Fighters Only

Issue 122

December 2014

FORGET THE BELT, HENDRICKS IS FIGHTING FOR HIS UFC SPOT

UFC welterweight champion Johny Hendricks may well be headlining UFC 181 on December 6th, making the maiden defense of his 170lb belt, but the returning ‘Bigg Rigg’ feels like anything but the champion.

Hendricks faces Robbie Lawler in a rematch of March’s vacant title barnstormer, in which the new title holder suffered a torn bicep injury that subsequently ruled him out of action for the past six months.

But after finally being given the green light by his doctors to return to training in August, Hendricks, who revealed he’d lost a lot of muscle mass sitting on the sidelines, says he’s got a hungry, challenger’s mentality heading into the Mandalay Bay Events Center showpiece.

Speaking to Bleacher Report, Hendricks said: “For me, the title is no more, if that makes sense. The way I’ve gotten to where I’m at is to say, ‘I’m 0-0 and fighting for my spot in the UFC. Do I make it or do I get cut?’

“That’s the way I like to do it, because it makes things simpler. I get to wake up, I get to train. Yeah the belt is always going to be there, but if I focus too much on that it pulls me away from other things I need to focus on.”

In Hendricks’ absence, Lawler staked his claim for an immediate rematch by halting Jake Ellenberger in May and then outpointing Matt Brown in a ‘Fight of the Night’ final eliminator in July.

FO SCORE: Just as we were all fearing a fizzling end to what’s been an explosive year for the UFC’s 170lb weight division, back comes Hendricks for the rematch we all want to see.

2.8 million

The first episode of TUF 20 attracted nearly 3 million viewers across its various repeats on Fox Sports. A huge final figure, seeing as the actual premier attracted a little over 500,000.

1,054

According to the UFC, 10% of the 10,544 tickets available for UFC 178 in September were purchased by Irish fans traveling to see Conor McGregor.

ROUSEY SET FOR JANUARY RETURN

Ronda Rousey will return to the Octagon to defend her women’s bantamweight championship against Cat Zingano early next year, according to UFC president Dana White.

Rousey, who has recently been out of action due to injuries to her knee and hand, was at UFC 178 to watch Zingano come from behind to earn a third-round TKO over Amanda Nunes.

“She (Zingano) ran over and started screaming after the fight, ‘Do you see me? Do you see me?’ Yes I see you. She needed to remind everybody why she was in line for a title fight. She did it tonight,” White said afterwards.

Rousey vs. Zingano is likely to take place at either UFC 182 or UFC 183, both planned for January 2015.

WHAT'S HOT

IRISH PRIDE

The Irish were certainly in full force for Conor McGregor’s victory over Dustin Poirier in Las Vegas

BRANDON HALSEY

Could we be looking at the next ‘Breakthrough Fighter of the Year’?

DILLASHAW VS. CRUZ

The footwork will be so fast in this 135lb title clash that we might need to watch in slow motion to keep up

WHAT'S NOT

ROMERO’S STOOL

This is the second time Yoel Romero has had serious ‘stool’ issues in the Octagon, although both were very different

KHABIB’S KNEE INJURY