Former UFC welterweight champion Johny Hendricks was looking to pick up his second win at 185 pounds when he met longtime vet Tim Boetsch in the co-main event of tonight’s (Sun., June 25, 2017) UFC Fight Night 112 from the Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, but a shocking miss of the middleweight limit made […]
Former UFC welterweight champion Johny Hendricks was looking to pick up his second win at 185 pounds when he met longtime vet Tim Boetsch in the co-main event of tonight’s (Sun., June 25, 2017) UFC Fight Night 112 from the Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, but a shocking miss of the middleweight limit made it highly questionable if “Bigg Rigg’s” heart was still in the fight game.
“The Barbarian” was definitely no man to be sharing the octagon with if it was not, and when the dust settled, Boetsch spoiled Hendricks’ chance to build a win streak in the state he won a national championship in wrestling with the Oklahoma State Cowboys with a monstrous TKO.
Hendricks pushed the pace early, but was always stifled by the push kicks and counter punches o the much larger Boetsch, who stayed out of the way of Hendricks’ fearsome left hand. In the second round Boetsch found the mark with a picture-perfect head kick that hurt “Bigg Rigg” badly, and followed with a vicious assault of uppercuts to seal the deal, sending Hendricks further down the line.
Watch the full fight video highlights of “The Barbarian’s” biggest win here:
Tonight’s (Sun., June 25, 2017) UFC Fight Night 112 is in the books after a hard-hitting night of action from the Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. In the main event, lightweight submission specialist Michael Chiesa took on rising prospect Kevin Lee in a main event with plenty of backstory after their now-famous press conference […]
Tonight’s (Sun., June 25, 2017) UFC Fight Night 112 is in the books after a hard-hitting night of action from the Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
In the main event, lightweight submission specialist Michael Chiesa took on rising prospect Kevin Lee in a main event with plenty of backstory after their now-famous press conference brawl where “The Motown Phenom” mentioned “Maverick’s” mother. Lee dominated the early action and had a tight choke locked up, but the ending was muddled by the incompetency of referee Mario Yamasaki, who called the fight off when Chiesa had not tapped.
The co-headliner featured former UFC welterweight champion Johny Hendricks’ second bout at middleweight, a weight at which he shockingly missed by three full pounds at the early weigh-ins yesterday. “Bigg Rigg” faced veteran Tim Boetsch, losing by way of a brutal second-round head kick and the strikes that followed.
Watch the main card fighters discuss the aftermath of the event in the UFC Fight Night 112 press conference video starting live after the main card right here:
The MMA community is abuzz with the surprising (or perhaps not so much) news that former UFC welterweight champion Johny Hendricks missed weight by a whopping three pounds at today’s early weigh-in for his middleweight bout against veteran Tim Boetsch at tomorrow’s (Sun., June 25, 2017) UFC Fight Night 112 from the Chesapeake Energy Arena in […]
The MMA community is abuzz with the surprising (or perhaps not so much) news that former UFC welterweight champion Johny Hendricks missed weight by a whopping three pounds at today’s early weigh-in for his middleweight bout against veteran Tim Boetsch at tomorrow’s (Sun., June 25, 2017) UFC Fight Night 112 from the Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
It’s hardly a secret that “Bigg Rigg” loves his big meals, so much so that he was forced to move up to middleweight after missing weight by a large margin prior to his respective UFC 207 and UFC 200 losses to Neil Magny and Kelvin Gastelum. Prior to that, Hendricks was hospitalized before his scheduled UFC 192 showdown with current 170-pound champ Tyron Woodley, and only narrowly made weight for his title-sealing UFC 171 classic versus Robbie Lawler.
But that was at welterweight, and it appeared Hendricks was back on track when he moved up to middleweight and beat a formerly touted Hector Lombard at UFC Fight Night 105 this year. Now, however, the fallen former champ has proven that he can’t even make 185 pounds on a consistent basis, and that fact represents a concerning path for the former champ. “Bigg Rigg” has lost four of his last six bouts, and it’s plain to see that he’s a shell of the bulldozing knockout artist that smashed everyone in his path on the way to losing a controversial split decision that many still feel he won to all-time great Georges St-Pierre.
Photo by Stephen Sylvanie for USA TODAY Sports
That seems like so, so long ago, and it’s an alarming fall from grace from a man who many felt was on is way to MMA greatness four years ago. Maybe Hendricks just couldn’t give up on the foods he loves, perhaps the dissolving of his Team Takedown was a part of his slide, the reasons are myriad. Either way, they’ve all resulted in one of the quickest and most concerning snides we’ve seen from a top-ranked UFC contender, and today’s huge whiff magnifies that tenfold.
More importantly, it’s becoming apparent that Hendricks’ issues on the scale are beginning to harm his long-term health even at middleweight, and that’s clearly a big factor in just where he goes next. He won’t be able to contend with most fighters at 205 pounds despite it being a relatively shallow division due to his height, so a previously unheard-of move there won’t be a viable alternative. Hendricks is also unlikely to contend with the cream of the crop at middleweight, as names like Yoel Romero, Robert Whittaker, Luke Rockhold, and Chris Weidman dwarf the 5’9″ former wrestling champion.
So Hendricks is in a sort of no man’s land, sitting without a finish since he looked like a world beater when he KO’d Martin Kampmann in 46 seconds back at UFC 154 in late 2012. It’s tough to say where he goes from here, but one thing appears crystal clear: if he can’t make 185 pounds, he definitely isn’t taking his career seriously, at least not seriously enough to remain a top-ranked professional fighter in the world’s biggest and most unforgiving promotion.
The reasons could be many, but Hendricks sits at a career crossroads. Will he choose the correct path, or will another loss to Boetsch send him a step closer to a way out?
