Former UFC welterweight champion Johny Hendricks who is no longer under UFC contract and has gone 1-4 in his last five fights, but Hendricks says UFC has already sought him and offered him a new proposal.
After facing multiple weight cutting problems, Johny Hendricks changed the division to middleweight but now considering a return to 170 pounds. Hendricks reportedly fought out his UFC deal back in November, when he lost the bout via TKO in the second round to rising middleweight, Paulo Henrique Costa.
Still, a free agent Johny Hendricks, during his interview with ‘MMA Junkie‘ discussed that he would want to return to his original weight class where he won the title. (Quotes via MMAFighting)
“I’m a free agent,” said Hendricks. “I am up for grabs. The UFC stills wants me. They want me back at 170 [pounds] and I agree. If you’re gonna keep giving me these big ol’ 85 pounders, I’ve got to get back down to 170.”
Hendricks’ last three contests were at middleweight, which included a missing weight in his TKO loss to Tim Boetsch last Jun and the only victory he earned at middleweight, was against Hector Lombard.
While it’s not farfetched to believe he can make a comeback, it would likely take a huge diet change in order for Hendricks to make the 170-pound limit consistently.
“Right after my last fight I emailed them saying, ‘Hey, I want to go back to 170. Obviously, y’all don’t want me at 185. I understand,’” said Hendricks. “And realistically, the only reason I went up to 185 was because I thought I had one more fight on my contract. So I go, screw 170, I’m gonna go to 85 and then we can renegotiate a contract. . .
“Needless to say, I got two big ol’ boys and it didn’t go the way I wanted it to. But after fighting those fights, it really brought back something in me because I was like, ‘Dude, they don’t kick that hard.’ I still hurt all those 85-pounders with my punches and with my kicks. So if I can hurt 85-pounders, what can I do if I go back to 170. It sort of built my confidence back up to where I believe in my power, I believe in what I can do.”
Hendricks said, his last two defeats help rejuvenate his confidence, hoping to carry down to welterweight. Let’s see what happens, and further, if he re-signs with the UFC. He needs to put on lots of hard work to make weight, and moreover, he needs few wins in order for him to stay longer with the promotion.
