Johny Hendricks Not Worried About Georges St. Pierre’s Potential Return
Georges St. Pierre vs. Johny Hendricks was one of the most significant bouts of 2013. It was a five-round war and St. Pierre’s last title defense to date. Although GSP had the belt around his waist after the fight, many fans, media members, and other fighters believe Hendricks should’ve been awarded the belt in the highly controversial decision.
Since then, “Rush” has decided to vacate his belt to take a personal leave of absence and “Big Rigg” was able to finally grab the gold when he defeated Robbie Lawler last March at UFC 171. However, it seems as if the two men’s names will always go hand in hand.
Hendricks still gets questions about the decision, and it is quite evident that the rumors of GSP returning have been nonstop since the moment he announced his semi-retirement. UFC president Dana White believes his former champ will eventually return as does St. Pierre’s coach.
It seems as if everyone is interested in seeing the Canadian superstar back in action. That is everyone except the current welterweight king Hendricks.
“As of right now, I’m not paying attention to it,” Hendricks told FOX Sports when St-Pierre’s name came up. “How long have we been hearing that story? For a year, right? So as soon as he retired, after the Robbie Lawler fight, I heard he was coming back. He’s putting on extra weight, he’s doing this so he can be prepared for me.”
It’s also ironic that almost everyone, including promoters, coaches, and fans have claimed that “Rush” will return, except St. Pierre himself. The Canadian has not really stated any intentions on returning to the octagon in the last year, and until he signs on to fight, Hendricks is not worried about him:
“Until he actually says I’m in the Octagon, I’m coming back to the UFC it doesn’t matter,” Hendricks said. It’s not something I can focus on. It’s not something I can worry about.”
This is smart of “Bigg Rigg” to not focus on St. Pierre because after all he has a huge test in front of him. Hendricks will defend his belt for the first time next weekend at UFC 181 in a rematch against the surging Lawler.
Hendricks also mentioned that beating St. Pierre is not all he is aiming for. He wants to sit atop the welterweight division for a long time and in order to do so he must focus on his next opponent, “Ruthless”.
“If I can be a four-year reigning champion, that’s what I’m going to strive for,” Hendricks said. “You train for that. You train to win and win and win. You don’t train so you can say ‘I got to where I want to be, now I’m satisfied’. My new goal is how long can I stay there. How long can I stay welterweight champion?”
Although he claims not to care about a rematch with St. Pierre, that controversial loss has to be in the back of his mind at all times. Will Hendricks ever get a chance at redemption against GSP?
