Johny Hendricks on UFC 171 title shot: It was never about GSP

(This story first appeared in Friday’s USA TODAY.)

DALLAS – To hear Johny Hendricks tell it now, it would seem he hardly remembers that bitter November night when, for a brief moment, he felt certain he was mere seconds away from wrapping the UFC’s welterweight belt around his waist.

“As soon as the judges announced what they said, I sort of had to put that in the back of my mind,” Hendricks tells USA TODAY Sports.

It’s a fantastic answer, to be sure – one that should earn the top-ranked 170-pound contender praise for his professionalism and mental strength. How true it actually is, only Hendricks can know for sure. But it sure stands in stark contrast to the words that came out of his mouth before the frustrated fighter exited the cage at UFC 167, forced to leave the belt behind and firmly in the grasp of long-reigning titleholder Georges St-Pierre.

On that night, Hendricks collapsed to his knees when emcee Bruce Buffer revealed two of three judges had awarded St-Pierre the win. After returning to his feet, Hendricks made a public vow.

“I want that belt,” Hendricks said following the loss. “That’s what I just earned, but it was taken away from me. I swear to God that won’t happen again.”

Hendricks (15-2 MMA, 10-2 UFC) gets a chance to live up to that promise on Saturday, when he meets fellow top contender Robbie Lawler (22-9 MMA, 7-3 UFC) for the UFC welterweight title that has since been vacated by St-Pierre, who cited a need for a break from the spotlight as his reason for giving up the belt. The five-round championship bout headlines UFC 171, which takes place at Dallas’ American Airlines (10 p.m. ET, pay-per-view).

It would be understandable if Hendricks were crediting anger as his driving force. After all, at the conclusion of his first championship fight, there was nary a mark on his face. Meanwhile, St-Pierre’s battered features made it evident he had survived an epic clash. But the 30-year-old Hendricks insists that type of emotion would simply distract him from the task at hand.

“I’ve got a very tough opponent in front of me,” Hendricks says. “If I don’t focus all on him, then sort of the same thing can happen. I have another great opportunity, and I don’t want to waste it.”

There’s no doubt that both Hendricks and Lawler are deserving of the opportunity to claim the belt that St-Pierre, the UFC’s longtime king of PPV, left behind. One of them will become the promotion’s first undisputed welterweight champ other than St-Pierre since 2008. But Hendricks, a two-time NCAA Division I national wrestling champion at Oklahoma State, said a title victory wouldn’t be soured by claiming a vacant version rather than stealing the belt directly from St-Pierre’s waist.

“It was never about Georges,” Hendricks says. “It was always the belt. The belt means everything, so (with) a win on Saturday, my goal will be reached.”

Hendricks boasts eight knockouts among his 15 career wins. Meanwhile, Lawler owns an incredible 18 striking finishes in his 22 career victories. Whereas the fight with St-Pierre was a technical affair full of subtle nuances in positioning and tactics, Hendricks’ bout with Lawler could see either fighter claim a swift, highlight-reel win.

“You’re one punch away from losing, but those are also the more fun fights for me,” Hendricks says. “You don’t know what’s going to happen, other than that you’re going to step into an octagon and hopefully you get your hand raised.

“I think that’s what makes the fans excited now, is that they don’t know what’s going to happen. They don’t know if we’re going to knock each other out.”

In some ways, Hendricks is right. Forgetting about the pain of that November loss is probably the best way to deal with such a disappointing moment in his career. But on Saturday night – whether he’ll admit it or not – he’ll have a chance to exact some measure of revenge, even if it’s a different man standing on the other side of the cage.

“I can’t think backwards,” Hendricks said. “It’s a pretty stacked division, very talented people in the top 10. Now that Georges walked away, it’s time for one of us to make our own mark. That’s pretty much what I’m looking at.”

For the latest on UFC 171, stay tuned to the UFC Rumors section of the site.

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10 facts about the UFC 171 main event

Johny Hendricks
1. One of four fighters in UFC history with three sub-one minute KOs
2. Owner of second-quickest KO (12 seconds) in UFC welterweight history
3. Never been knocked down in MMA career
4. Second-best takedown accuracy rate (57 percent) among active UFC welterweights (minimum 20 attempts)
5. Five fight-night bonuses worth $300,000 in past seven fights

Robbie Lawler
1. 3-0 since moving from middleweight to welterweight
2. 18 of 22 career wins via knockout
3. Twelve first-round victories
4. 82 percent UFC takedown accuracy (UFC average: 41 percent)
5. Former Strikeforce, EliteXC, ICON Sport and Superbrawl champ
– Mike Bohn

Below, see what’s at stake in the UFC’s welterweight division at UFC 171 on Saturday.

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