Although Hendricks had troubles with his training camp prior to UFC Fight Night 82, “Big Rigg” gave full credit to Thompson for his 1st round KO.
Johny Hendricks came into UFC Fight Night 82 in great physical shape last night, but the Texan had troubles back at home with Team Takedown. “Big Rigg” split from his long-time team and changed management, after learning from the Texas-based squad since the beginning of his MMA career.
It caused complications for Hendricks — head coach Marc Laimon was absent from his corner — but the former UFC welterweight champion didn’t use it to excuse his loss.
“Stephen Thompson was just a better man tonight,” Hendricks said at the post-fight press conference (h/t Marc Raimondi of MMA Fighting). “What can I say? He performed. I hesitated. I don’t hesitate usually. A lot of it goes into preparation. I switched camps and all these other things. But no excuses. He was just a better man.”
Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson came into the bout sharp and prepared, evading most of Hendricks’ strikes and countering with a catalog of punches and kicks. The Karate ace also fended off a takedown attempt and highlighted the evolution of his grappling. Thompson’s only loss came when he was dragged to the ground and mauled by Matt Brown in the third round at UFC 145.
Hendricks was stunned by Thompson’s elusiveness and admitted he fell right into his trap.
“In training camp, whenever I closed the distance on them, (training partners would) always fire back,” Hendricks said. “He didn’t fire back. He would continue to move. And then all of a sudden it was like, oh c’mon. I wanted him to fight, I wanted him to fight, I wanted him to fight. But I’m playing into his game.”
Prior to Fight Night, Hendricks’ only losses in the past five years came to former welterweight kingpin Georges St-Pierre and current champ Robbie Lawler, both of which were controversial. Thompson is the only fighter to KO the 32-year-old and will likely use the victory as ammunition for a shot at the 170 lbs. title.
Hendricks is still listed as #2 and Wonderboy as #8 in the official UFC rankings but Thomspon is likely to catapult to the top of the division after picking up his sixth consecutive win.