Johny Hendricks: I understand you have to put on a show for the fans
Posted on December 24, 2011, 11:09 PM by Trent ReinsmithJohny Hendricks will step into the Octagon on Friday December 30 in what will be the biggest fight of his 11-1 career. Hendricks, who last fought at UFC 133, defeating Mike Pierce via split decision; will face Jon Fitch on the pay per view card of UFC 141.
The one thing that many fans seem to be concerned about in this bout is the potential for it to be a “boring” wrestling match. That concern is based around the fact that both Fitch and Hendricks were accomplished amateur wrestlers before making the jump to MMA. Hendricks was a two-time NCAA champion and four-time All-American while wrestling for Oklahoma State University. For his part, Fitch captained the Perdue wrestling time, compiling a career record of 97-12.
While Hendricks can understand the fear that two elite wrestlers facing each other could result in a “boring” fight he does not thing they need to worry as he feels he employs a fan friendly fighting style in the Octagon, “Look…if you have two guys who are really good at wrestling and are able to compete against each other at a high level that is when it has the potential to be a boring fight. But each fighter is different. I personally don’t think I am a boring fighter, at least I hope not, but if I were to fight someone who is stylistically similar to me it could end up being boring. You do what you have to do in order to get your hand raised, but there has to be a little bit of both. What I mean is that although it’s all about getting your hand raised, I do understand that you have to put on a bit of a show for the fans.” – for more see MMASucka.com
What do you think LowKick’ers, will the Fitch versus Hendricks fight be an exciting fight and who do you feel will prevail?
Further Reading: Jon Fitch is itching to fight, ready to "Smash On" Johny Hendricks at UFC 141
Photo: MMAWeekly.com
Comments
I got Hendricks wining this fight. He could pull of an upset in this one. Hendricks by anal rape.
Well his profile picture fits.
Fitch has been wanting his title shot, and I think that he'll probably feel Hendricks is a step back from that when he just fought Penn. I think Fitch'll take more chances in this fight to work for the finish. They're both really tough though, so there might not be one. I don't care if it goes to decision though, just as long as they're beating the crap out of each other the whole time.
i wish fitch wins by stoppage cause the guy has been really focused and dedicated. too bad ppl cant see it
we all see how hard fitch works and how talented he is. we just dont see him finish ANY fights in his latest title and thats the problem
As a mixed martial artist your a fighter/ENTERTAINER, believe it or not if your a UFC fighter you have two jobs to do that night, win the fight and make it exciting. fitch is living proof that winning fights isn't enough
I personally love watching Fitch fight. Some people like watching very skilled grapplers domminate someone and beat the crap out of them for the length of the match. Some "MMA" fans detest when the fight goes to the ground at all. Different strokes for different folks, I guess.
considering i do BJJ i would say i also enjoy to see somebody dominate someone on the ground lol but thats not what fitch does, theres nothing dominant about getting a takedown and not even being able to pass someones guard.. but with that being said he still wins which is the tricky part about the argument lol I'm just saying his style loses him fans and opportunities and thats a fact. he needs to stop bitching and try to please the fans a little more, as great as GSP he even gets criticized for not finishing fights so wtf does fitch expect
Its not only how much ppl hate fitch its also how much ufc hates fitch. St pierre is a major draw in canada so doesnt get that much critisim whereas fitch gets
I do BJJ too, and I disagree. It doesn't matter what position you are in. If you are completely nullifying their entire ability to fight, it's dominant. Fitch could pass more if he wanted to, but he's fine beating people up in guard. It's not like punches in guard don't hurt. By comparison, when Denis Kang fought Michael Bisping, he floored him in the first round, then stayed on top for the rest of the round. Despite many guard passes, even getting mount a couple times, he was unable to launch any ground and pound and couldn't attempt a single submission. I don't think he was more dominant in that round than Jon Fitch is in his fights.
Well if you do BJJ you should understand what it means to dominate someone on the ground. if you can't even pass someones guard then your not dominating anybody. and if you reply with "fitch doesn't want to pass the guard" then you clearly don't grapple or understand the possibilities for offense when you pass the guard and obtain side control, the mount, or the back. The main point of going to the ground in MMA is to improve position and finish... Just because dennis kang can't finish from the mount doesn't mean shyt lol thats a terrible example, of course fitch wants to improve his position on the ground, he's just can't do it because he doesn't want to risk it.
Look, fitch is a fantastic fighter, nobody is ignorant to the fact that he is one of the best in the game win wise, but he's not a dominator, he's a nullifier, and a frustrater. the problem isn't that he is a grappler he's just a boring ass grappler and thats why fans(casual and hardcore alike) get frustrated.
I think we have different definitions of the word dominant.
I was just pointing out that guard passing has little to do with dominance on the ground. I do know of the possibilities of passing guard, but also of the possibilities of staying in guard. If you are in guard, the one big advantage that you have is that your body weight is squarely above your opponent, and it gives them fewer options for escaping the grapple entirely. It's a bad idea against someone skilled in BJJ, because they know many submissions and sweeps from this position, but Fitch is so unbelievably DOMINANT on top that they can't implement any of them. His game is to stay on top and beat them up until they quit or the ref pulls him off, and he's so good at it that no one can really do anything to stop him. That's dominance.
In retrospect, I suppose this difference of opinion boils down to the difference in strategy implemented by wrestling and BJJ. What Fitch had in round 3 against BJ Penn is what wrestlers are striving to get: opponents head against the cage, folded in half, pinned, and getting beat up. This is the classic wrestling equivalent of full mount: opponent pinned and helpless to fight back.
Would like to see UFC only offer fights to Fitch guys that he would be afraid to go to the ground. Maia, Jacare, Palhares, you now REAL grapplers.
If Maia dropped to Welterweight I'd love to see Fitch fight him too. They're two of my favorite fighters, and I'd be interested to see which one came out on top.