It’s out of the oven and into the frying pan for Johny Hendricks.After a hard fought victory over Carlos Condit at UFC 158, he is now set to face Georges St-Pierre for the welterweight title.From a pure stylistic perspective, Hendricks presents a lot o…
It’s out of the oven and into the frying pan for Johny Hendricks.
After a hard fought victory over Carlos Condit at UFC 158, he is now set to face Georges St-Pierre for the welterweight title.
From a pure stylistic perspective, Hendricks presents a lot of problems for St-Pierre. His jarring knockout power, aggression and world class wrestling potentially spells doom for the greatest welterweight title run in UFC history.
With that said, St-Pierre is the champion for a reason. There is no fighter currently competing at 170-pounds capable of beating him in a technical battle.
To defeat St-Pierre, Hendricks has to stay in his face and force him into wild exchanges. St-Pierre is an incredibly smart fighter. He isn’t going to linger in the pocket any longer than he has to be and trade punches.
Hendricks has to push forward and hope his takedown defense is enough to fend off St-Pierre’s wrestling. If Hendricks can remain aggressive and fend off takedowns, a knockout victory is in the cards for him.
Unlike Condit, St-Pierre rarely puts together more than a two-punch combination. His entire game plan is predicated on setting up the takedown. He typically sits on the outside and uses a highly effective jab to open opponents up before changing levels and snagging a double.
Hendricks can’t allow himself to become stagnant and get picked apart in the open by St-Pierre’s speed and athleticism.
One concern for Hendricks is the amount of energy exerted from his particular style of fighting. He won’t survive five rounds trudging forward and winging haymakers. When it comes to conditioning, St-Pierre is second to none.
Hendricks can’t afford a cardio meltdown like he had against Condit, who nearly rallied for a comeback late in the fight. He needs to be aggressive but also remain selective with his power shots.
The chances of an upset are abnormally high, and Hendricks is more than capable of pulling off the impossible. Unfortunately, fans have heard these same sentiments time and time again with Josh Koscheck, Thiago Alves, Jake Shields and Nick Diaz.
Putting on a “Fight of the Year”-caliber scrap entails extraordinary action from both opponents in essentially every facet of the game. Although Johny Hendricks didn’t throw many kicks or attempt any submissions, and Carlos Con…
Putting on a “Fight of the Year”-caliber scrap entails extraordinary action from both opponents in essentially every facet of the game.
Although Johny Hendricks didn’t throw many kicks or attempt any submissions, and Carlos Condit failed to shoot for a takedown, the bout between “Bigg Rigg” and “The Natural Born Killer” at UFC 158 contained captivating action from start to finish, regardless of where the fight went.
Hendricks and Condit, ranked No. 1 and No. 2 by the UFC, respectively, put on the type of enthralling brawl that leaves fans and experts yearning to see more five-round affairs.
But how does the epic battle that ensued between BiggRigg and The Natural Born Killer stack up against the other early “Fight of the Year” candidates?
Less than three months into 2013, there are several scraps that the Hendricks vs. Condit battle are already drawing comparisons to. Those fights are: Ronda Rousey vs. Liz Carmouche at UFC 157; Michael Bisping vs. VitorBelfort at UFC on FX 7; Brian Stann vs. Wanderlei Silva at UFC on Fuel TV 8; and Dennis Bermudez vs. Matt Grice at UFC 157.
Granted, these five fights were all aesthetically pleasing, but the Hendricks vs. Condit and Bermudez vs. Grice fights must be placed in a category above the rest on account of the back-and-forth nature of both bouts.
Unlike Rousey, Belfort and Silva, who each won in rather convincing fashion, Hendricks and Bermudez each had to engage in tooth-and-nail wars from bell to bell to secure wins.
Hendricks got outstruck by Condit 94-69, including 42-30 in the significant strikes category. But BiggRigg, who threatened Condit with several heavy combinations in standup exchanges, scored on 12 of his 15 takedown attempts.
Hendricks also absorbed punishing knees, elbows, kicks and punches from Condit, but never stopped stalking The Natural Born Killer in pursuit of a KO.
In Bermudez‘s case, the former Bloomsburg University wrestler fell one blow shy of doubling up Grice in strikes landed (181-91). But no matter how many times Bermudez drilled Grice on the button, he couldn’t manage to stop the former four-time Oklahoma state wrestling champ.
Bermudez also failed to ground the feisty Grice, who stuffed each of his nine shots. Grice, in the meantime, only mustered one takedown in 12 attempts.
Both fighters flashed remarkable defensive grappling dexterity, and as a result, Bermudez and Grice ended up wildly duking it out.
All things considered, however, Hendricks displayed the more impressive skills, the more intricate game plan and the bigger heart on a much larger stage than Bermudez, making his fight with Condit a slight favorite to garner “Fight of the Year” honors.
In the aftermath of UFC 158, the very two best welterweights in the world are on a crash course to meet sometime later this year.Long-time champion Georges St-Pierre and rising star Johny Hendricks make for a great matchup for one of the most prolific …
In the aftermath of UFC 158, the very two best welterweights in the world are on a crash course to meet sometime later this year.
Long-time champion Georges St-Pierre and rising star Johny Hendricks make for a great matchup for one of the most prolific titles in the sport.
For GSP, knocking off Hendricks will ultimately allow him to leave the division with no unfinished business and make a smooth transition to fight Anderson Silva in 2014.
For Hendricks, a guy who has literally blasted his way up the welterweight ladder, landing one of his infamous left hands could spell disaster for the sport’s most popular athlete.
Here’s how the initial head-to-toe breakdown pans out. Enjoy.
Johny Hendricks and Carlos Condit put on a fun fight last night Montreal. It was a fight that saw a power-punching wrestler take on a kickboxer with slick jiu-jitsu.After three rounds of excitement, Hendricks prevailed as the winner via unanimous decis…
Johny Hendricks and Carlos Condit put on a fun fight last night Montreal. It was a fight that saw a power-punching wrestler take on a kickboxer with slick jiu-jitsu.
After three rounds of excitement, Hendricks prevailed as the winner via unanimous decision.
Georges St. Pierre and Nick Diaz were supposed to be the main attraction, but the fight between Condit and Hendricks stole the show. It was an exciting slugfest that occasionally saw Hendricks put Condit on his back with his solid wrestling.
Everybody at UFC 158 was excited for the drama that GSP-Diaz was bound to bring. All the talk of wolf tickets and hate between the two headliners was sure to be the talking point of the show.
From the opening bell, Condit and Hendricks threw hands, feet, knees and elbows. For every power strike Hendricks threw at Condit, Condit responded with a flying knee or a nasty combination of his own.
It won Fight of the Night for a reason; both men went all out for a chance to gain a welterweight title shot against Georges St. Pierre.
To say this fight stole the show is an understatement. The GSP-Diaz scrap was a complete domination display by the champion and failed to really stand out, especially with the memorable bout Condit and Hendricks put on.
In the end, Hendricks walked out of Montreal with the victory. His combination of powerful striking and wrestling proved to be the superior set of skills against Condit.
Condit did not walk out of Quebec empty-handed. Both he and Hendricks earned a $50,000 bonus for their combined effort in the Fight of the Night.
Now Hendricks is the top contender, but Condit is not far off from the title picture. That may be because this fight stole the show on GSP‘s home soil.
Well, he did it. Not that many expected him to lose, but on Saturday night in Montreal, Georges St-Pierre defeated Nick Diaz in decisive fashion to retain his UFC welterweight title. The fight was more or less exactly as expected, with St-Pierre using …
Well, he did it. Not that many expected him to lose, but on Saturday night in Montreal, Georges St-Pierre defeated Nick Diaz in decisive fashion to retain his UFC welterweight title.
The fight was more or less exactly as expected, with St-Pierre using ground control and wrestling to pull away early before he used calculated striking to round out his set of 50-45s on the scorecards.
Now the attention moves to whom will be next for the longtime champion. St-Pierre will have gone six years without a loss by the time he returns in the Octagon for his next fight.
The following fighters deserve the most attention as his next opponent.
Putting on a “Fight of the Year”-caliber scrap entails extraordinary action from both opponents in essentially every facet of the game.