Johny Hendricks stunned the sold out Bell Centre at UFC 154 when he absolutely starched Martin Kampmann in 46 seconds. The vicious knockout earned him Knockout of the Night honors and cemented him as the top contender in the welterweight division.
Despite the impressive win, Hendricks is still unsure if he’s next in line for a shot at Georges St-Pierre’s welterweight title. In an interview with the Verbal Submission, Hendricks stated that he’s willing to sit out and wait for a shot at the champ.
“Here’s the thing. I did what I needed to do to prepare myself for a shot. If they go that way then that sucks, but I’m not going to fight until I get a title shot,” Hendricks said. “I told my manager that last night too. I said ‘Hey, I’m not touching…I want to fight GSP.'”
He added, “I think I’ve earned the shot. I’ve fought all the tough guys in the division. The only thing left is to fight GSP. I think I have the tools. I haven’t shown all my tools cause I haven’t had to. But I believe I have all the tools to win that fight.”
While I agree with Hendricks that he is clearly next in line for a shot at the champ, I can’t help but feel he’s taking the wrong approach. It’s obviously his right to sit on the sidelines and wait, but he’s in no position to hold the UFC up.
The UFC tends to never respond to these kind of threats, as seen when they cut Jon Fitch over likeness rights. Fitch caved and quickly re-signed with the company. I doubt that Hendricks gets cut, but I hope he’s prepared to sit and wait, because the UFC may choose to put him on ice.
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