Win Or Lose, History Awaits Hendricks

By Frank Curreri

LAS VEGAS – Johny Hendricks is not known as one of those “pick your poison” kind of fighters – you know, the type of elite mixed martial artist that can demoralize and smash opponents no matter where the action goes. The former two-time NCAA wrestling champion is not breathing that rarified air just yet, but he’s been slaving in the gym to acquire such a versatile and fearsome reputation.

The affable Oklahoman jumped headfirst into MMA only two years ago but, much like a seasoned veteran, he already places a high premium on unpredictability. It is a quality that can be detrimental in the so-called “real world,” where too much unpredictability can get you fired at work, cause friends and lovers to abandon you, and have others whispering to others about your sanity. In the cage, however, unpredictability is oh, so heavenly. Kick when they think you will punch. Punch when they think you will kick. Take them down when they think you want to punch. And watch the wins multiply.

Hendricks, though still typecast as a world-class grappler, strives to keep his opponents guessing. He wants them to stay up late at night, worried as much about his punching power as his ground-and-pound. You already know he has the potential to hold you down against your will, maybe even submit you with a guillotine or a D’arce choke. But that’s not enough. Hendricks’ last fight against Justin Haskins illustrates the point well.

“I told myself that I was going to stand up with this guy,” Hendricks said of his strategy before the bout. “I need people to fear my hands. People know that I’m a good wrestler, people know that I’m decent at jiu-jitsu, so they think I’m going to just try and go in there and take them down. That’s easy to prepare for. So for that fight I just wanted to stand up with the guy. I wanted everybody to fear my hands and know that I could stand toe-to-toe, take some punches, dish back and win on my feet. That was my whole mindset.”

It was a bold and daring plan given Hendricks’ relative boxing and kickboxing inexperience. And early on against Haskins it seemed Hendricks was losing the gamble. Being so aggressive as a puncher left his legs exposed; Haskins, a former Division I wrestler at Rutgers, took Hendricks down twice in the first round. It was a close and competitive first-round and, as it came to an end, the underperforming Hendricks absorbed an earful from his cornermen.

“Marc Laimon got mad at me but he gets mad a lot,” Hendricks said. “But Ron Frazier, my boxing coach, yelled at me and it sort of pissed me off. He pretty much said, “Pull your head out of your (expletive).’ He doesn’t cuss much but he cussed a little bit during that minute time period. So I’m like, ‘That guy is dead now.’

“The second round I came out there with that killer instinct that I had in wrestling. I came out fired up. He tried to take me down, I ripped his arm up and then after that point he felt weak. Then I elbowed him and he tried to pull his arm back and didn’t budge my arm. I was like, ‘Oh, you’re done.’ So I elbowed him like five more times, cut him, and then I hit him in the stomach and hit him about 10 more times and the bout was over.”

Hendricks takes his unblemished 4-0 record into a March 1 meeting against Alex Serdyukov. Here is where Hendricks shows his enigmatic side. The man who prizes unpredictability isn’t afraid to tip his hand and expose his blueprint for victory.

“I heard that he’s a brown belt in jiu-jitsu and that’s what I want to test,” Hendricks said. “I’m all about finding what my opponent is better at – and I think my jiu-jitsu can hang with his. And that’s what I want to do. I want to come out there and take him down. Each fight I want to come out with different strategies because I don’t want to be predictable. My last fight I wanted to do nothing but standup. This fight I’m going to try to do a little bit of standup, get a takedown, pass his guard, ground and pound and try to get a submission.”

As Joe Rogan might say, Hendricks’ ground game is no joke. He proved that at Grappler’s Quest late last year, beating multiple-times Mundials champion Bruno Bastos in the finals of the advanced absolute division. In fact, Hendricks hasn’t tasted defeat in physical combat in nearly two years, since he lost 1-0 in the finals of the 2007 NCAA Wrestling Championships. Hendricks said he had accumulated a 56-0 season record prior to the loss. He returned to Stillwater, Okla., where he was widely adored and wildly popular, and his normal effervescence went into remission.

“After that loss I went into hibernation for about a month,” he said. “I didn’t say much. I went to class, practiced and came home. That’s how I coped with it. But I told everybody, ‘God has something better for me than wrestling.’”

Despite being unbeaten and coming off a TKO win, Hendricks’ perfectionist ways spurred him in training for Serdyukov.

“I’m mad,” Hendricks said. “My last fight wasn’t a good fight. Even though I got my hand raised, I lost the first round so I was mad about that and I went back to the drawing board. I didn’t go out and celebrate. I went home (back to Oklahoma) for a week, came back to Vegas and started training on the things that I did wrong.”

Regardless of the outcome of the Hendricks-Serdyukov scrap, both men will grab a small slice of history. They will become the final 170-pounders to compete in the WEC, which will be eliminating the welterweight class to better showcase the best lighter weight fighters in the world. There is an excellent chance that the winner of the Hendricks-Serdyukov affair will move onto the UFC, as was the case with former WEC middleweights and light heavyweights like Jake Rosholt, Chael Sonnen, Mark Munoz and Steve Cantwell.

“It’s pretty cool,” Hendricks said of the high stakes involved. “I guess now everybody is going to be going to the UFC or other organizations. It definitely took me off-guard and that’s why I’m not thinking of the UFC right now. That’s how a lot of people get beat. I’ve got to win this match before I get to the UFC. I’ve got to impress them because they have plenty of great fighters at 170, they’re not hurting for fighters. This is a proving ground, this is sort of an initiation. Am I worthy to step into the UFC? Am I worthy to keep going on with this sport? And that’s the way I look at it, as a steppingstone. Going into this fight I have prepared the best I can to take him out. He (Serdyukov) has proven himself. I have not.”