The UFC allowing Johny Hendricks’ move to the middleweight division just may have saved his career, according to the former welterweight champion. Hendricks’ troubles with cutting down to 170 almost threatened an end to the career of the popular former champion. The lowest point of his weight-cutting struggles was perhaps the fighter’s hospitalization one day prior to […]
The UFC allowing Johny Hendricks’ move to the middleweight division just may have saved his career, according to the former welterweight champion. Hendricks’ troubles with cutting down to 170 almost threatened an end to the career of the popular former champion. The lowest point of his weight-cutting struggles was perhaps the fighter’s hospitalization one day prior to […]
Former longtime UFC welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre will make his long awaited return to action later this year when he fights middleweight champion Michael Bisping, but it’s been quite some time since the Canadian star stepped foot inside the Octagon, as he hasn’t fought since scoring a highly controversial decision over Johny Hendricks at
Former longtime UFC welterweight champion Georges St. Pierre will make his long awaited return to action later this year when he fights middleweight champion Michael Bisping, but it’s been quite some time since the Canadian star stepped foot inside the Octagon, as he hasn’t fought since scoring a highly controversial decision over Johny Hendricks at UFC 167 in 2013.
With St. Pierre now returning, Hendricks, who recently made the jump up to 185-pounds, has shown interest in a rematch, but “Rush” doesn’t feel as if “Bigg Rigg” is the same fighter he once was:
“I believe the best Johny Hendricks I’ve seen is gone,” St-Pierre told the “UFC Unfiltered” podcast with Jim Norton and Matt Serra. “When he fought Jon Fitch, Martin Kampmann, Carlos Condit – when he fought me – I think this Johny Hendricks is gone. I didn’t feel the same pop, the same explosiveness. Maybe he’s going to prove [me] wrong at 185 maybe, but I feel he’s not the same anymore.”
Since losing to St. Pierre in 2013, Hendricks has gone just 3-4, and he lost three consecutive bouts at welterweight before beating Hector Lombard in his middleweight debut last month. While the 185-pound division is currently filled with legitimate contenders, St. Pierre feels as if Hendricks has the ‘tools’ to make another title run:
“We’ll see what’s going to happen with him,” St-Pierre said. “Maybe if he bounces back like before. I believe he has the tools to go back to title contention for 185.”
Georges St-Pierre believes Johny Hendricks’ best days are behind him. St-Pierre last competed in a professional mixed martial arts (MMA) bout against Hendricks back in Nov. 2013. “Rush” took a split decision win over “Bigg Rigg” and then went on a hiatus. St-Pierre vacated his title, and Hendricks won the vacant gold against Robbie Lawler. […]
Georges St-Pierre believes Johny Hendricks’ best days are behind him. St-Pierre last competed in a professional mixed martial arts (MMA) bout against Hendricks back in Nov. 2013. “Rush” took a split decision win over “Bigg Rigg” and then went on a hiatus. St-Pierre vacated his title, and Hendricks won the vacant gold against Robbie Lawler. […]
Johny Hendricks has some unfinished business with Georges St-Pierre. The pair headlined UFC 167 back in 2013 where St-Pierre took home a very controversial split decision win over ‘Bigg Rig.’ Soon after ‘GSP’ announced his retirement from mixed martial arts (MMA) competition, and Hendricks would go on to finally capture the welterweight crown. St-Pierre has
Johny Hendricks has some unfinished business with Georges St-Pierre.
The pair headlined UFC 167 back in 2013 where St-Pierre took home a very controversial split decision win over ‘Bigg Rig.’ Soon after ‘GSP’ announced his retirement from mixed martial arts (MMA) competition, and Hendricks would go on to finally capture the welterweight crown.
St-Pierre has yet to suffer a loss in MMA competition since 2007 in an upset loss to Matt Serra via first round TKO. Hendricks believes the judges robbed him of putting the first loss on the Canadian’s record in six years.
‘Bigg Rig’ went on a bit of a downward spiral since his loss to St-Pierre, as he lost his welterweight title in his first ever defense against Robbie Lawler, took home a unanimous decision win over Matt Brown, followed by a three-fight losing skid in which he missed weight in two of those contests. Hendricks’ weight struggles forced him to move up to middleweight where he defeated Hector Lombard via unanimous decision.
Now St-Pierre’s Octagon return is imminent, and rumors are circulating that it could be at Hendricks’ new home of 185 pounds. If that’s the case, Hendricks wants a shot at retribution. The former 170-pound champ joined The MMA Hour earlier today (quotes via MMA Mania) to discuss a possible rematch with ‘Rush’:
“I am (surprised to see him back), I wish he would’ve stayed out. But you know what, a competitor is always going to be a competitor and we’ll see how he comes back. I heard he might be coming to 185, so you know I do (want a piece).”
Hendricks went on to take shots at St-Pierre’s ability to bounce back from adversity, stating that the Canadian decided to hang up the boots when things got hard; while Hendricks pushed through his own rough period before eventually finding success once again:
“So like I went through my rough period, and I did something and was able to bounce back. Whenever he went through his rough period, he got out,” said Johny. “Yeah, you can train, yeah you could do these things, but has he done enough to where he is going to be able to come back a different fighter?”
It’s been over three years since St-Pierre has competed inside the Octagon, plenty of time for the sport to evolve while the Canadian sat on the sidelines. Hendricks believes he has laid out the gameplan to put St-Pierre away, and the time away won’t help his chances against the new breed of fighters in today’s UFC:
“Time changes, it always does. One day, the time is going to change where I am not going to be able to compete with these guys anymore. It’s just the way that it is. Once I showed how to defeat Georges St-Pierre, I think people are going to start using that gameplan and it’s going to be harder on him,” he said.
“You look at Chuck Liddell and Randy Couture, these guys that didn’t stay out when they were on top. They come back and are not the same fighter. Three and a half years, two years is a long time for someone to decrease or for everyone else to move up.”
Do you want to see a rematch between St-Pierre and Hendricks?
With every decision comes a consequence and for those fighters who took part in battle at UFC Fight Night 105, it’s their time to faces those consequences in the form of medical suspensions. Some of the more notable suspensions include Derrick Lewis being suspended 30 days with no contact in training for 21 days due
With every decision comes a consequence and for those fighters who took part in battle at UFC Fight Night 105, it’s their time to faces those consequences in the form of medical suspensions.
Some of the more notable suspensions include Derrick Lewis being suspended 30 days with no contact in training for 21 days due to a “hard bout.” The suspensions that stand out are Travis Browne and Johny Hendricks. Browne is out for 180 days or until he is cleared by negative CT scan; suspended a minimum of 60 days. Hendricks is out for 180 days or until he is cleared by left hand X-ray; suspended a minimum of seven days
Here are the entire medical suspensions:
Derrick Lewis: suspended 30 days with no contact in training for 21 days due to a “hard bout”
Travis Browne: suspended 180 days or until cleared by negative CT scan; suspended a minimum of 60 days
Johny Hendricks: suspended 180 days or until cleared by left hand X-ray; suspended a minimum of seven days
Hector Lombard: suspended 30 days
Gavin Tucker: suspended 14 days
Sam Sicilia: suspended 30 days
Elias Theodorou: suspended seven days
Cezar Ferreira: suspended 180 days or until cleared by orthopedist for hand injury; suspended a minimum of 30 days
Sara McMann: suspended 180 days or until cleared by oral and maxillofacial doctor; suspended a minimum of seven days
Gina Mazany: suspended 180 days or until cleared by right hand X-ray; suspended a minimum of 30 days
Paul Felder: suspended seven days
Alessandro Ricci: suspended 180 days or until cleared by an ear, nose and throat doctor; suspended a minimum of 60 days
Santiago Ponzinibbio: suspended 30 days with 21 days no contact due to a right cheek laceration
Nordine Taleb: suspended 180 days or until cleared by an ear, nose and throat doctor; suspended a minimum of 60 days with 45 days no contact
Randa Markos: suspended 45 days with 30 days no contact due to a “hard bout”
Carla Esparza: suspended 30 days with 21 days no contact due to a “hard bout”
Aiemann Zahabi: suspended 180 days or until cleared by an ophthalmologist; suspended a minimum of 30 days
Reginaldo Vieira: suspended 180 days or until cleared by an orthopedist; suspended a minimum of 30 days
Thiago “Marreta” Santos: suspended 30 days with 21 days no contact due to a “hard bout”
Jack Marshman: suspended 45 days with 30 days no contact due to a right infraorbital laceration, scalp laceration and TKO
Gerald Meerschaert: suspended seven days
Ryan Janes: suspended 180 days or until cleared by an orthopedist; suspended a minimum of 30 days
UFC Fight Night 105 took place on Sunday, February 19, 2017 at Scotiabank Centre in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. One bout aired on UFC Fight Pass portion at 6:30 p.m. ET of the prelims while the four bouts aired on the FOX Sports 1 portion at 7 p.m. ET. Six bouts took place on the main card on FOX Sports 1 at 9 p.m. ET.
There’s a curiosity in changing weight classes. Guys do it all the time hoping to reinvigorate a stagnant career, and as soon as there are more weight classes available to them in the UFC you can bet that women will be doing it too.
On Sunday nig…
There’s a curiosity in changing weight classes. Guys do it all the time hoping to reinvigorate a stagnant career, and as soon as there are more weight classes available to them in the UFC you can bet that women will be doing it too.
On Sunday night in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Johny Hendricks took to the cage with an eye on doing exactly that. A loser of three straight welterweight fights and four out of five in the class, Hendricks attempted to tackle the 15-pound chasm northward in a venture to middleweight.
The results were steady, if unspectacular.
He was paired with Hector Lombard, a four-fight welterweight himself who has never been a large middleweight and only hit 182 pounds for their Fight Night 105 scrap.
Hendricks came out with a modest paunch and started a little slow, working his way into a groove.
He looked mystified by Lombard at certain points, attempting to solve the puzzle of an Olympic caliber judoka and doing it to mixed results until he began to score with knees up the middle and lively clinch work.
He slowly figured it out, and as he did, he actually came on in a way he hadn’t for quite some time. Hendricks ended up securing a unanimous decision win, his first success in two years.
“I was beating him on the feet so I didn’t have to wrestle. I used my wrestling to setting up knees, my hands,” he said after the fight.
There’s reason to doubt that this is some sort of resurgence for the 33-year-old, who has been fighting the very best 170-pounders on Earth for years and is still badly undersized for a middleweight, but there were positives in the lead-up and in the cage itself.
“When was the last time you saw me putting things together? It’s been what, two years? I’m going to take what I got. I’m looking at the fight and playing it through my mind. The first thing I told my coaches was that I actually flowed out there.”
Still, it wasn’t perfect, and Hendricks wants to make some changes going forward.
“We didn’t get a strength and conditioning coach. It was a quick turnaround. The next fight, I’m going to be better. I’m going to have better cardio. Those are things that sort of even scare me a little bit, and excite me at the same time. How much better could it be if I knew my third round was going be as good as it was today? I could have pushed harder in the second round. I could have pushed harder in the third.”
Now with some excitement about how he looked in Halifax and what the future might hold, for the first time in a long time he appears content. In fact, he’s open about the idea that he should have moved up sooner.
“You make such a good mark at 170, it’s hard to give that up. Now that I look back I’m like [I’m] an idiot for not doing it sooner. But who’s to say [now’s] not the right time for me to move up? [I missed] by a quarter of a pound, and then [I missed] by two-and-a-half. Then [my] kidneys fail for five, I think six days and then they rebooted and I came back. Everything lines up. I believe there’s a purpose for everything.”
It’s too early to say he’s back for sure, but he hasn’t gone anywhere just yet. Based on how people have been talking about him over the past while, that’s a positive step for a man who was once one of the best in the business.
He’s even got an idea for a future opponent at 185 pounds.
“I love Canada. I’m 4-0 in Canada. Georges [St-Pierre] might be coming back. I just say sorry for the Canadians. I’m going to have to beat his face in, definitely if he comes to 185. That’s a fight I’ve been really looking for.”
All quotes were obtained firsthand by Bleacher Report unless otherwise noted. Some have been edited for concision.
It’s been over three years since St-Pierre has competed inside the Octagon, plenty of time for the sport to evolve while the Canadian sat on the sidelines. Hendricks believes he has laid out the gameplan to put St-Pierre away, and the time away won’t help his chances against the new breed of fighters in today’s UFC: