Former UFC welterweight champion Johny Hendricks isn’t joking when it comes to his future.
Hendricks will move to middleweight and take on Hector Lombard later this year at UFC Fight Night 105. And for the former Oklahoma State University wrestling standout, it very well could be his final fight.
“Really serious. Really serious,” said Hendricks when asked on Submission Radio about retiring if he loses. “Because realistically, I thought I won that fight (against Neil Magny). And I re-watch it and I re-watch it and I re-watch it. So in Las Vegas, you pressure somebody. I’ve been pressured before and I’ve lost the fight. It’s not that they out-struck me, it’s because they’re more aggressive than me, right? I lose the fight, I get that. Okay, you work on that. Then you go out there and you do this and you lose the fight. Well this fight I pretty much controlled him for what, what would you say? Thirteen minutes? Let’s be on the realistic side and say about 13 minutes for the fight, besides a minute of submission and 15 seconds of a submission – which neither one (was successful). It was gonna get tight, but I made a slight adjustment and it went away. And all of a sudden you lose a fight because of that?
“So that’s why I felt like I won even though I didn’t. So that’s why I’m looking at this going, it’s gotta be the weight, right? It’s gotta be the weight. That’s why I want to do my last one at 185. If I go out there and I don’t feel as strong and I can’t compete, well like I said, that’s really what it’s about, is that I know that I still competed in that match. Even though it wasn’t my best performance, I still competed. And, you know, he doesn’t hit me, he doesn’t do anything, he has this 80-inch reach and he can’t touch me. You know, those are things that I put into consideration. Yes, I said if I lost I would (retire). But again, what I’m saying is, if I go out there and get beat up like I did the last two fights, you know, where I still can’t compete with those guys – which I clearly showed I can’t. Now I’ll be better, I think at 185.
“But like I said, if I go out there and I can’t compete, well I guess I can’t make 170, right? And I’m not going to try to ever again. It’s just too hard on my body. And if I fight good at 185, well then I’m gonna stay there. But if I don’t do good, then guess what, it’s time. I had my fun, I had my time. It’s not worth going out there and training for 12 weeks and then being done, or going out there and just losing. And that’s really what it’s about. And here’s one thing that really leads me to believe that that fight was mine – did you hear the boos after that? The whole crowd thought I won that fight. So I don’t want to leave whenever the fans think I’ve won. And that’s really where my head’s at.”
Hendricks (17-6) has dropped three in a row and four of his last five, earning his lone win last March with a decision over Matt Brown. He’s dropped back-to-back decisions to Magny and Kelvin Gastelum along with a first round TKO defeat to Stephen Thompson.
