I have all the respect in the world for Johnny Hendricks, but I have to ask - do people honestly believe he's the one to dethrone Georges St. Pierre? I still think Kampmann would have posed more of a threat to the WW kingpin, his awful fighter IQ notwithstanding. I get it... Hendricks hits like a truck. But so do Matt Serra, Josh Koscheck, Dan Hardy, and Thiago Alves. In fact, it might be said that each of those men has devastating, one punch, knockout power. And each was made to look an absolute fool, some of them in the standup (Alves and Koscheck in particular). I don't even see Hendricks as being a more well rounded striker than these men... he's literally the Dan Henderson of WW in that he relies on a single punch. And if he can't find it, his arsenal is literally cut in half. The only threat I see Hendricks posing is the same one Matt Serra posed... swarm and catch GSP in a flurry. I suppose that's always a viable option.
And what of Johnny's wrestling? He has his credentials, but so did Jon Fitch. So did Josh Koscheck. I don't think it matters how good a wrestler you are in this day and age... you're not outwrestling GSP. So what does Hendricks bring outside of that single punch? Can he do what Condit does off of his back? Doubtful. Does he have exemplary TDD? No. Which means that this is going to be precisely the type of ugly, drawn out fight that people hate to see from the champion. GSP will take him down each and every round, break his spirit, and win a lopsided decision. I don't want to say it will be exactly like the Dan Hardy fight, which I didn't thoroughly enjoy short of GSP's sub attempts, but I'm willing to bet it will be damn near close.
Johnny's having only one real tool will result in a meh fight. GSP needs to be fighting well rounded fighters, because they bring out the best in him. Even though the fight went to a decision, Carlos and GSP put on a potential FOTY candidate. And that has everything to do with Condit's being good all over. GSP is like that child genius we all went to school with. If you give him standard level school work, he's going to get bored and under-perform. If you give him an actual challenge, however, you're going to see what he can truly do. Hendricks is no test... Hendricks is Applied English 101.
Just my two cents. If the UFC could contract GSP to fight Carlos ten more times, I'd be on board. I'm scratching my head trying to figure out who brings a complete game like Condit does. It's impossible to argue that Johnny hasn't earned his shot. He definitely deserves it, and I give him respect for doing what he does. But GSP isn't going to move backwards in their fight and give him the range to land a thing. End result, and even I will say this, will be a not so exciting, one sided clinic.
And what of Johnny's wrestling? He has his credentials, but so did Jon Fitch. So did Josh Koscheck. I don't think it matters how good a wrestler you are in this day and age... you're not outwrestling GSP. So what does Hendricks bring outside of that single punch? Can he do what Condit does off of his back? Doubtful. Does he have exemplary TDD? No. Which means that this is going to be precisely the type of ugly, drawn out fight that people hate to see from the champion. GSP will take him down each and every round, break his spirit, and win a lopsided decision. I don't want to say it will be exactly like the Dan Hardy fight, which I didn't thoroughly enjoy short of GSP's sub attempts, but I'm willing to bet it will be damn near close.
Johnny's having only one real tool will result in a meh fight. GSP needs to be fighting well rounded fighters, because they bring out the best in him. Even though the fight went to a decision, Carlos and GSP put on a potential FOTY candidate. And that has everything to do with Condit's being good all over. GSP is like that child genius we all went to school with. If you give him standard level school work, he's going to get bored and under-perform. If you give him an actual challenge, however, you're going to see what he can truly do. Hendricks is no test... Hendricks is Applied English 101.
Just my two cents. If the UFC could contract GSP to fight Carlos ten more times, I'd be on board. I'm scratching my head trying to figure out who brings a complete game like Condit does. It's impossible to argue that Johnny hasn't earned his shot. He definitely deserves it, and I give him respect for doing what he does. But GSP isn't going to move backwards in their fight and give him the range to land a thing. End result, and even I will say this, will be a not so exciting, one sided clinic.