Johny Hendricks didn’t break his hand after all. In fact, the new UFC welterweight No. 1 contender’s injury that he suffered in the first round of his fight vs. Carlos Condit at Saturday’s UFC 158 in Montreal is not as bad as feared, and he would like a matchup with champion Georges St-Pierre as early as this summer.
After saying in the post-fight press conference he hurt his left hand in the first round and thought it might be broken, Hendricks tweeted an update on his status earlier this week.
On FUEL TV’s “UFC Tonight” Tuesday night, the 28-year-old said he’s targeting an August date with St-Pierre. UFC 163 is currently set for Aug. 3, with featherweight champion Jose Aldo headlining against Anthony Pettis, while the organization announced last week that UFC 164 will take place in Milwaukee on Aug. 31.
Neither of those events is likely for GSP vs. Hendricks however; UFC president Dana White said he wants GSP’s next bout to be in Las Vegas, where the promotion’s No. 1 draw hasn’t competed since the landmark UFC 100 in July 2009.
After St-Pierre defeated Nick Diaz in a hard-fought, five-round battle at the Bell Centre Saturday, the champion said he would like to take a vacation of 5-7 days in an exotic place to “not think about fighting for a while.” But he said it was more of a mental vacation than physical, and he would “still train while on vacation.”
But many thought St-Pierre might want take a little longer layoff than the last one, considering the mental toll the whole Diaz saga took on him. That, combined with the uncertainty of Hendricks’ injury, put the timeline for their meeting up in the air.
But Hendricks tweeted late Monday night some first positive signs on his hand.
And then after Tuesday’s good news, he posted another status Wednesday that suggests he’s eager and will be ready to go much sooner than later.
Regardless of how long it will take for his hand to be 100 per cent, Hendricks already said at the UFC 158 post-fight press conference that nothing would hold him back. He said he would train through the pain and added that he was already playing the bout through his head.
“I believe I’ve got better wrestling than him,” Hendricks said. “I also hit harder than him. That’s a proven fact. I’m just excited for the opportunity. Hopefully, I can finish him.”
But that’s about as far as any trash-talk will go from Hendricks. In the post-fight interview after he defeated Condit, he did call out GSP, saying he wanted to fight him back on his home turf in five months.
“GSP, please give me that,” Hendricks said. “If not, I’ll fly to your house, hire a ref and we’ll do something about it.”
But Hendricks explained that was more about not wanting to be skipped over for a title shot again like he was with Diaz.
“I don’t want to sit there and badmouth somebody,” Hendricks said. “I don’t want to hate somebody to fight them. This is my job.”
He doesn’t have to worry about that this time. He’s the No. 1 contender, so says White, and so agrees St-Pierre.
PRE-FIGHT TRADITION
While the fighter known just as much for his patented beard as his killer left hand kept his followers up to date on his fight status, Hendricks gave them a jolt of a different nature when he posted a photo of himself with a fan on Tuesday.
Apparently, his clean-shaven-ness had many concerned. He alleviated those concerns fairly quickly.
UFC 158 MEDICAL SUSPENSIONS
Despite a few big knockouts and a number of bumps and bruises, no fighters have been forced to the sidelines for too long.
The Régie des alcools, des courses et des jeux, which runs Quebec’s athletic commission, released its medical suspensions following UFC 158, and Nate Marquardt was handed the biggest one at 60 days after he was knocked out by Jake Ellenberger.
Headliners St-Pierre and Diaz received 28-day bans, while thanks to him avoiding a major hand injury, Hendricks will only have to sit out 14 days (same as Condit). Three fighters were given 45 days, and three 30 days. All the rest had 14 or less.
Here is the full list of medical suspensions:
Georges St-Pierre: 28 days | Nick Diaz: 28 days
Johny Hendricks: 14 days | Carlos Condit: 14 days
Jake Ellenberger: 7 days | Nate Marquardt: 60 days
Chris Camozzi: 14 days | Nick Ring: 14 days
Mike Ricci: 14 days | Colin Fletcher: 14 days
Patrick Cote: 14 days | Bobby Voelker: 14 days
Darren Elkins: 7 days | Antonio Carvalho: 30 days
Jordan Mein: 7 days | Dan Miller: 30 days
John Makdessi: 14 days | Daron Cruickshank: 45 days
Rick Story: 7 days | Quinn Mulhern: 30 days
T.J. Dillashaw: 7 days | Issei Tamura: 45 days
George Roop: 14 days | Reuben Duran: 45 days
