Tag: interim champion

Report: Johny Hendricks to Face Martin Kampmann in Number One Contender Bout at UFC 154


(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.

Hear what Hendricks had to say after the jump. 


(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?

–J. Jones

Carlos Condit Interested in Possible Rematch With Martin Kampmann Depending on GSP’s Recovery Rate


(We know, Carlos, we didn’t believe it was Arianny in that mugshot either.) 

We haven’t heard much from Carlos Condit since his controversial, interim title-earning decision over Nick Diaz at UFC 143, even though the man he beat out for said title has given him plenty to talk about. No, all we’ve heard from “The Natural Born Killer” is that he plans to spend the rest of 2012 on the shelf in order to finally get his much deserved shot against Georges St. Pierre, who is no stranger to life on the sidelines.

Well now it seems that the fighting bug is starting to get to Condit, who recently told HDNet’s Inside MMA that he would be open to the idea of defending his interim title, were GSP’s absence to be prolonged, that is. How you can defend a title that isn’t, you know, an actual title, is beyond us, but regardless of what we think, Condit said that he’d like to face none other than the man responsible for his sole loss in the UFC given the opportunity:

If it turns out Georges can’t fight in November, most likely, I will fight somebody else. I really wanna fight Georges. I really wanna unify the belts, but there’s also some other guys that I would like to fight as well. You know, Martin Kampmann‘s the only guy that I’ve lost to in the UFC, the only guy I’ve lost to in about the last six years, so I would definitely like to avenge that loss.

Few can forget the pair’s initial meeting, which took place back in April of 2009 at Fight Night 18 and saw Kampmann emerge victorious by way of split decision in what was a hell of a three round affair.

And while we agree that it would be nice to see any fight in the welterweight division that has some kind of title implications behind it, it appears that the chances of Condit/Kampmann II going down anytime soon are somehow less likely than that of Condit/GSP. Here’s why.


(We know, Carlos, we didn’t believe it was Arianny in that mugshot either.) 

We haven’t heard much from Carlos Condit since his controversial, interim title-earning decision over Nick Diaz at UFC 143, even though the man he beat out for said title has given him plenty to talk about. No, all we’ve heard from “The Natural Born Killer” is that he plans to spend the rest of 2012 on the shelf in order to finally get his much deserved shot against Georges St. Pierre, who is no stranger to life on the sidelines.

Well now it seems that the fighting bug is starting to get to Condit, who recently told HDNet’s Inside MMA that he would be open to the idea of defending his interim title, were GSP’s absence to be prolonged, that is. How you can defend a title that isn’t, you know, an actual title, is beyond us, but regardless of what we think, Condit said that he’d like to face none other than the man responsible for his sole loss in the UFC given the opportunity:

If it turns out Georges can’t fight in November, most likely, I will fight somebody else. I really wanna fight Georges. I really wanna unify the belts, but there’s also some other guys that I would like to fight as well. You know, Martin Kampmann‘s the only guy that I’ve lost to in the UFC, the only guy I’ve lost to in about the last six years, so I would definitely like to avenge that loss.

Few can forget the pair’s initial meeting, which took place back in April of 2009 at Fight Night 18 and saw Kampmann emerge victorious by way of split decision in what was a hell of a three round affair.

And while we agree that it would be nice to see any fight in the welterweight division that has some kind of title implications behind it, it appears that the chances of Condit/Kampmann II going down anytime soon are somehow less likely than that of Condit/GSP. Here’s why.

On the heels of yet another come from behind win over Jake Ellenberger at The Ultimate Fighter 15 Finale, it turns out that Kampmann will be taking some time off of his own, both to be with his family, who are expecting another child in the near future, and to undergo minor surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his knee that has been bothering him for some time. Here’s what he told MMAJunkie Radio:

I wanted to get it done a couple of fights ago, but I kept getting good fight offers. I kept fighting.

I only feel it when I bend it. When I bend my knee sometimes, it will click. It’s just a minor bug. It’s nothing. I could still fight with it, but it’s something that, more than anything, it bugs me in training. It doesn’t bug me when I’m fighting.

Further muddying the waters was a certain promise that Dana White made to fellow welterweight contender Johny Hendricks. Perhaps you recall when DW stated that, if Hendricks was successful against Josh Koscheck at UFC on FOX 3, he would be next in line for a title shot.

As we all know, Hendricks was successful that night, and since White is a man of his word, Hendricks must be in line for the winner of GSP/Condit, right? But just in case he isn’t, here are a couple options that we think could help solve this mess:

1. After Kampmann recovers, he faces Hendricks for *true* number one contender status. Condit faces GSP because we honestly just want to see this match happen before we die.

2. Hendricks faces Condit for the interim title while GSP and Kampmann recover. If the winner comes out in relatively decent shape, they face GSP and Kampmann gets the winner.

3. If GSP’s recovery is somehow delayed even further, he is stripped of the title and we are treated to either Hendricks/Condit or Kampmann/Condit for the welterweight title, with the odd man out taking on GSP in a number one contender bout.

Now, while the last option is definitely the least probable, how great would it be to see St. Pierre fight for the number one contender spot to the title he technically never lost? Not only could it reignite the fire that has been long missing from GSP’s game, but it could make for a great comeback story as well.

But what do you think Potato Nation, who deserves a crack at Condit, if anyone? Or should we just sit on our thumbs until 2014 when this title picture has finally cleared up?

–J. Jones