As we speak, Johny Hendricks is about a month into his fight camp.
Never mind that the UFC welterweight champion doesn’t yet officially have an opponent for the first defense of his title. Never mind that, due to the fight company’s jam-packed pay-per-view schedule, Hendricks estimates he’s still five or six months away from returning to the cage.
What Hendricks does have is full medical clearance to resume training, after tearing his right bicep while beating Robbie Lawler to claim the vacant 170-pound strap back in March. The arm is now surgically repaired and duly rehabbed, so Hendricks and his team are using the extended break to put him through a “minicamp”—a way of staying sharp and keeping his weight in check while making sure the arm is as good as new.
“We’re just sort of fine-tuning and trying to get a little bit better,” Hendricks told Bleacher Report on Tuesday. “Now that we’ve got some time off I’m really focusing on putting some muscle back on that I lost [after] not being able to lift or work out or do anything for four months. We’re working on my hands, getting them better, and my kicks. There’s so many things I have to room focus on right now that I don’t even have to bother with, do I have a fight?”
As ever, the welterweight division chugged on in his absence. Conventional wisdom now says Lawler has once again emerged as the best of a hearty crop of contenders, putting back-to-back wins over Jake Ellenberger and Matt Brown between himself and his UFC 171 loss to Hendricks.
In the past, the champ has admitted being frustrated at the prospect of being confined to the sidelines for so long. Now, though, it sounds as if he’s made peace with it. The time off gave him the chance to spend the summer with his family, and a fall without a fight means Hendricks will be able to indulge himself with a few hunting trips.
Pushing through a punishing fight camp with no actual fight at the end of it isn’t anybody’s idea of a good time, but Hendricks says he’s focusing on the process. After taking some time to review his first fight with Lawler, he says having a few months to sharpen up his skills and prepare for whatever the 170-pound division has in store for him is actually sort of a luxury.
“I don’t have that signed bout agreement, so I don’t want to focus too much on one person,” Hendricks says. “Right now, it’s more about me. Don’t get me wrong, we’re going over some possibilities. We’re throwing in Robbie, we might throw in a little bit of Rory MacDonald or Tyron Woodley or Hector Lombard. We’re doing a little bit of everybody. We’re about 98 percent sure that it’s going to be Robbie, but we’ve seen crazier things happen.”
If Hendricks has been notable by his absence from the UFC scene of late, his position atop the welterweight class hasn’t made him any less of a target. While guys like Lawler, MacDonald, Woodley and Lombard are lining up to take his title, he’s also been accepting potshots from outside the organization.
OneFC 170-pound champion Ben Askren hasn’t been shy about his feelings. He’s beefed with UFC President Dana White in the media and had some pointed things to say about Hendricks both on social media and in interviews. Hendricks, though? For now, he says he’ll pass on the chance to fire back at the outspoken Askren.
“I really don’t [pay attention],” he says. “If he gets to the UFC, that’s cool, but it’s not going to be because of me. He can say whatever he wants, he can talk whatever he wants to, it doesn’t bother me. It doesn’t bother me at all. I know what he’s trying to do, and I’m not going to fall for it.”
The specter of quasi-retired former champion Georges St-Pierre also still lurks around Hendricks. Many thought the former Oklahoma State wrestler should’ve walked away with the title when he met St-Pierre last November. Instead, GSP scored a controversial split-decision victory and immediately announced he was taking an indefinite leave from the sport.
St-Pierre has repeatedly said he won’t return to the UFC unless the company ramps up its drug testing procedures. With the recent announcement the organization would indeed implement increased random screening in late 2014 or early 2015, it appears the door is open for a comeback.
White told UFC.com last week if St-Pierre decides to return next year, he’ll likely receive an immediate title shot. For Hendricks, that could mean a huge PPV opportunity as well the chance to put GSP fully in his rearview mirror. As for finding out who is the true champion, however, it sounds as though Hendricks isn‘t really entertaining thoughts about that, either.
“For me, the title is no more, if that makes sense,” Hendricks says. “The way I’ve gotten to where I’m at is to say, I’m 0-0 and I’m fighting for my spot in the UFC. Do I make it or do I get cut? That’s the way I like to do it, because it makes things simpler. I get to wake up, I get to train. Yeah, the belt is always going to be there, but if I focus too much on that, it pulls me away from other things I need to focus on.”
For obvious reasons, Lawler is most chiefly on his mind at the moment.
Their first meeting was razor-close and will likely end up as a candidate for Fight of the Year. Hendricks edged Lawler by unanimous decision, and even though they don’t yet know when or if they’ll fight again, Hendricks says the lengthy lead-up will help both guys prepare for a potential second bout.
“We’re both going to learn a little bit,” he says. “Robbie, he’s sort of a guy who’s got to get in close, you what I mean? He’s a close fighter. That’s something we can bring in [to camp]. I’ve got a lot of great boxers that I’m starting to tap into, that are great southpaws and like to spar in close. That’s sort of their bread and butter. So, I can get that, I can hopefully mimic that.”
Hendricks came into the first Lawler fight with an injured arm—and further aggravated the injury during the bout—as well as a fractured fibula. However, Hendricks says the injuries didn‘t bother him as much as some tactical errors he made in the bout. Cleaning up those mistakes and being healthy enough to better utilize his wrestling base will be key the second time around.
“I re-watched that fight, and there were times in the fight—like in that third round—when I was shooting [and] where he just felt different,” Hendricks says. “He had that confidence growing because he knew I couldn’t take him down. He didn’t know why, but he knew something was different. And that’s when the third round really turned bad for me. [Wrestling] is something I’ll be able to use more effectively in my next fight, as well.’”
Speaking with Hendricks leaves the distinct impression that the time off has been good for him. He seems happy and rested and, at least to hear him tell it, isn‘t allowing any outside noise to encroach on his preparations. While we don’t yet know exactly when he’ll return, one thing seems obvious: He’ll be ready.
“I have a great set of fans,” Hendricks says. “I have a great home. I have a great wife and great kids. What else matters? I’ve accomplished what I needed to do. My goal set now is to leave my legacy in the welterweight division. That’s what I’m focusing on. What’s that that Happy Gilmore says? Feel the flow, man. Feel the flow. That’s sort of how I live my life.”
Chad Dundas is an MMA Lead Writer for Bleacher Report. All quotes were obtained firsthand, unless otherwise noted.
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