Just 12 seconds into their UFC 141 welterweight bout, Johny Hendricks became only the second man ever to finish Jon Fitch with strikes and the first in more than nine years to make such a claim.
Hendricks’ massive left hook knockout of the former title challenger has vaulted the former Oklahoma State wrestler into the title picture.
With current champion Georges St-Pierre on the shelf for most, if not all of 2012, the welterweight division is filled with potential challengers for the Canadian when he does return to the Octagon.
While former Strikeforce champ Nick Diaz will battle former WEC champ Carlos Condit for the interim belt on Feb. 4 at UFC 143, Hendricks is certainly in the mix to be the first to challenge the winner of that bout.
The only thing left to debate is whether Hendricks’ impressive performance was enough to move him ahead of another heavy-handed wrestler, Jake Ellenberger. The Nebraskan scored a first-round finish of another former contender in Jake Shields at Ultimate Fight Night 25 in September.
What hurts the case for Hendricks is his decision loss to Rick Story at the end of 2010. The defeat was the first of Hendricks’ career, and even though he has since reeled off three straight wins, the fight is still fresh in the minds of many.
Ellenberger is slated to face Ultimate Fighter winner Diego Sanchez in February, and a win over the former lightweight challenger would make it very hard to deny him the first crack at the Diaz-Condit winner.
Although Hendricks’ emphatic win was quite the statement, one more win, perhaps against the winner of the Martin Kampmann-Thiago Alves bout, would cement his status as a deserving challenger for whoever holds the interim strap.
Rob Tatum is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report MMA. You can also find Rob’s work at TheMMACorner.com. For anything related to MMA, Follow @RobTatumMMA.
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