Johny Hendricks is a Win Over Carlos Condit Away From UFC Title Shot

UFC president Dana White said during Thursday’s UFC 158: St-Pierre vs. Diaz pre-fight press conference that if Johny Hendricks defeats Carlos Condit this weekend, he’ll have earned the No. 1 contender slot in the welterweight division.

“The guy who comes out of this fight (Hendricks vs. Condit) the winner is definitely the No. 1 contender,” said White.

Condit was defeated by Georges St-Pierre in his last outing at UFC 154 in November, but had his moments in the fight.  He defeated Nick Diaz at UFC 143 in February 2012 to earn the shot at St-Pierre.

If Condit defeats Hendricks, it will not gain him a rematch with the titleholder, unless of course Nick Diaz wins the main event on Saturday.  In that case, he may very well face Diaz next.  A rematch between the two was scheduled before Diaz was suspended for a year following their first meeting for testing positive to marijuana.

“Obviously, if (Hendricks) beats Carlos Condit, I just think that Carlos Condit is the right fight for him to make him the No. 1 contender.  Condit just fought him (Georges St-Pierre), you know what I mean,” said White following the press conference when explaining why Hendricks would get a shot at GSP, but not necessarily Condit.

Hendricks is on a five-fight winning streak with first-round knockouts over contenders Jon Fitch and Martin Kampmann.  He’s the top ranked UFC welterweight following Georges St-Pierre.

Hendricks, whom most feel is the true No. 1 contender at 170 pounds, reacted to the news.

“That’s what I was hoping for, one more fight to get better and also face another top opponent.  If I get a win over him, that’s awesome,” he said.

Hendricks feels he matches up well with the champion, and anticipates that St-Pierre will retain his title on Saturday.

“I’m pretty sure Georges St-Pierre’s going to win; so I want to face Georges St-Pierre,” said Hendricks during Wednesday’s UFC 158 open workouts.

“The only way to beat Georges St-Pierre, there’s two ways: knock him out, or do the same thing he does to everyone else, and guess what, my wrestling is good enough to make sure I can do what he does to everyone else. I promise you that.”