(Earning red wings: It is a messier right of passage for some than for others.)
If the name hadn’t already been used for UFC 125, Resolution would be the perfect title for UFC 154, which promises to finally clear up the traffic jam that has clogged the welterweight division for what has felt like an eternity. Not only will it feature the potential return of Georges St. Pierre, who will in turn battle interim champ Carlos Condit for the bragging rights of a division that has long been missing them, but now it appears that the winner of that bout (ruling out any horrific decisions or immediate rematches) will have his next (or first) challenger already lined up.
Word has it that Martin Kampmann, fresh off yet another come-from-behind victory over Jake Ellenberger at the TUF 15 Finale will be facing hard hitting Johny Hendricks at the same event to determine the true number one contender at 170 lbs. This sounds all too familiar for Hendricks, who was promised the next title shot if he were to beat Josh Koscheck at UFC on FOX 3 last month. He did, and was promptly denied in favor of a Condit/GSP showdown. “Bigg Rigg” was rather blunt about his disappointment in a recent interview with MMAFighting, but stated that it wasn’t going to peeve him for too long:
It is what it is. I feel like I fought the best guys at 170 in our division and I’ve won, but it looks like I have to get through one more person, and that’s just the way it goes. You can either sit here and complain about it or you can sit there and do your best to win it.
Of course you’re disappointed. You get promised a title shot and then something happens and it doesn’t happen. But then again, that’s the nature of this business. There’s always good fights going on, you just have to win each one.
I’m training for a five-round fight because if one of them gets hurt, I got to take my opportunity when I can.
As we previously reported, Kampmann is scheduled to undergo minor surgery to repair a torn meniscus that has been bothering him for some time, but will only be out of action for a month or so. In that article, we also suggested that these matchups would be the most sensible ones given the current situation, so we’d like to thank the UFC blogging intern who helps keep us in line for finally taking our advice.
Who you got , Potato Nation?