Johny Hendricks Says Not to Doubt His Striking

For Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson, this past Tuesday was filled with anxious excitement. The last time we saw the former welterweight champion Hendricks in action was back in March 2015.

Hendricks was going to fight Tyron Woodley a few months ago but was hospitalized for a weight cut gone wrong that left him with a kidney stone that had to be passed. In fact, much of the MMA community felt as if “Bigg Rigg” had done enough to win which is why most were stunned when “Rush” was handed a split-decision victory. Thompson has won his last five fights and is coming off a July win over Jake Ellenberger. That’s what this weekend is about.

Johny Hendricks vs. Stephen Thompson headlines a strong night of fights at the MGM Grand Garden Arena at UFC Fight Night 82.

‘I’ve got a new strength and conditioning coach and I’ve been hitting harder and I can maintain that strength for longer, ‘ Hendricks said. He will keep me at the kicking distance definitely. “I want to keep him standing and use my movement and reach and hands and feet to frustrate him. I think about him making weight and that will be the best Johny Hendricks and that is what I am training for”. Rosholt is now in the running for the most boring fighter in the UFC.

And he’s enlisted some talented friends to help him accomplish his goal. This week, one of the men in his corner will be Matt Miller, a member of the Canadian National Wrestling team and the head wrestling coach at the Canadian fight factory on Ferrier Street.

“I feel very confident in my wrestling, my takedown defense”, said Thompson, addressing the perceived hole in his game for the umpteenth time this week.

“Everybody who said they were a better striker than me, I’ve beat them”, Hendricks told FOX Sports. Johny Hendricks (170) vs. Stephen Thompson (170) Roy Nelson (258) vs. Jared Rosholt (245) Ovince St. Preux (206) vs. Rafael Cavalcante (205) Joseph Benavidez (125) vs. Zach Makovsky (125) Misha Cirkunov (206) vs. Alex Nicholson (201) Mike Pyle (170) vs. Sean Spencer (170) Joshua Burkman (156) vs. K.J. Hendricks is a terrific and aggressive wrestler who is averaging almost 4.5 takedowns per match and is defending 61.1 percent of his takedowns. This Saturday’s UFC card features a heavyweight title clash between Fabricio Werdum and Stipe Miocic…er, never mind, Fabricio hurt his back and is out of the fight. “It’s so surreal, it’s ridiculous; it’s nearly like a dream”. I always go out there expecting a war and if the knockout happens, it happens. “It’s a dream come true and I’m blessed to be where I’m at right now”.