Johny Hendricks' UFC absence made "Bigg Rigg" as he was forced out of action following a bicep injury he sustained during his title fight against "Ruthless" Robbie Lawler at UFC 171 in March.
Johny Hendricks has been out of the UFC Octagon for three months now, and is not expected to return any time soon due to the gravity of his injury. This, in turn, has brought an air of anxiety to "Bigg Rigg" as he watches the other top welterweights battle for the number one contender spot to face him.
"It sucks being on the sidelines, knowing these guys are all fighting to get to me, and I can't do anything about it," Hendricks told USA Today. "I can't train for it, can't get ready for it."
"The only thing I can do is sit here and wait for them to battle it out," he added about the Johnny Hendricks UFC absence news. "I don't like that."
Before his UFC stint, Johny Hendricks was a decorated amateur wrestler. He was a three-time state champion at Oklahoma High School, and was part of the NCAA Division I team of Oklahoma State University and won titles in 2005 and 2006 at the 165-pound division.
Given these accolades, "Bigg Rigg" is certainly no stranger to the sport's physical adversities, which includes foregoing the pain of injuries as long as it is possible.
However, as the UFC welterweight champion, he did choose to heed his doctor's advice and not jump into action right away.
"What I found out is that if I jump the gun, instead of being six weeks in a sling and six weeks recovering, it might turn into 12 weeks in a sling and 12 weeks recovering," Hendricks explained.
While Johny Hendricks is sidelined from UFC action, top contenders Robbie Lawler and Matt Brown will be fighting for the shot at his title. And for "Bigg Rigg", facing either fighter would be no problem.
"If Matt Brown wins, that's awesome because it'd be nice to train for someone new," Hendricks added. "But if Robbie Lawler wins, I've trained for him before and I can do it again and make some corrections. I could also go into it injury-free this time. That'd be nice."
