6, the UFC will host UFC Fight Night 82: Hendricks vs. Thompson from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
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Johny Hendricks spoke with MMAjunkie about his fight with Stephen Thompson at UFC Fight Night 82. His welterweight bout against former champion Johny Hendricks will serve as the main event of a card that now will air on Fox Sports 1.
On his plan of attack: “It’s not secrets: I want to win. I really believe this is my fight to win and I’m going to go out there and show why I deserve to be where I want to be and show the world that I’m sorry for missing weight, and that I’m better than I was before”.
Of course the UFC failed to tell Thompson that the main event was shifting from three to five round when he was first offered the main event slot, but it didn’t upset the karate prodigy because he had quietly been preparing for that possibility all along.
Johny Hendricks is finally in control.
Hendricks wrestling is on another level though and if he’s sensible and uses that fact to his advantage then he could make life very hard for his opponent. And if he came up to welterweight, I just think that would be a really bad thing. Studies have shown that moderate dehydration is more effectively cured by oral rehydration, compared to IV hydration, but weight cutting professional fighters do not fall into the category of “moderately dehydrated”. When he won a unanimous decision victory over the very tough Matt Brown.
“For me, I know it’s big. Ain’t going to let hit happen though; going to keep him out in the middle of the Octagon and pick him apart with my hands and feet”. He’s a respectable striker, but doesn’t have a great deal of power which is good news for Pyle who’s ability to take a punch isn’t the best. Carlos Condit has better striking than you.
“I remember going to the second UFC (event), I was probably 12-years-old, in Charlotte, and now I’m fighting in this sport for the biggest promotion in the world, the UFC”. Josh Koscheck was going to outstrike me and outwrestle me. “He might have to be a little anxious about that”. The event was originally scheduled to be UFC 196 with a main event clash between heavyweight champion Fabricio Werdum and former champion Cain Velasquez.
Hendricks, a two-time national champion at OSU, is coming off what he calls the biggest disappointment of his athletic career, which came outside the cage at UFC 192 in October. “He’ll take Thompson down and grind it out”. “Like I said, if I moved up to middleweight, I would have to do some different things”.
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The first two fights on the card will stream live on the UFC’s online platform, Fight Pass, at 4.
