Takedowns and top control, Johny Hendricks “jiu-jitsu,” in other words, was enough to overcome Matt Brown at UFC 185 on Saturday night, but it wasn’t the least bit impressive to UFC President Dana White.
“I’m happy for Johny. He’s come off a rough, I guess we’ll call it a couple of years, but yeah, I didn’t love the fight,” White told Ariel Helwani, when appearing on Fox Sports 1.
Hendricks, who is 2-2 in his last four fights, was coming off a split-decision loss to UFC welterweight champ Robbie Lawler. He hoped to earn a third fight with Lawler after defeating Brown, but White was non-committal on the future of the title picture.
“I don’t know,” White said, when asked if Hendricks did enough to become the next welterweight title contender.
Hendricks did what he had to do to get the win against a fighter like Brown, who breathes flames and eats nails for breakfast. All jokes aside, there are very few fighters who measure up to Brown on a toughness scale.
Hendricks abandoned the brawler’s mentality and reverted to his wrestling, the bread-and-butter skill set that turned him into a world-class athlete.
For the most part, the welterweight division has been a game of musical chairs with plenty of moving parts. There hasn’t been any consistency in the division since Georges St-Pierre’s record-running title reign back in 2013.
But Hendricks shouldn’t get his beard in a knot. Outside of Tyron Woodley, Hendricks is the only viable contender at 170 pounds. The UFC could opt to do a No. 1 contender’s bout between the former collegiate wrestling adversaries, but it would be wise to cash in on the rubber match as soon as possible.
Lawler is scheduled to defend his title in a rematch with Rory MacDonald in July, which means Hendricks would likely have to sit out until the end of the year. The future of the welterweight division will hinge on the health of the emerging UFC champion.
Jordy McElroy is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report. He is also the MMA writer for Rocktagon and FanRag Sports.
