After gaining a solid victory over another top contender in Josh Koscheck, UFC welterweight contender Johny Hendricks has yet again thrust himself forward toward a title shot. It seems now he has done enough to earn it. Hendricks is the only man …
After gaining a solid victory over another top contender in Josh Koscheck, UFC welterweight contender Johny Hendricks has yet again thrust himself forward toward a title shot. It seems now he has done enough to earn it.
Hendricks is the only man aside from WW champion Georges St. Pierre that has beaten both Josh Koscheck and Jon Fitch, who was the longtime No. 2 welterweight in the world. Before the showdown between Hendricks and Koscheck, Dana White indicated that Hendricks would get a title shot with a victory. Sure enough, following the split decision win for Hendricks, it seems the choice is up to Johny to decide where he goes from here.
The issue at hand is the layoff of GSP due to his injuries and recovery. Since his hiatus, Carlos Condit has stepped up and claimed the interim welterweight title and wants to wait for GSP. That return of the Canadian superstar might take a long time, and it could be sometime near the end of the year.
Johny Hendricks is edging more toward the side of waiting for the winner of GSP vs. Condit. That play will sideline Hendricks six months—plus medical suspensions resulting from GSP vs. Condit and at least another four to six weeks for another camp and prep. Some claim Hendricks’ title shot could come next January, but it could very well be February or March.
That is a long layoff for Hendricks considering he fought four times in a little over a year. The question is: Will Condit and Hendricks consider squaring off in the meantime?
If they did, the timing would likely work a lot better for all parties, but it would be giving yet another fight to both contenders who have earned their shots already. Of course, one can argue that if you are truly deserving of a title shot, you should at least be able to take on everyone else that isn’t the champion. This isn’t a sentiment held by all, and as a business move, waiting can be much more beneficial.
It may come down to Hendricks fighting Condit for the interim spot, but many would see that matchup as very unfair for Condit, who has waited a very long time and has finally earned his spot. After the debacle of injuries and switching opponents, Condit is in a place where he can sit back and wait if he chooses.
Now the move is more so on Hendricks to volley for one or the other. He can go to Dana White and say he’ll wait for the winner of GSP vs. Condit, or he can ask for Condit in the meantime. The layoff of GSP has put the WW division rankings in a weird spot, and waiting until next January or even March for any contender besides Hendricks and Condit to even be in the title picture is a long time. Who knows where Jake Ellenberger or Martin Kampmann will stand come this June?
Johny Hendricks has risen very quickly in the division and pulled off some key wins to make his argument. As said before, the next move is probably his. Dana White could throw a curveball and have Ellenberger (if he wins vs. Kampmann) face either Condit or Hendricks; either way, someone is getting played unfairly based on what they were promised. At the end of the day, the UFC has to run its business though, and many men can be swayed by the right paycheck.
Hendricks has more to gain monetarily from waiting for the winner of GSP vs. Condit, but the UFC could offer him, Condit and Ellenbergermuch higher purses for not waiting and fighting amongst themselves as to prevent any stale feelings in the WW division.
Time will tell, but for now Hendricks has shown favor in waiting. But with him waiting, the interim champ waiting and the champion recovering, someone in the welterweight division will inevitably suffer. Regardless, Hendricks has earned his shot, and his road ahead looks filled with great promise. Whether he fights Condit, GSP or even Ellenberger, he has finally arrived at the upper echelon of the welterweight division.
The UFC has recently acquired Bellator superstar Hector Lombard, one of the biggest names not under the ZUFFA banner. Fans have long awaited Lombard’s crossover; he is arguably one of the best middleweights in MMA and holds the most substantial record….
The UFC has recently acquired Bellator superstar Hector Lombard, one of the biggest names not under the ZUFFA banner. Fans have long awaited Lombard’s crossover; he is arguably one of the best middleweights in MMA and holds the most substantial record.
Lombard is riding a 24-fight winning streak and had a draw after the first four victories. Other than Lombard, only one man in MMA can say he hasn’t lost a fight since 2006 and have made a champion of himself: Anderson Silva, who is currently known as the greatest fighter in the world.
Lombard’s first fight has been announced, and it wasn’t what people expected. Lombard will be facing the decorated soldier that is Brian Stann in his Octagon debut. While an immediate title shot wouldn’t have been too controversial, it seems the UFC wants to put him on a different path, or just start him as soon as possible.
Giving another organization’s champion, especially one that hasn’t lost in almost six years, a walk-in title shot in his debut is not a foreign concept, and many assumed that would happen. However, this matchup for the UFC is much smarter and better for all parties concerned.
For the sake of this perspective on why the UFC gave Lombard Stann, let’s assume Silva is still the champion after his rematch with ChaelSonnen.
The UFC has shown over time that there are different ways fighters will get title shots. Sometimes it’s the most statistically deserving; sometimes it’s the best moneymaker. Sometimes it’s a great style fight; other times there isn’t anyone else left/not tied up already.
In this situation for Silva’s next competitor, statistically you have to side with the winner of Mark Munoz vs. Chris Weidman. Munoz was the number one contender (and still is), while Sonnen captured the “people’s” number one contender status. Sonnen will have his shot, but Munoz was slated to be next in line.
Weidman is undefeated and a win over Munoz puts him at 9-0. If Munoz wins, it puts him at five wins in a row. Regardless who comes out on top, both men have earned their shot on paper.
However, with this announcement of Hector Lombard vs. Brian Stann, it throws a wrench in the machine.
Stann is a great fighter who is respected by any person that knows of him. His service to the sport of MMA and his country is held with high admiration. Such a humble, yet devastating fighter is a brilliant poster boy for a growing organization like the UFC.
Stann is not handed anything by any means, but this Lombard fight could be seen as a stepping stone that most fighters in his position wouldn’t have.
Stann is coming off of only one win. That win was impressive and great, but still only one in a division where there is a good number of people on multiple-fight winning streaks. Normally, a fighter in Stann’s position would get at least two more fights with top-five contenders before getting his shot at Silva.
But now, he is in a situation where he could see himself fighting for the title a lot sooner than people expected.
If Stann defeats Lombard, especially by a finish victory, it gives Stann all the credibility the UFC needs to throw him into the next title shot. Even though he will only have two wins, a KO win over AlessioSakara and a win over the Bellator champ, who hasn’t lost since 2006, carries tremendous weight.
Because fans and the UFC both love Stann, you could put Stann in a title shot right now and not many people would be mad for long about the decision. Yes, there would be clamoring about unfairness to Munoz, Weidman, RousimarPalhares and others, but Stann is someone hard to hate.
But if he can pull this fight off, he will have what he needs for the UFC to put him in a title fight. There is substantial money to be made in a Silva vs. Stann title fight, or even a Sonnen vs. Stann title fight. Even further than that, if Stann were to get his title shot and win, the UFC would presumably be extremely happy with Stann with the belt around his waist.
There are certain fighters that the UFC knows are better in the public eye and which ones are better poster boys and represent the company well. GSP and Jones are two of those, and Stann could be another.
This fight is great for Lombard as well. Lombard jumping right into a title shot would upset some, but by fighting Stann, it gives him a chance to prove himself and his accomplishments thus far. A win over Stann would make people much more receptive for him to get a title shot over other contenders. The fight also helps him get through the mental and psychological process of the UFC debut, and lets him get familiar with everything.
Either way, Stann or Lombard fighting either Silva or Sonnen for the title are great matchups that will bring in amazing financial numbers.
This is not posing that Stann is being given an easy way to the title, but offers the question: Did they make this fight in order to skyrocket Stann to a title shot? Lombard is not a gimme fight, and will be one of Stann’s biggest challenges to date, but was the matchup made because Lombard carries so much weight?
If they did, it is not a bad or negative thing by any means. Rather, it is a brilliant move and one that could prove to be extremely profitable, and not just monetarily. Regardless, it seems the middleweight division, which is notoriously weak, is starting to find its footing.
Fans will argue over who gets the next title shot, but if there’s one thing to remember about the UFC, it’s that it is a business as well.
Bleacher Report’s Gregory Chase spoke with legendary cutman Jacob Duran, better known as “Stitch.”Being one of the most prominent figures in MMA outside of the fighters themselves, Stitch has established himself in the combat sports world as the best i…
Bleacher Report’s Gregory Chase spoke with legendary cutman Jacob Duran, better known as “Stitch.”
Being one of the most prominent figures in MMA outside of the fighters themselves, Stitch has established himself in the combat sports world as the best in the business. Stitch talks about his background, his work, and some memorable moments in our exclusive interview.
Chase: You are one of the most recognizable figures in MMA, especially outside of the fighters. Tell us how you came to be a cutman and eventually came to work for the UFC.
Stitch: I started off as a cutman in kickboxing, and I started my own kickboxing school in the early 80’s. I moved to Vegas like 16 years ago because I was doing kickboxing and boxing and I figured I’d come to Vegas because that’s where everyone was at; the best trainers, the best cutmen and fighters and all that. I knew Dana [White], we were all training fighters trying to make a living. I didn’t see him for about a year but then ran into him at a K-1 Kickboxing fight at the Bellagio where I was working. I gave him my card, and the next day he calls and says they bought the UFC and wanted to know if I wanted to be a cutman to work for Leon Tabbs. I said “Yeah” and here I am now talking to you!
Chase: Your image is recognizable, but maybe even moreso the name. How did the nickname “Stitch” come about?
Stitch: [Laughs] Pretty awesome name! People forget my real name, which is Jacob Duran, and people forget it all the time. But “Stitch” came along with one of my kick-boxers, Dave Rooney. This was years and years ago…I was a coach and a manager, but I was learning how to be a cutman. I remember Dave got a small cut on his eyebrow.
Knowing what I know now, it wasn’t a big cut. I decided to apply some direct pressure on it with a towel, stopped the bleeding, and he ended up winning the fight. At the end of the fight, I had seen other cutmen cut up little pieces of tape and use them as butterflies, so I did the same thing with Dave Rooney.
At that point he said “Hey, you saved me some stitches! I’m going to call you “Stitch”!” That was it right there and it stuck with me ever since.
Chase: A lot of people don’t know about your own martial arts background. Could you go into detail about your history and has made you a better cutman?
Stitch: Oh yeah. People ask me all the time what it takes to be a cutman. Everybody sees what we do, and they think that it is easy to do. But I tell them you have to spend days and weeks and months and years in the gym learning how to be a fighter and working with fighters and trainers.
But I was very fortunate in 1974, you know, I grew up as a farm worker in the San Joaquin Valley of California and after high school I walked into college to play some baseball. I couldn’t afford to go to school. I just kinda went to Spring training, but I didn’t even have a car! [laughs] So I joined the Air Force and they sent me to Thailand.
They sent me to Thailand, and as a young kid, I didn’t even know what Thailand was! I get there and I see my first Muay Thai fight, and I walked onto the base gym and they had Tae kwon Do. The Tae Kwon Do there was taught by Thais. It started out with Korean instructors and they left and the Thais took over. They kind of worked it into…still Tae Kwon Do, but it was a lot of the Muay Thai stuff. So I studied that for the whole year, got back, and I got into boxing to improve my hands back in Oakland, Calif.
From there I moved to Fairfield, Calif., and saw a naked building and I swear to God, I opened it up with a credit card that I had just had. They guy gave me a deal with the credit card; I bought the carpets, the bags, the mirrors, I painted up the walls and I opened up my school. Right off the bat it became a real success because I was training world champions…at that point, in kickboxing. That’s how I started, man, here I am now!
Chase: You mentioned that people need to be around gyms, fighters and trainers to gain that knowledge. Are there any particular skills you need to possess in order to be a good cutman?
Stitch: Yeah, composure. Composure is the number one thing. I get doctors and nurses and EMT’s and paramedics…I get emails every week from people wanting to do what I do. Like one doctor told me “I’m really good at what I do, but I’m not really good at what YOU do.” He understood that. We have 50-55 seconds to work wonders and change careers of fighters, and really the No. 1 ally outside of the tools that you use; the No. 1 ally that anyone being a cutman needs to have, is composure.
Chase: Are you technically employed by ZUFFA or the UFC? Or is your job like the referees where they are part of another company that the UFC hires?
Stitch: Yeah we’re the same way. We all freelance. We work with the UFC. One of the greatest things Dana ever did was to hire a professional cutman and have one inside of the Octagon.
Because nobody had ever done that, and he knew in such a new sport, that if he brought in professional cutman from the boxing industry to help these fighters, it would give these fighters the opportunity to win a fight, protect their hands…wrap their hands.
It’s such a new sport, it really was one of Dana’s greatest moments when he became President of the UFC. But yeah, they hire us. I get first choice. They understand if we have a boxing event, like I’m working with Wladimir Klitschko on July 7, they understand when we’re not there and doing boxing.
Chase: So do you get assigned fights when it comes to MMA events?
Stitch: That’s a good question, I mean, usually I’m in the red corner. A lot of guys want me to work their corners, and to be fair, I’m just in the red corner and Leon Tabbs is in the blue corner. But when it comes to wrapping hands, there’s a ton of guys who want me to wrap their hands; and it gets to the point where now Burt Watson, the coordinator, he designates who wraps whose hands.
Usually I’ll wrap the top guys, you know, like Jon Jones. Rory MacDonald, I wrapped his hands. Burt, when he gives us the list, he goes like “I gave you these guys” and I think I had like seven guys. But there was a lot more guys that wanted me to wrap their hands. There’s a lot of times where even though the guy is not assigned to me, I’ll go and I’ll wrap his hands because I know it makes a big difference.
Chase: Before each MMA fight, we see fighters walk out to the prep point, while a cutman helps them get ready to step into the cage. What are the different things you do and check for?
Stitch: Well I don’t check for anything, the only thing we do is apply the Vaseline on the eyebrows and cheek area. Herb Dean or one of the referees…when they rub the body down, they make sure there’s no grease outside of the eyebrow and cheek area. That’s the only place Vaseline is allowed. They make sure they have their mouthpiece in, they check for the cup and all that. Once we do that, once we apply the Vaseline, we’re not allowed to touch their corner people any more. All that started because of the Georges St. Pierre and BJ Penn controversy.
Chase: Take us through the mentality of what happens between rounds in an MMA fight. What mental steps do you take, and do you have a specific process?
Stitch: Absolutely, every young cutman that asks me the same question I tell them; from the start of the bell, you always prepare for the worst-case scenario. You already have your swabs which are already loaded up with the Adrenaline Chloride 1:1000, which is the medication we use to close up the blood vessels.
So know where your ice pack is at, know where your Enswell is at, and get ready. When guys are banging on each other, the chances of us getting some work are pretty high! So always be prepared for the worst-case scenario.
Chase: You just mentioned about the swabs, which I think people might mistake for just plain cotton. Tell us a little more about the medication on those swabs.
Stitch: Yeah, the medication that we use is Adrenaline Chloride 1:1000. It’s also known as Epinephrine. We can only get it through prescription. But the medical background and physics behind it, is once you apply it to an open wound, it closes up the blood vessels. Doctor Watson, one of the physicians in Nevada says “it’s like squeezing a rubber hose.” You don’t let that blood go out.
So that’s one of the medications that we use. But now I’m introducing a new gauze pad called Quick-Aid that doesn’t require a prescription and it’s made out of a seaweed base and it’s 100% natural. When you apply that gauze pad on the open wound, what it does is it literally dehydrates the blood…and blood has the tendency to coagulate itself.
In doing that, it opens up a lot of avenues for a lot of cutmen who can’t get a prescription for the Adrenaline chloride. Or even trainers that are in the gym or anybody. If you got that Quick-Aid, just keep it with you, and if someone gets cut, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to stop the bleeding. All you do if apply direct pressure on it and in that 50-55 second period, it works wonders.
Chase: As a cutman, you have different tools at your disposal. If you had to pick one that you thought was the most important, which would it be?
Stitch: Obviously it is the Adrenaline Chloride 1:1000. With that you do a whole lot of wonders. There’s three medications that are authorized by the commissions in the United States, and the other two are Avitene and Thrombin. Avitene and Thrombin are coagulants. But 99.9% of the time we use the Adrenaline Chloride because that is just so effective.
If somebody has swelling, just apply direct pressure. An Enswell and an icepack would work great, or even direct pressure with the palm of your hand. Because what happens when you get swelling, is you bust the blood vessels underneath the skin tissue, and the blood accumulates and that’s what creating the swelling.
So if you put direct pressure on it, you’re hoping the blood with coagulate itself. It might not get any smaller, but it shouldn’t get any bigger.
Chase: We see the frantic work you do, and aside from the swabs and Vaseline, you use the Enswell as you mentioned. How is that properly used for swelling?
Stitch: The Enswells that we have, those are the iron bars that we keep in ice, which stops the swelling from getting any bigger. There’s an old myth; a lot of boxing people still use cutmen with the Enswells and they think they can get that Enswell and push down it and move that blood clot out of the way so that they could have vision.
But in doing that, what you’re doing is you’re moving that blood into tissue that is not affected or damaged, and you’re damaging that tissue. So eventually, throughout the duration of the fight, that blood will get back to its point A where it started, and now you have it in the areas that weren’t damaged before and you damaged them by moving it out there.
If you look at boxing, you see a lot of guys that are wiping the hell out of that swelling with the Enswell, and that’s not the right way to do it. Cold, direct pressure on swelling is what you need.
Chase: Is there any one specific place/type of damage that a fighter can receive that is more difficult than others to work with?
Stitch: Oh yeah! There’s that big vein we all have between our eyes. When it gets popped…it’s a pretty big vein to get to stop bleeding [laughs]. That becomes very hard. Another concern is if a fighter is taking any kind of anti-inflammatory or aspirin or something….anything like that which goes into the blood, makes it a little bit difficult for us to work and control.
Chase: What was the worst injury you have ever had to attend to?
Stitch: The worst one, the ugliest one was probably Corey Hill when he fought Dale Hartt when he broke his leg. Just to hold Corey by the shoulders and hear him scream in agony and asking me what happened…I had to tell Corey, “Corey, your leg is broken big time, scream all you want”. That was a real ugly injury…and a side note to that is…Corey was in such big pain, and once the doctors administered a little bit of morphine into him, he starts calming down and the pain recedes a little bit, they start carrying him out and Corey looks at me and says “Stitch, I almost had him!” And to me, I laughed because that’s just a sign of these gladiators; these guys are there to win, they overcome pain and the bottom line is victory.
Chase: Typically, what does a cutman make monetarily? What would someone in your profession make at the UFC level and lower levels?
Stitch: Well in the lower levels…another thing I tell guys is if you want to be a cutman is don’t do it for the money, because there’s not a lot of money in what we do at the lower levels. I’ve been fortunate enough to say that I can do this full-time now with the money the UFC pays me.
Not only that but the sponsorships that I get…to the point where this is what I do and my wife doesn’t have to work, either. So in that aspect I’m blessed doing what I’m doing. But I’m the only one I know of that can say he can do this full-time.
Chase: Now MMA is a growing and evolving sport. Where have you seen changes in your job, and how has your position grown?
Stitch: My job has gotten better through experience. I think I’ve helped revolutionize the game by bringing a lot more safety and knowledge and education to the game. You see a lot of these young cutmen in other organizations that are kind of mimicking what WE do.
And what we do is the program I set up with these guys…on how to properly clean the cut and how to properly apply the medications at the right time. I don’t handle that, there’s a step-by-step program that we use; but to see these other cutmen doing that, to me is pretty awesome, and I feel really proud in saying I had a lot to do with that.
Chase: Have you ever made a mistake that you went back and said to yourself? Why didn’t I do this? Or Should I have done that?
Stitch: You know, maybe a long, long time ago. There was probably a moment where I could have applied a little more pressure on a cut or a little bit more direct pressure on some swelling. But I’ve been very fortunate to say that I think I’ve given every fighter that I have worked with, every opportunity to win a fight through my techniques.
Sometimes you feel bad….when I wrap a fighters hands, there’s no guarantee that the fighter isn’t going to break their hands. In wrapping their hands, the chances…we minimize the possibility of you breaking your hands. But I’ve had fighters whose hands have been broken, and I had wrapped them. I felt bad in doing that, but now that I understand the mechanics and physics of what we do and what they do…we’re there to minimize and not actually get rid of everything.
For a while, the fighters in MMA were breaking their hands. Then you evaluate WHY they’re doing it and it’s not so much of the wrap…it’s more on how they’re punching. A lot of these fighters if you check with them, they break their hands when they hit guys on the top of their heads with hooks.
When you do hooks, there’s no support on your wrists or hands or anything, because your hand is coming in at an angle. There are a lot of fighters that have realized that and have started to do a lot more straight punching.
Chase: Was there a particular time where you were especially proud of the work you had done during a fight?
Stitch: Oh yeah, there were a lot of great moments. I think the fight with Forrest Griffin when he fought Shogun was a real signature fight for me where I could say; I did my best, my best worked.
Forrest ended up tapping out Shogun, and Forrest had appreciated what I had done, and he made that known by giving me a nice bonus. That was a big, big moment…but seeing guys win and knowing I have something to do with it…that means a lot to me.
Chase: When you are watching a fight, are you thinking about what you’ll have to do in between rounds or do you watch the fights from more of a fan perspective?
Stitch: No, everything is business for me. I’m always focused on the face, looking to see what’s going on different angles and seeing what different kinds of technique these guys are using. I’m always a fan…I couldn’t be judging a fight because I don’t look at the fight as a judge would, I look at it as a cutman.
What I’m looking for…there has been many times when fighters have been cut and I go tell the trainers I’m going in, and the trainer is not aware that the fighter has been cut. Because they aren’t looking for those moments, I am…and that’s how we work together as a team.
Chase: Is there any move in MMA, like 12-6 elbows, that you think shouldn’t be allowed, that is?
Stitch: I think the rules that are implemented in the UFC or in the basic MMA, there’s moves everybody uses and everybody has trained at. I know when they started kneeing guys to the head when they got him in a hold…those are some pretty strong shots.
So when those situations come up, I have my Enswell and swabs ready because the chances of them creating some kind of damage is pretty high on that. And with the elbows, I’ve never seen anyone get knocked out with an elbow shot. I know they almost guarantee the cutmen some work!
Chase: Prior to Jon Jones walking out for his fight at UFC 145, you were wrapping his hands and he was taking a video of you. What was the deal with that?
Stitch: I guess that was considered one of my great moments! It happened, but I didn’t realize how important it was or how it was streamlined on TV until I got home and watched it. My daughter texted me and thought it was pretty awesome. Jon Jones, man, I’ll tell you what…I’ve wrapped a whole bunch of hands and seen a lot of fighters nervous.
Randy Couture was probably the coolest guy I’ve ever wrapped, he was just so cool in the dressing room. But Jon Jones was so cool, calm and collected that he decided to do that…I don’t know if he was blogging or tweeting or whatever it was, but he got his camera out and he starts going “Here I am, getting ready for my bout, getting wrapped by the best cutman in the world, the legendary Jacob ‘Stitch’ Duran…it’s an honor!”
You know, he’s giving me all these accolades and then he turns the phone toward me where I’m at, and I gotta look at him and cue in so I was like “Alright well, do I give you the knockout wrap, or the tap out wrap?” And he asked for the knockout wrap. But yeah, he goes back to doing what he did…Jon Jones is just real cool, calm and collected in the dressing room!
Chase: Now you have a book out, called “From the Fields To The Garden.” Tell us more about it and what inspired you to do this book?
Stitch: It’s funny how things happen in my life. The proudest moments of my life…everything that has happened to me; I mean I’ve been in 3-4 movies, I’ve done 16 reality shows, and things have happened to me…but there was a moment where 3-4 guys who came up to me and said they would like to write a book on my life. I’m the kind of guy that if you have a challenge and you want to be involved in it, go for it.
Zac Robinson sent me an email…and I didn’t know who Zac Robinson was. He told me he does books, and he’s been reading up on me and noticed I was in MMA and wanted to know if I’d be interested in doing a book. Turns out he lives in Germany, he’s a teacher for the Department of Defense over there with the military guys. I just happened to be going to Germany two weeks later with Wladimir Klitschko. So I put it on him, I was like “If you want to, let’s meet!”
So he came down and spent three days together and I got to meet him. His dream was to write a book and that’s what he does, he authors books. We shook hands and I figured I didn’t have anything to lose. Zac Robinson ended up doing a tremendous job on writing the story of my life from the beginning to I think UFC 100 where we ended it.
People have been asking for a second book, but today they have great movies but the sequels are never as good as the first one, so we decided to not go with a second one. But the book is doing really well. It’s on Amazon.com or you can go to Kindle and get it, and you order it through BlackMesabooks.com, which is the publisher.
Chase: Lastly, what’s one thing about you that people don’t know about you that you would like them to know? Any hobbies or interests, or just something about you that isn’t well-known?
Stitch: I’m a pretty average guy man! I’m just an average guy like you and the fans. I’m just real good at what I do. I appreciate everything that has been brought to me and just the gratitude that these fans have and giving me all these accolades…to add words like icon and legendary and all that, it blows my mind!
Because I grew up poor as a farm worker, I grew up in a very small town…and I’m still that guy who grew up in the small town. I don’t forget my friends I grew up with. To me, I’m still very foreign, I’m still very humble. But I’m very happy to be in the position I’m at, and to me it is mind-blowing to be out traveling the world and doing what I love doing and getting paid for it.
UFC welterweight fighter Johny Hendricks spoke with Bleacher Report’s Gregory Chase about his background, his beard and his battles. GC: Let’s start with how you got into MMA. What drew you into this sport and when did you decide this is som…
UFC welterweight fighter Johny Hendricks spoke with Bleacher Report’s Gregory Chase about his background, his beard and his battles.
GC: Let’s start with how you got into MMA. What drew you into this sport and when did you decide this is something you wanted to do?
JH: After I lost my senior match, I wasn’t sure I still wanted to wrestle, but I knew I was still young enough to compete. I said to myself ‘Man, what am I going to do with my life?…I prayed about it, and a week within praying my manager called me. He was like, ‘Hey, would you like to be an MMA fighter?’ and I was like ‘Eh…I don’t know.’. He was like, ‘Well, I’m pulling some people out to Vegas if you want to try it out.’ I was like, “Okay, I’ve watched it…I don’t know anything about MMA, but I know how to wrestle….okay, let’s try it out.’ So I went out there and I did okay for knowing what I knew, and I came back and it just didn’t click with me, you know? It didn’t click at that point. So I prayed about it for about another three weeks, and then my manager called me and said, ‘Hey, we’re going out to Vegas again, want to come?’ I said okay, so I flew out to Vegas for the second time and that’s when I got knocked out. I got knocked out and I didn’t wake up until the next day and I was thinking to myself, ‘The worst-case scenario just happened to me…I got knocked out, there’s nothing I can do about it.’ And I felt great, so I was like, ‘You know what, let’s try this…that’s not going to happen again.’ That’s what I told myself. I don’t want to get knocked out again, so let’s learn some stuff. [laughs]
GC: Now your first professional fight was back in 2007. You have 13 fights so far. Where have you seen the biggest evolution or growth in your game over your career so far?
JH: The best thing that could’ve happened to me was that I learned a lot in Vegas, but I didn’t know how to implement it. Whenever I came to Texas, all we had was Marc Laimon, jiu-jitsu coach. We didn’t have a striking coach. So me and him started to just develop our own game, because he knows nothing about striking. We sat down and we sort of found my style. I think that was the best thing that could’ve happened to me. Coming out of here, not having anyone to correct me every single second, I sort of found my own style…and whenever I found it, when people would call me in for a week, they would try to correct the style. They were trying to correct it, but what I was doing is I would say, ‘Okay, well, let’s do your way of fighting.’ I’ll feel a couple things out and see if that works for me. If it works for me, as I’m doing it myself, that’s whenever I’ll add it into my game. You see what I’m saying? I became my own striking coach in a sense.
GC: You just mentioned in the beginning stages of your career that you prayed on a lot of things. How big is religion or your spirituality part of your life and your career?
JH: Extremely. Don’t get me wrong, I don’t make it to every Sunday [laughs]. If I’m in town, I try to go every Sunday, you know, we got a good church group down here. It’s everything. I know that I wouldn’t be where I’m at if it wasn’t for God. I know that I could be an athlete. Everybody has a talent. I believe if you pray…I’m not a fan that you’re going to win every single match, I don’t believe he’s going to go in there and help me win. What I pray for every fight is to let me go out there and let me fight to the best of my abilities, and to keep us both safe. That way, we can wake up and do it again. It’s something I want to really, really keep doing, because it’s easy to sit here in this room and say, ‘I got myself somewhere.’ I just don’t believe that. Fighting lives and dies, you can’t fight forever. So whenever I leave, I want people to come up to my family whenever I retire and say, ‘Man, he was a great person.’ You know what I mean? ‘He did this, he did that, but not only that but he was just a great person.’ That’s what I want, I want people to come up to my family and say those kind of words. Not just that he was a great fighter.
GC: You are coming off a fantastic knockout of Jon Fitch. First fan question is from Joe Forman: How did it feel to knock out the guy who was well-recognized as the No. 2 guy at welterweight in the world?
JH: Oh, it felt amazing! You know? [laughs]. We saw holes like that in his game, but you don’t know if that’s going to happen. I was talking to someone the other day, and he was like, ‘If I fought for a living and I knocked someone out, I would just walk away and act like I knew it was supposed to happen…I wouldn’t be celebrating or this or that.’ Man, you can go into that ring thinking you’re going to knock someone out…it ain’t going to happen! It hardly ever happens the way that you want it. I was like, ‘You’ll probably end up going in there and getting knocked out!’ Now if you just win, you don’t see people running around celebrating off of a win, they tried to manipulate the judges, but they’re not running around like they did something great. So it’s always nice to be able to train as hard as you can and sometimes have the ability to finish a fight.
GC: The second is from Mark Solanki, who asks: Was beating Jon Fitch your biggest achievement in MMA to date?
JH: Yeah, of course. I think, more or less, my first fight might beat that. You know what I’m saying? The first fight…that means you’re gonna do it. Because that first fight is so terrifying because you don’t know what to expect. You can train in 16-ounce gloves, but as soon as you’re hit with 4-ounce gloves, that’s when you know you’re either going to fight or you’re not. That was my first steppingstone.
GC: The last fan question, from Sean Rains, was if you remember the guys at the Oklahoma Bait and Tackle Show who screamed out the window of their car “You knocked out Jon Fitch. Thank you!!”?
JH: Yeah I do remember that guy! It was so weird, because we were walking about 50 yards from the entrance and all of a sudden he said that. I looked over and said, ‘Hey, thanks man! He was driving off, so you don’t get too much of that. But yeah, I don’t remember what he looks like, but I remember that. That’s pretty funny!
GC: Who would you say was your toughest opponent in your career so far? You have the loss to Rick Story, but was he the toughest or most challenging?
JH: Actually the toughest fight I’ve ever had was T.J. Grant. Not many people got to see that fight. First off, T.J. is a tough, tough dude! You know how you get those feelings that things aren’t going to click right? But you have to go out there and win, because you only get one shot every four months to prove you can win. So I was sitting there and walked to the cage, and he broke my nose within the first like minute and a half of the fight. I was like, ‘Son of a gun!’ I hit him with a couple good shots, but to my surprise he kept coming at me. That was a hard-fought three0round battle. I think that was one of my toughest to overcome. Actually, I got two, Alex Serdyukov in WEC, my last fight. I broke my hand in the second round, and I had to go into the third round and just get beat on for five minutes, and that’s never fun. My left hand was broke and I didn’t know too much about striking and how to set up everything else. If I had known what I know now, I maybe could’ve won the third round, but heck no, I couldn’t do anything but sit there and get pounded on…that sucked! [laughs]
GC: Now Rory Macdonald just had an impressive win at UFC 145. Is he someone you might be interested in fighting to determine the next No. 1 contender? If so, how do you think the fight would go?
JH: Hopefully, you know this is hopefully, I gotta go out there and win first, but hopefully this fight puts me where nobody else is. You know, where I’m the No. 1 contender no matter what. Because let’s be honest, who’s beaten Fitch? There was only one guy to beat Fitch. Two, who has beaten Fitch and Josh Koscheck? There’s only been one guy who has been able to do that, too, because if one guy beats one, the other one ends up winning. You know what I’m saying? So if I can go out there and do a good performance against Josh Koscheck and win, then I think that’s something no one else has done except for GSP. So I think that deserves a shot itself.
GC: Who would you be more interested in to fight for the belt? GSP or Carlos Condit?
JH: Well, both. I don’t know, whoever has it. Right now it’s Carlos Condit because GSP is out. Like I said, I gotta get through this one. If I get through this one, I’m going to be campaigning for that. We don’t know how long GSP will be out, and the belt can only be on standby for so long. That’s my goal, to get a shot at it, because that’s why I’m here.
GC: Now you have a strong collegiate wrestling background. How do you think your wrestling would fare against someone like Georges St. Pierre?
JH: I think great [laughs]. I understand wrestling. I understand what keeps people away from the legs. And that’s something I’ve started trying to develop in my game. Not only how to take people down more efficiently, but how to keep people away from your legs as well. My last three fights, and now this will be the fourth one, have all been wrestlers. So now I’m getting to develop a game to keep people away from me. If I want to take someone down, okay, I understand that, I need to do this and this. How do I keep people from even wanting to attempt the takedown? And so that’s something I’m developing right now, and I developed for Fitch, but I’m starting to get to where I know I’m going to have to use it for this fight, I do believe.
GC: PED’s and TRT are issues in MMA, especially recently. What are your thoughts on these in MMA?
JH: I don’t even take muscle milk these days! [laughs]. You know what I mean? The only thing I take is Glutamine. I want to win it knowing that I won it. I don’t’ want to win it knowing that I juiced up, and that it helped me get through my training camps and maybe a little bit stronger. I want to make sure that I win it with all-natural ability. That’s just me. Everybody is a little bit different, but I just want to do it this way, and I want to make sure that I get my hand raised at the end of the day knowing that there’s nothing I have to worry about. You know? If the UFC said we have to drug-test you today, I would say, ‘Okay, where do I have to pee?’ That’s something I don’t have to fear about ever. Those are nice things not have to worry about.
GC: An iconic image of you is your beard. It is something you plan on keeping in the future?
JH: Oh yeah! Oh yeah, I love the beard! I was grocery shopping yesterday and this guy came up to me and goes, ‘Man, that beard is AWESOME! I love it!’ and I was like, ‘Thank you, man!’ and my wife looked at me and goes, ‘Man, I hate people like that.’ [laughs] because she does NOT like the beard. It is who I am, and if I shave and came into the Octagon, people would be like, ‘Who’s this guy filling in for Johny?’ One thing that’s nice is that after my fight, whenever I shave, if I want some downtime, I can keep shaving for a couple of weeks…and whenever I go to restaurants and stuff, nobody will look at me. I’m just another regular person, but as soon as I get two or three weeks of growth, people will start doing a double-take. About a month and a half of growth, everybody’s like, ‘Oh, that’s Johny!’ [laughs].
GC: It’s like Superman with his glasses.
JH: Exactly! The only difference mine takes a month and a half [laughs].
GC: Do you have any plans on growing it even bigger?
JH: You know, I’ve thought about growing it out to where I can braid it. A lot of my friends like to watch Sons of Anarchy. Also Game of Thrones, one of the guys of the horsemen clan, he’s got a beard with rubber bands; just one big braid downwards. I was like ‘That’s pretty SWEET!’ I don’t know if I could ever pull that off. So yeah, I might grow it out a little bit longer. It also depends, because it’s the summer time too. It’s getting really hot right now, and hot sucks with the beard.
GC: What about the nickname “Bigg Rigg,” where did that come from?
JH: I drive a big F-350. It’s a dually. I put Ranch Hand front bumpers on it so it sticks out about another 12 inches. Then I put Ranch Hand bumpers on the back side too, so that way if anybody rear-ends me…I guess these things are supposed to take a hit at 40-45 miles per hour without crushing. So every-day driving, if someone rear ends me at 40 mph, they’re going to have a ton of damage, but nothing is going to happen to my truck. If I happen to do that to someone else, it will cave their car, and I don’t have to do any work on my vehicle.
GC: And then the beard can act like an airbag.
JH: There ya go! [laughs] We’re starting to get it down to where I’m pretty much invincible in my vehicle.
GC: If I’m not mistaken, you have a bachelor’s degree in secondary education. Were you going to be a teacher? If so, what were you going to teach?
JH: I wasn’t going to teach, I was trying to coach college. But if I had to teach, it didn’t really matter, whatever I had to go to school to get, any curriculum I needed to do, because you never know if you’re going to get a college coaching job or not. It was something I was looking at doing. So I sort of left it open. If I wanted to get a history major, for example, I would have only had to have 25-30 hours. It would all be history stuff. I had basics in anything you could teach, and all I’d have had to do was go back to school for a little while, like a year or two years, and I could be teaching high school anywhere.
GC: What was the best advice you were ever given, or any mottos you live by?
JH: Yeah, got a couple. One, treat everyone the way you want to be treated. I think that’s the most important one. Two, there’s always someone working harder than you. My dad told me a long time ago ‘You can goof off, you can do anything you want to when you’re 18-21 or 25, 30 years old. You can do the same exact stuff when you’re 40, when you’re 50. You don’t get a second chance to be 20.’ I was like, ‘You know what, I know what you’re trying to say.’ So I didn’t party a lot. Yeah, I drank, but I didn’t do a lot of partying. I was thinking to myself, ‘You know what, my dad is right.’ I can’t always be in college. I don’t get a four-year redo to be a college national champion. So that’s one of the most important things I learned was, ‘Do you want to work every day of your life and bust you butt and make a decent living? Or do you want to go to college and sacrifice 4-5 years of your life to where you can make better money with less work?’
GC: Is there any other fighter you really enjoy watching fight?
JH: I like watching Jon Jones. I mean, I rooted against him for this last fight, because everyone was picking Jones, you know? I wanted to see if Evans could pull it off. And Jones is a talented fighter. So I like watching him, Anderson Silva…great head movement. Pretty much any fight that you can name, any fighter I enjoy to watch. Because if they did something good, then I can look at them and say, ‘Okay, they did something good…awesome, let’s see if that works for me.’ If they did something bad, then I say, ‘Rewind it, how did they do that badly? Why did it end up causing this?’ You just sit there and dissect every fight. I wasn’t always this way, but about a year and a half ago I started being this way, and it helps a lot.
GC: If you could fight one fighter outside of your own weight class, who would it be and why?
JH: Ooo…man. I don’t know! They’re so tough! The people I look up to and would like to fight, they’re all freakin’ tough! Am I on the same level as them? I don’t know, but like I said, I like watching Jon Jones. I don’t think it would be a fun fight for me, but do I think I could win it? I don’t know, I doubt it! What, I’m 5’9’’, he’s 6’4’’? I have a 70-inch reach, he has an 84.5? So that wouldn’t be fun [laughs]. But hypothetically, those are the guys you want to fight. Whenever I look at them, I’m like, ‘Man, that would be fun to fight that guy!’ because you know if you’re fighting that guy, you’re making it…or you did make it.
GC: There was the great video of you and Brendan Schaub getting tied up and Schaub’s phone got put in the blender while you watched. Was it actually his phone? He looked pretty upset.
JH: Oh yeah! That was actually his phone, and he was INFURIATED! Infuriated! Oh it was so funny, he was like, ‘Where were you at on that one?!’ I was like, “uhh…I’d hate to mess up everything…you know…uhh..” [laughs]. I was like, should I untie him? Should I not? He [Schuab] might kill the guy, that’s how pissed he was.
GC: And, of course, it was quite a sight to see you and Schaub doing ballet together. How did you feel being called a terrorist over and over again by the instructor?
JH: [Laughs] I hear terrorist all the time! The greatest one was ‘Jihad.” That’s when I lost it. Whenever she went, ‘You make me sick, Jihad,’ I was sitting there stretching and that’s when I lost it. I was like, ‘Jihad, I haven’t heard that one before…well put, well put!’ Stuff like that makes me laugh, and if it makes me laugh, it’s gotta make everybody else laugh!
GC: So if you and Brendan had to compete on Dancing with the Stars, which one of you would win?
JH: Oh! Did you SEE my moves? Did you see my moves?! I got Dancing with the Stars in the bag! [laughs] I got coordination! That ballroom dancing stuff, the only thing that would help me out is that my shoulders don’t sag. So whenever I walk my shoulders are pretty much level at all times. So whenever these guys do this form, all I have to do is raise my arms up, and my shoulders are in the perfect form, so I could take him! [Schaub]
GC: Could you take on Chuck Liddell on the dance floor?
JH: Oh man, I don’t know. He’s been through it, you know? If I had a couple of sessions, I don’t know. That would be pretty fun. It would pretty fun to see if I could out-dance Chuck Liddell! He did pretty good, didn’t he? He did pretty good. Once again, if you’re competing with him, you’re in there! [laughs]
GC: It would be kind of cool if they did a Dancing with the Stars: UFC edition!
JH: That would be pretty funny, I would like to see who is the worst dancer of the UFC!
GC: Lastly, let’s get some predictions from you on upcoming fights. First off, how about Junior Dos Santos vs. Frank Mir?
JH: Junior Dos Santos. Might be knockout.
GC: How about Anderson Silva vs. Chael Sonnen?
JH: Ooo. I think Chael figured something out. Anderson is always adapting, so is he going to be able to adapt where he doesn’t get taken down as much? And Chael hits hard, he’s grown very well as a fighter. I remember watching him in the WEC, and he was sort of one-dimensional. Good ground game, good ground and pound, but not that great on the feet. All of a sudden he started throwing good punches and stuff like that, and he’s developing very well. I don’t know, but I think I’m going to have to go with the wrestler, though.
GC: How about the rematch between Benson Henderson and Frankie Edgar?
JH: I’m gonna go out on a limb and say Benson again. He’s got really good cardio. He’s really fast. Every time I root for Frankie…you know I’ve rooted for him once, and he lost, and every time I root against him he always wins. So I’m guessing Benson Henderson, for one, is fast and he’s a 155-pounder and I think Frankie Edgar is a 145-pounder.
GC: How about the rematch between Demetrious Johnson and Ian McCall?
JH: Oh man, I don’t know. I don’t know. It was a tough fight the first time. I don’t know on that one. Let’s just go Johnson.
GC: Last but not least, who wins in the epic battle between Johny Hendricks vs. Josh Koscheck?
JH: Ha! You know, of course, I gotta pick me. I believe I got everything it takes to win that fight. I’ve trained my butt off for the last three months. The training has been great, my focus has been great. Now all I need to do is get in there. No, it’s all the fun stuff. My training is about to be over this week. I cannot wait. Now that I’m with Mike Dolce, the weight cut is easy. Like right now, I’ve already lost 10 pounds without doing anything. I’m still eating six times a day, drinking a gallon and a half of water and my weight is coming off easy. So I’m pretty excited. I can’t wait!
Brock Lesnar has officially returned to the WWE and has already created quite a commotion. With his return and feud with Cena that has been happening inside the ring, Lesnar is getting the big attention. Since leaving the UFC, MMA fans and wrestl…
Brock Lesnar has officially returned to the WWE and has already created quite a commotion. With his return and feud with Cena that has been happening inside the ring, Lesnar is getting the big attention.
Since leaving the UFC, MMA fans and wrestling fans alike are still curious about what is going on with him, and if Lesnar would be implementing more MMA moves into his wrestling routine.
It seemed in his last meeting with Cena, a double-leg takedown and some ground and pound works for him in a ring or a cage.
Now it seems Lesnar has gone one step further to make sure that his MMA legacy is not soon forgotten.
While his return to the WWE had him wearing his “Lesnar” muscle shirt, he has now apparently switched to a more familiar image.
Now Lesnar’s wrestling outfit will consist of his famous shorts from inside the Octagon. He now dons the red and black shorts, sponsored by Jack Links of course, but the biggest and most obvious change to his attire is the sporting of MMA gloves. While they are logo-less, they are still in the fingerless and black style of his MMA days.
Lesnar will not be competing barefoot, and is wearing wrestling boots, which is the only difference between what his attire was in the UFC minus a mouthguard and such.
A very interesting idea to have, but time will tell how fans of both MMA and the WWE will respond to this. WWE fans will probably welcome this new look and new feel of “realism” coming into the ring, but the MMA fans may see it in a different light.
While some will be intrigued and find it comical that he is wearing his MMA stuff, others might see it as a bad association with MMA.
While Pro Wrestling and MMA have been pretty much in sync and no major conflicts (aside from competitive PPV buys) there are still fans assumingly that do not wish to associate the UFC, which markets itself “As Real as it Gets” with the WWE, which is notorious for being scripted.
While some of these concerns may be merited, Lesnar’s new attire will surely bring out some discussion in regards to approval and disapproval from both organizations.
How do you feel about Lesnar’s new attire? Do you think it has ANY sort of impact on MMA/Wrestling? If so, in what ways?
XFC 17: Apocalypse turned out to be a decent night of fights, but nothing compared to the fight between Nick Newell and Chris Coggins.A bout that when made had all the potential for a submission win did not end in such fashion. However, despite going t…
XFC 17: Apocalypse turned out to be a decent night of fights, but nothing compared to the fight between Nick Newell and Chris Coggins.
A bout that when made had all the potential for a submission win did not end in such fashion. However, despite going to a decision, the fight was a war of the ground game nonetheless.
Starting off strong, Newell used his superior wrestling and strength to dictate where the fight went. After exchanging some blows, Newell proceeded to get Coggins on the ground, where both men have had success
Coggins went into the fight 5-1, with his last three wins ending by armbar. An interesting note, considering his next opponent would be none other than the one-armed Newell.
While Coggins tried to work from the bottom, Newell decided to go for a familiar move. Dropping back and going for Coggins’ heel, Newell tried to go for yet another heel hook submission. While he visibly put a lot of effort into it, he was not able to submit Coggins and went back into a struggle with him. The round ended with Coggins attempting an armbar, but Newell ultimately was saved by the bell.
The first round ended with the judges favoring Newell. The second round started similar, but what would come would be the most dangerous five minutes of Newell’s career so far.
After getting into advantageous positions, Coggins gained some control on the ground and began to take Newell’s back. After much struggle, Coggins locked in a deep rear-naked choke but was unable to finish.
To everyone’s amazement, Coggins again secured another deep rear-naked choke, one that would have Newell fall back from a standing position in attempt to shake him off.
Newell seemed in danger, and the referee was in close to observe the action. He verbally and physically signaled to Newell to squeeze his fingers to indicate he was not passed out. Newell miraculously survived yet again, and ended the only second round he had ever been in.
The third round was back to control by the strong wrestling of Newell. After controlling the fight and still looking for a guillotine and rear-naked choke himself, Newell stayed in the top position for most of the round. Coggins had attempted more submissions, but was unable to get them setup properly.
The fight was over and the crowd erupted.
After three rounds of grueling competition, the judges scores were announced. The first judge had it 28-28. The last two had it both 29-28, giving the majority decision to Nick Newell.
After the fight, Newell expressed during his interview that during the second round he was out for a very short period of time and was thankful the referee didn’t stop it. While this is normally a dangerous occurrence, the time Newell might have been out would have been quick.
Based on positioning of the fighters and the referee, the referee assumingly did not catch this small lapse in consciousness.
Newell put on an amazing display of heart and determination that many have come to expect from him. While his disability is unique, he does not allow it to overtake him and he works to prove himself with each fight.
With each win, he makes more of a case for himself for all of those out there who refuse to fight him. Newell is now 7-0, with one TKO, five submissions and one decision. How far he will climb is yet to be seen.
After gaining a solid victory over another top contender in Josh Koscheck, UFC welterweight contender Johny Hendricks has yet again thrust himself forward toward a title shot. It seems now he has done enough to earn it. 