Bigg Rigg would make a terrible politician.
Johny Hendricks brought arguably the greatest MMA fighter in history to the brink in an epic five-round war at UFC 167. A month after winning the bout, George St-Pierre announced he would be taking a hiatus from MMA and vacating his welterweight belt.
At UFC 171, Hendricks and Robbie Lawler slugged it out to decide who was next in line to GSP’s throne and a strong wrestling display in the final round earned Bigg Rigg the decision in a close fight. His first defence as champion would a be a split decision loss to Lawler in the sequel.
Since then, Hendricks has been snubbed for two consecutive title shots and he’s admitted he’s trying to figure out where he stands in the title picture.
“It is what it is,” he told MMAjunkie. “As long as my body’s healthy, I’m going to fight.”
Considering how close both contests with Lawler were, and the fact that Dana White had promised it to him, Hendricks was certain he would get a rematch with the last man to beat him. Instead, fight fans were blessed with one of the greatest fights in MMA history as GSP’s protégé Rory MacDonald was granted a crack at the belt.
After Lawler knocked the Canadian out in the phenomenal fight, it was announced that Carlos Condit would be getting the next shot.
However, Bigg Rigg doesn’t blame the UFC or even Dana White for missing out on another title shot. He reckons the fans are at fault for him being snubbed again.
“It’s not even so much the UFC’s fault. It’s also the fans; whenever they do a polling of the fans, they might want something different.”
Not content with just offending the fans, Hendricks took aim at fan favourite Robbie Lawler.
“It just sucks, because I get injured (after winning the title at UFC 171), I come back, (Lawler) fights (Jake Ellenberger and Matt Brown), and you’re the No. 1 guy – c’mon. I fight, I think I win. I lose, for some crazy reason, right?
“Then all of a sudden I fight somebody, he goes and fights somebody, and instead of him sitting there and saying, ‘You’re the No. 1 contender,’ the fear of losing the belt is what’s keeping him from fighting me.”
Hendricks takes on Tyron Woodley at UFC 193 on Saturday October 3 while Lawler and Condit will square off at UFC 195 on Saturday Januray 2.
