The 'rebirth' of ex-champ Johny Hendricks begins at UFC 196: 'I still have it'

Johny Hendricks has made some drastic changes to his training regiment over the past few months. He hopes those changes pay off in the form of a victory over Stephen Thompson at UFC 196.

Hendricks (17-3 MMA, 12-3 UFC) has received some harsh criticism over the past few months since he was forced to withdraw from a scheduled welterweight title-eliminator with Tyron Woodley at UFC 192 in October.

“Bigg Rigg” was slated to meet Woodley in a grudge match several years in the making, but when his weight cut went awry in the days leading up to the event, he was removed from the contest due to medical concerns.

It was an embarrassing misstep for the former UFC champion, and one Hendricks didn’t take lightly. He left his longtime training home at Team Takedown, parted ways with his management team, and enlisted the of assistance nutritional expert Louis Giordano. Most everyone around Hendricks is a fresh face with the exception of two striking coaches. He said he’s pleased with the changes.

“I do have (Tony Cabello and Steven Wright), my two striking coaches; my striking’s got a lot better having them around,” Hendricks told MMAjunkie Radio. “These are coaches I’ve been around the last two years. They know me inside and out. They know what I can do. They know what my goals are, and our goals are the same, and that makes it so much better.”

Despite the fact UFC President Dana White encouraged Hendricks to move up middleweight following the UFC 192 incident, Hendricks said he never truly considered that option. He wanted to stay in the division where he was once champion, and with almost an entirely new group around to guide his career, Hendricks said a new chapter has begun.

“It’s sort of the rebirth,” Hendricks said. “Me and my coaches have been talking about it and say, ‘We have a new lease on life. We’re going to do what we can and we’re going to make the best of it.'”

Hendricks’ “rebirth” begins with the matchup against Thompson (11-1 MMA, 6-1 UFC) at UFC 196 on Feb. 6. The event takes places at Las Vegas’ MGM Grand Garden Arena with the main card on pay-per-view following prelims on FOX Sports 1 and UFC Fight Pass.

Thompson brings a divisional-best five-fight UFC winning streak into the biggest fight of his career. “Wonderboy” scored a highlight-reel spinning wheel-kick knockout of Jake Ellenberger at July’s TUF 21 Finale, and the flashy striker will likely try to put Hendricks away in an equally brutal fashion.

Hendricks said he wouldn’t have any of it, though. As the No. 2-ranked fighter in the USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie MMA welterweight rankings, Hendricks knows he has a lot to lose against No. 13-ranked Thompson.

Although Thompson may have the momentum based off recent results, Hendricks said he’s ready to prove why he’s been a perennial contender and champion for several years. Thompson is a talented fighter, Hendricks said, but he’s not yet battle-tested at the sport’s elite level.

“I still have it; I still feel I’m still young at heart,” Hendricks said. “I still move, I’m still fast, I still hit hard, and I have everything to get back to it. I know what I want to get back because I’ve tasted it. That’s the difference between me and him right now. He wants it. I get that. I understand that. But it’s me. It’s not somebody else he’s fighting – it’s me.

“If he has that fire, that’s fine because I can match anyone’s intensity no matter how high they want to go or how low they want to go. I’ve proved that time and time again. Can he match mine? That’s the question. When he gets hit by me, will he still be in there? That’s the question. I’ve been hit by the hardest guys in our weight division and stood toe-to-toe. He hasn’t done that yet. He has yet to face down the barrel of the gun and get hit.”

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