Mike Dolce believes Johny Hendricks is hands-down the best Welterweight in the world
Nutritionist Mike Dolce has made a ton of waves recently with his elaborate and effective weight-cutting plans for top tier fighters. He came to the aid of Welterweight Johny Hendricks for his bout with Martin Kampmann at UFC 154, where ‘Big Rigg’ knocked out the Dutchman in 46 seconds. Speaking with MMAJunkie.com, Dolce has come to the defense of Hendricks in response to GSP’s head coach Firas Zahabi‘s statement yesterday that Nick Diaz is the rightful number-one contender to St-Pierre’s long-held title:
“”I believe that they are avoiding Johny because Johny is a better wrestler than Georges St-Pierre, and Johny possess knockout power to defeat Georges. If Georges can’t take down Johny, he’s got to stand. If Georges has to stand with Johny, he’s in a lot of trouble.”
A bold proclamation from a nutritionist to be sure, as it is tough to say that Georges St-Pierre is truly in trouble standing against anyone not named Anderson Silva. However Dolce went on to discuss the recent records of both Diaz and Hendricks, and it’s hard to argue with the points he brought up:
“I’m looking at Nick’s record right now. He beat K.J. Noons, a 155-pounder; Evangelista ‘Cyborg’ (Santos), and who is he? Then Paul Daley – all right, Paul Daley’s tough. Then B.J. Penn, a very uninspired B.J. Penn, who’s a lightweight. He beat two lightweights, one very fringe welterweight, and Paul Daley.”
“Then you look at who Johny fought. Johny fought Mike Pierce, who’s very tough and underrated. Then he comes in and knocks out Fitch, beats Koscheck, and knocks out Kampmann. It’s hands down – Johny deserves a shot. But Johny’s not going to call anybody out. He’s not going to get into a Twitter battle. Johny’s in the gym right now, training – that’s what he does.”
What do you think as fans? Is Hendricks the most deserving of a shot at GSP’s belt? Or is it in the best interest of the UFC to put on a truly huge bout in the form of GSP versus Anderson Silva or Nick Diaz? Hendricks may not be the most popular, well-known, or outspoken fighter, and this could come into play heavily. Dolce acknowledged this by saying:
“Johny grows out his beard and he wears cowboy boots, so he looks atypical; he doesn’t look like your typical athlete. I think that’s a little bit of a problem. St-Pierre wears the Under Armour, he wears the Nike, he looks every bit the part of that super athlete. You put those two guys in the cage and you’re going to see who the best welterweight in the world is, and that’s Johny Hendricks, hands down.”
Quite the strong words from Dolce. Will he end up eating them or look like a genius?
