Johny Hendricks is the new UFC welterweight champion, but something just doesn’t feel right.
Hendricks edged Robbie Lawler in the memorable UFC 171 main event Saturday night, and although his battle scars haven’t healed yet, a rematch with Georges St-Pierre is already on his mind.
“I’d like to fight Georges again,” Hendricks told Showdown Joe Ferraro in Dallas. “I think it’s some unfinished business.”
St-Pierre won a close, controversial split decision over Hendricks at UFC 167 in November before the Canadian took an indefinite leave of absence. St-Pierre, who officially vacated the title in December, never said he is retired but has no immediate plans to return to the UFC.
“I know he’s a very talented guy. I’m not going to take anything away from him,” Hendricks said. “He’s been a great champion. I just want to see if I can win it from him. If I can win it from him I can really solidify what I need to do. I really think if I can beat Georges and get the belt from him, personally, then it means I’m on my way to doing great things.”
On Saturday, welterweight star Nick Diaz called out the new champ and told Sportsnet Hendricks would get an “ass-whooping,” while UFC 171 winners Tyron Woodley and Hector Lombard also said they each deserve a title shot.
“That’s their job,” Hendricks said of the contenders wanting to fight for the belt. “My job’s to be at the top and hold it. Nothing else matters. I plan on holding it as long as I can and that’s it.”
Canadian Rory MacDonald, who was victorious last month at UFC 170, also called out “Bigg Rigg.”
https://twitter.com/rory_macdonald/status/445058652458983425
“That’s what I wanted,” Hendricks explained. “From the very get-go, what did I say? I want to be the UFC champ and the guy that everybody calls out, so they’re doing their job. Now it’s up to Dana White and my manager to figure out who is the next person to come after this.”
White told Sportsnet the UFC has plenty of options for Hendricks’s first title defence, but at the moment there’s no frontrunner.
“That’s a good problem to have…We’ll figure it out,” White said.
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