Former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) welterweight title holder Johny Hendricks has retired.
Off the heels of retirements from former UFC champions Michael Bisping and Rashad Evans, another former title holder is hanging up his gloves. After 26 professional mixed martial arts bouts, “Big Rigg” has decided it’s time to walk away. He retires having won UFC gold in the welterweight division.
Hendricks said the following on MMA Junkie Radio:
“I’m done. I’m retiring. I’m getting out of the MMA world. I’ve been thinking about this long and hard for a while. I’m going to get back to my roots. I’m going to start coaching at All Saints. I coached a little bit of high school last year, but I’m going to make the move over to All Saints and start doing those things.”
Hendricks captured the vacant UFC 170-pound title back in March 2014. He defeated Robbie Lawler via unanimous decision. The bout headlined UFC 171.
“Big Rigg” was challenged once again by Lawler, but this time it was “Ruthless” who walked away with gold. Lawler won the rematch via split decision in the main event of UFC 181 nearly nine months after their first encounter.
After losing his championship, Hendricks went on to go 2-5. His fall from grace was so great that he wasn’t in the UFC’s top 15 welterweight or middleweight rankings before announcing his retirement. In his prime, Hendricks was known for having knockout power. His wrestling also landed him some key victories.
Hendricks’ biggest moment perhaps wasn’t even his title victory. Back in Nov. 2013, Hendricks took on Georges St-Pierre. The bout went five rounds and many believed “Big Rigg” did enough to win the fight over a bruised “Rush.” Instead, Hendricks lost a controversial split decision. It was the most high-profile bout in Hendricks’ career and it led to another title opportunity, which he ended up winning.
How do you think Johny Hendricks will be remembered?
