MacDonald in the co-main event, with Jake Ellenberger tabbed to take on Hendricks in the middle fight of the weekend’s five-fight Pay-Per-View main card.
It wasn’t exactly the course the heavily bearded contender known as “Bigg Rigg” wanted, but one he came to accept. Now that he’s moved up one more place on the marquee, Hendricks is focused in on the positives, and using this weekend’s meeting with Condit as another opportunity to make his case for a chance to fight for the welterweight title.
“It was not until I got a fight,” Hendricks answers when asked how long he carried the frustration of being passed over in favor of Diaz. “I was like, `Well they got a fight; when am I gonna fight?’ I’d like to wait; that’s what I was trying to do the whole time – I was going to take a step back, and just wait.
“Next thing you know they’re like, `You’ve gotta fight.’ You can either be mad that you’ve gotta fight or you can say, `Hey, that’s one more paycheck. That’s one more training camp to learn, and one more person to hopefully defeat so you don’t have to see them for a while.’”
With that outlook framing his return to the cage, Hendricks says he wasn’t too concerned with who the UFC lined up across the cage.
“Anybody in the top 10 (was) good. Like I said, if I was still fighting Jake, if I beat him, I don’t have to fight him for a while, and that’s something – that’s my goal: I want to fight everybody. If I get that belt, I want to fight everybody who is the rightful challenger, and I’ll try as hard as I can to get my hand raised.”
As much as that logic applies to Condit as well, there are a number of other elements that factored into Hendricks’ decision to step into the void created when MacDonald was forced from his rematch with the former WEC welterweight champion as well. While some may see it as a risky proposition, the engaging and positive Oklahoman who now calls Dallas, Texas home sees only good things about the matchup, even if he happens to end up on the wrong end of the result.
“He held the interim belt for eight months, and he just fought GSP,” Hendricks says, beginning his assessment of the benefits of facing Condit this weekend. “If I can go out there and compete with Carlos Condit – compete; I’m not saying I have to knock him out, but I have to get my hand raised. That’s the most important thing, and it doesn’t matter how I do it.
“If I can do that, and then that’s still fresh on everybody’s mind from the GSP fight. If I do good against Carlos Condit, then they’re going to be like, `Well, (Condit) was just in there with GSP. He’s gotta go next.’ That was my main thought whenever I found out I was going to fight him. I was like, `Sweet! This is awesome!’
“If you lose, guess what? You say, `Why did I lose? How did I lose?’ and we pick ourselves up. Sometimes if you lose to the champ, it takes you a year-and-a-half to get back there, but if I lose here, it might only take me two fights. I’m still going to be in the top 10 and all that kind of stuff, so I think it’s a very win-win situation.”
Though Hendricks is stepping into the cage with Condit on Saturday night, there are invariably going to be myriad questions about St-Pierre and Diaz directed his way in the days leading up to the event. The main event competitors have dominated the headlines thus far, and it’s sure to only increase as fight night gets closer and closer.
With the next step in his career somewhat tied to what happens between the champion and challenger after he’s done sharing the cage with Condit, Hendricks hasn’t been giving the main event tandem a moment of thought since he entered camp, focusing first on Ellenberger, then on Condit, and that won’t change in the final few hours before the event either.
“Who cares about them?” Hendricks asks rhetorically with a chuckle. “I don’t care about Georges and I don’t care about Nick Diaz. My main focus is Carlos, because if I overlook him, (1) I’m a big moron, and (2) he can easily defeat me. If I don’t give Carlos 100% of my focus, it could be an early night, or it could be a long night that ends badly. I have to really make sure that nothing outside of this fight matters; nothing, until March 16th when I get my hand raised.
“It’s gonna be a tough fight,” says Hendricks of this weekend’s pairing with Condit. “Like I said before, he’s a tough opponent. I see it as I’m going to have to be an all-around fighter to get the win, and I see myself getting my hand raised. That’s my #1 goal right now – not to finish anybody, but just to get out there and get my hand raised. That’s the most important thing.
“Hopefully after this fight I am getting that title shot, and I get to move forward with my career.”
Good Lord willing.
No one would have really faulted Johny Hendricks if he had spent the last three months publicly bemoaning the UFC’s decision to book welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre against Nick Diaz this weekend at UFC 158 in Montreal.
In fact, a good number of people probably would have lined up behind Hendricks to shout supportive comments like “Yeah!” and “You tell ‘em Johny!” as he made points illustrating why he – and not Diaz – should have been the one listed as “challenger” in Saturday’s main event title fight.
With five consecutive victories, including back-to-back wins over Josh Koscheck and Martin Kampmann, the 29-year-old southpaw from Ada, Oklahoma has done just about everything you could ask of a fighter when it comes to making an emphatic case for title contention.
Hendricks ended 2011 by knocking out perennial contender Jon Fitch in just 12 seconds, and then earned a split decision win over Fitch’s long-time friend and former AKA teammate Koscheck in May to push his winning streak to four. The night St-Pierre returned to defeat interim champion Carlos Condit at UFC 154, Hendricks dropped Kampmann with the same powerful left hand that starched Fitch 11 months earlier.
In spite of all of his recent success and the consensus public opinion being that the former two-time Division I National champion wrestler from Oklahoma State should be the next man to share the cage with the long-reigning welterweight champion, the UFC tabbed Diaz instead, ceding to St-Pierre’s request for a meeting with the former Strikeforce titleholder.
You can why a three-month tirade from Hendricks directed towards St-Pierre, Diaz, and the current championship situation would be understandable, maybe even justified.
But that’s just not who Johny Hendricks is, and he’s not about to become that kind of guy either.
“Good Lord willin’, it happens,” says Hendricks sincerely in regards to getting the chance to fight for the UFC welterweight title. “It is what it is. You gotta sit there and say, `All right – I haven’t done this, I haven’t done this; what’s gonna get me to the next step? Do I have to call out somebody? Do I have to say certain things?’ I took a step back, and I was like, `I’m not gonna change who I am just to get…’”
He pauses, looking for the right words, mindful of saying the right thing – or perhaps not saying the wrong thing.
“If the fans want me to be a jerk, I’m not going to. If they want me to talk trash and all these things, just so people will want to listen to me, I don’t want to do that. I don’t want to be that kind of fighter.
“I always say that I’ve got girls,” continues the proud father of two. “One day, if they watch my fights – they see what kind of person I am, and I’m sitting here trying to raise them a certain way, and in the video it shows a totally different person, they’re gonna be like, `Why do I have to listen to you? Look at this video right here.’ And that’s a path I definitely don’t want to cross, so I was just like, `All right – I’m gonna take a step back, calm down, and just keep moving forward.’”
He laughs, thinking of the day his daughters grow up and start to challenge the rules he and his wife Christina have laid out for them. The thought also puts his current professional situation into perspective as well.
“Who cares if it’s not that one,” he adds. “Good Lord willin’ I can get my hand raised for this one, and then I can go.”
For the second time in a row, Hendricks will compete in the penultimate fight of the evening with St-Pierre defending his title in the finale at the Bell Centre in Montreal. After needing just 46 seconds to stop Kampmann before the French-Canadian champion bested Condit at UFC 154, this time around it is Hendricks who will share the cage with “The Natural Born Killer,” though that wasn’t the original plan.
Initially, Condit was slated to rematch surging Canadian Rory MacDonald in the co-main event, with Jake Ellenberger tabbed to take on Hendricks in the middle fight of the weekend’s five-fight Pay-Per-View main card.
It wasn’t exactly the course the heavily bearded contender known as “Bigg Rigg” wanted, but one he came to accept. Now that he’s moved up one more place on the marquee, Hendricks is focused in on the positives, and using this weekend’s meeting with Condit as another opportunity to make his case for a chance to fight for the welterweight title.
“It was not until I got a fight,” Hendricks answers when asked how long he carried the frustration of being passed over in favor of Diaz. “I was like, `Well they got a fight; when am I gonna fight?’ I’d like to wait; that’s what I was trying to do the whole time – I was going to take a step back, and just wait.
“Next thing you know they’re like, `You’ve gotta fight.’ You can either be mad that you’ve gotta fight or you can say, `Hey, that’s one more paycheck. That’s one more training camp to learn, and one more person to hopefully defeat so you don’t have to see them for a while.’”
With that outlook framing his return to the cage, Hendricks says he wasn’t too concerned with who the UFC lined up across the cage.
“Anybody in the top 10 (was) good. Like I said, if I was still fighting Jake, if I beat him, I don’t have to fight him for a while, and that’s something – that’s my goal: I want to fight everybody. If I get that belt, I want to fight everybody who is the rightful challenger, and I’ll try as hard as I can to get my hand raised.”
As much as that logic applies to Condit as well, there are a number of other elements that factored into Hendricks’ decision to step into the void created when MacDonald was forced from his rematch with the former WEC welterweight champion as well. While some may see it as a risky proposition, the engaging and positive Oklahoman who now calls Dallas, Texas home sees only good things about the matchup, even if he happens to end up on the wrong end of the result.
“He held the interim belt for eight months, and he just fought GSP,” Hendricks says, beginning his assessment of the benefits of facing Condit this weekend. “If I can go out there and compete with Carlos Condit – compete; I’m not saying I have to knock him out, but I have to get my hand raised. That’s the most important thing, and it doesn’t matter how I do it.
“If I can do that, and then that’s still fresh on everybody’s mind from the GSP fight. If I do good against Carlos Condit, then they’re going to be like, `Well, (Condit) was just in there with GSP. He’s gotta go next.’ That was my main thought whenever I found out I was going to fight him. I was like, `Sweet! This is awesome!’
“If you lose, guess what? You say, `Why did I lose? How did I lose?’ and we pick ourselves up. Sometimes if you lose to the champ, it takes you a year-and-a-half to get back there, but if I lose here, it might only take me two fights. I’m still going to be in the top 10 and all that kind of stuff, so I think it’s a very win-win situation.”
Though Hendricks is stepping into the cage with Condit on Saturday night, there are invariably going to be myriad questions about St-Pierre and Diaz directed his way in the days leading up to the event. The main event competitors have dominated the headlines thus far, and it’s sure to only increase as fight night gets closer and closer.
With the next step in his career somewhat tied to what happens between the champion and challenger after he’s done sharing the cage with Condit, Hendricks hasn’t been giving the main event tandem a moment of thought since he entered camp, focusing first on Ellenberger, then on Condit, and that won’t change in the final few hours before the event either.
“Who cares about them?” Hendricks asks rhetorically with a chuckle. “I don’t care about Georges and I don’t care about Nick Diaz. My main focus is Carlos, because if I overlook him, (1) I’m a big moron, and (2) he can easily defeat me. If I don’t give Carlos 100% of my focus, it could be an early night, or it could be a long night that ends badly. I have to really make sure that nothing outside of this fight matters; nothing, until March 16th when I get my hand raised.
“It’s gonna be a tough fight,” says Hendricks of this weekend’s pairing with Condit. “Like I said before, he’s a tough opponent. I see it as I’m going to have to be an all-around fighter to get the win, and I see myself getting my hand raised. That’s my #1 goal right now – not to finish anybody, but just to get out there and get my hand raised. That’s the most important thing.
“Hopefully after this fight I am getting that title shot, and I get to move forward with my career.”
Last January, UFC lightweight Michael Johnson deemed 2012 “The Year of The Menace,” and set his sights on accumulating enough victories to end the year on the outskirts of the top 10.
Consider last week and this one to be the 
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