When Johny Hendricks knocked out Martin Kampmann in the co-feature bout of UFC 154 in Montreal, underneath Georges St-Pierre’s successful defense against Carlos Condit, the fighter known as “Bigg Rigg” was expected to get a shot at the welterweight title.
It took a bit longer than expected, but Hendricks will get his title shot roughly a year after his impressive knockout.
UFC president Dana White, speaking to reporters at UFC 161 fight-week events in Winnipeg, said St-Pierre and Hendricks will meet in November. No date for the event was given, though White said the match would likely be held in Las Vegas.
The news came as part of a spate of monster fall fight announcements, which also includes Jon Jones vs. Alexander Gustafsson in September in Toronto and the Cain Velasquez-Junior dos Santos trilogy fight in October, likely in Houston.
The 29-year old Hendricks (15-1), a two-time NCAA wrestling champion at Oklahoma State, was unhappy when he was passed over for a title shot in favor of Nick Diaz, who was coming off both a suspension and a loss. Hendricks instead fought Condit at UFC 158 and earned Fight of the Night honors for his unanimous decision victory, which was his sixth win in a row.
St-Pierre (24-2) defeated Diaz at the same Bell Centre event. That marked the 11th straight victory for GSP, who celebrated his fifth anniversary as welterweight champion on April 19.