Georges St-Pierre believes Johny Hendricks may have been gifted a decision against Josh Koscheck.
At the UFC 158 press conference, St-Pierre was asked why he passed on Hendricks as an opponent and chose to fight Nick Diaz, who is coming off a loss.
The UFC welterweight champ harped on the bout with Diaz being the fight fans wanted to see, and he also pointed to Hendricks’ controversial split decision win over Koscheck at UFC on FOX 3 as the main reason for his decision.
“Nick and I were supposed to fight before. This is the big fight that people wanted to see. People wanted to see this fight more than me fighting any other guys. My other option was Johny Hendricks, and Johny Hendricks, when I watched the fight with Josh Koscheck, according to me I believe Josh Koscheck should’ve won that fight.
I don’t want to fight a guy that lose to me to a guy that I beat, and I think for me, Nick Diaz is the number one contender. He’s proved himself many times before, and there’s a story between us.”
Diaz is a marquee name who has a tendency to stir up controversy.
For St-Pierre and the UFC, it makes little sense to pass up on the opportunity to put together the blockbuster fight fans have salivated over for years. This certainly isn’t fair to Hendricks, who has amassed a five-fight win streak in the UFC.
Unfortunately, it’s the nature of the fight business.
Hendricks deserves the UFC title shot more than any other fighter in the division, but his disconnect with fans makes it even harder for him to climb the welterweight ladder. As of now, fans aren’t really interested in seeing Hendricks compete for a world title.
It’s a similar situation to the one Jon Fitch was in years ago. It took Fitch nearly three years, and an eight-fight win streak before the UFC finally caved in and gave him a title shot. Hendricks could be headed in the same direction.
If he can’t find a way to make fans care, he can expect a long wait in the never-ending line of contenders for UFC gold.
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