Boxing coach details Team Takedown fallout, new camp with ex-champ Johny Hendricks

Boxing coach Tony Cabello realized Team Takedown was struggling when he got a call to report to its office in Arlington, Texas, one day during normal practice.

It had been two weeks since Johny Hendricks had lost the UFC welterweight title in a rematch with now-champ Robbie Lawler at UFC 181, a fight Cabello thought Hendricks shouldn’t have taken because he hadn’t fully recovered from a shoulder injury.

Cabello had been hired two years earlier to work with Hendricks, among others, after the now-former champion had outpointed former interim champ Carlos Condit in a title eliminator. Due to his work, he told MMAjunkie Radio, at least one fighter won notice from the UFC and others, such as wrestler Jared Rosholt, had improved their striking.

But when he sat down at the team’s office with the owners, he got some bad news.

“They basically said they’re making all these cuts,” Cabello told MMAjunkie Radio. “They’re cutting some of the guys they’re trying to bring up, and they cut a lot of people, and they’re like, ‘Well, you’re one on the list.’ I thought it was a major loss on their part.”

Cabello owns his own gym in nearby Fort Worth, so the loss wasn’t necessarily catastrophic. Then just three days later, he got another call.

“They wanted to pay me to come back,” he said. “They wanted to pay me cash. It kind of threw me off. Then Johny called me and said, ‘I did know anything about it, I don’t agree with it, and we need to figure something out. I’m not going to lose you as a coach.’”

So began the separation of the people involved in one of MMA’s great success stories. Hendricks, signed to Team Takedown after a decorated career as a collegiate wrestler, was the only person with the management firm to reach the sport’s apex – a UFC title. Earning a salary in exchange for half his purses, he was able to focus on his career and receive top-level coaching, including his work with Cabello, who offered to round out his grappling-heavy skills and hone his natural power.

But after several missteps, including a weight-cutting debacle that canceled a title eliminator opposite Tyron Woodley at UFC 192, the fractures that had developed over Hendrick’s eight years with Team Takedown grew into issues that couldn’t be overcome.

“In his previous camps, Johny was pulled in a lot of directions,” Cabello said. “You had so many coaches and people involved and owners involved, sitting behind a desk and guessing, never having laced up a glove before. I come from a boxing background, and my guys are taking off four to five pounds a week, we’re six weeks out, and we’re only three pounds out on fight week. It’s an old-school way of getting weight off.”

An email requesting a response to Cabello’s comment wasn’t immediately returned by Team Takedown owner Ted Ehrhardt.

Hendricks announced this past November that he was leaving the team and hiring a new nutrition coach to help keep him on weight. Hendricks (17-3 MMA, 12-3 UFC) and Cabello are now embarking on a new chapter in the UFC fighter’s career, working at Cabello’s gym in advance of a bout with Thompson (11-1 MMA, 6-1 UFC) in the headliner of UFC Fight Night 82, which takes place Feb. 6 at Las Vegas’ MGM Grand Garden Arena.

Originally billed as UFC 196, the event was moved from pay-per-view to FOX Sports 1 when heavyweight champ Fabricio Werdum was injured and withdrew from a bout with injury-replacement Stipe Miocic.

After being declared a middleweight by UFC President Dana White, Hendricks, who hasn’t fought since a decision over Matt Brown this past March at UFC 185, convinced the promotion to give him another shot at welterweight. Cabello said the ex-champ is now trying to prove he is still viable in the division.

Although Cabello claims to see the Hendricks who showed up to the gym prior to a controversial decision loss to now-former champ Georges St-Pierre at UFC 167, he makes sure he checks up. He said they have conference calls that include Louis Giordano, the nutritionist who took over after Hendricks’ long stint with Mike Dolce.

It’s well known that Hendricks battles with the scale have been in part due to his diet, which previously included regular trips to fast-food joints.

“He’s got a good relationship with Lou that he’s never had with his previous guy,” Cabello said. “Lou keeps us updated. We’re on the same loop. I judge Johny on what the work output I get out of him. His energy level, the weight he’s coming in at and the weight he’s coming into practice, it’s never been like this before, that’s what I can say.

“Will we have bumps in the road? I don’t know. I don’t know how next week’s going to look. But right now, we’re ahead of schedule.”

Hendricks’ bout with Thompson comes at a critical juncture. At best, he’ll be able to stay in the hunt for the title. At worst, he might be sent to another division. Cabello said he’s watched a lot of tape on Thompson and said he’s got the right game plan for the fight.

It’s a game plan that’s presumably been put together by fewer people. Soon, fans will see whether or not that’s a good thing.

“If he does stand and bang with Johny, that’d be cool for us,” Cabello said. “But he’s going to move around a little bit, and we’re going to have to control him and keep him from that left hand and touch him as much as possible. If he wants to force the wrestle or get in the clinch, we’re fine with that too, but we’re going to have to keep him in front of us for as long as possible.”

For more on UFC Fight Night 82, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.

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