Johny Hendrick's was forced out of his No. 1 contender's fight against Tyron Woodley last weekend (Sat., Oct. 3, 2015) at UFC 192 after "Bigg Rigg" has trouble shedding the weight to hit the 170-pound mark in Houston ,Texas.
So much so that he had to take a trip to the hospital for further review.
While many factors played into Johny's weight issues, among them was the fact that nutrition guru, Mike Dolce, was not by his side as he's done in the past. Having worked with Hendricks before, Dolce knows just how Hendricks treats his body in between fights.
And seeing as how he isn't as young as he used to be, Mike -- who says he was gutted upon hearing the news -- rcently said on The MMA Hour (via MMA Fighting) Hendricks can't get away with that stuff anymore.
"I was gutted for Johny. I was very sad for him. Number one, I was concerned about his health, which I've been concerned about a while knowing him and seeing the way he really mistreats his body in the offseason. He's not a 19, 20-year-old kid wrestling at Oklahoma [State]. He's a 30-something-year-old man with three babies and one on the way. He cannot do the things that he once did to his body and get away with them. I think that finally caught up with him before this fight."
UFC president Dana White says Hendricks should consider fighting at middleweight to avoid further complications. Dolce, though, doesn't see that as a solution.
If anything, Hendricks needs to stick to a cleaner style of eating to ensure his fighting career and more importantly, his health.
"I wouldn't say that first, simply because Johny is 5'8, 5'9 on his best day. At 185, he's fighting [Luke] Rockhold and [Chris] Weidman. That's much more dangerous, getting hit in the head by Chris Weidman, I think, than Johny taking six months and truly dedicating himself to living a healthy lifestyle. This is more important than sport. It's more important than Johny Hendricks' career. Johny has a much longer life to live after this sport and he needs to do the things that are in his best interest and the best interest of his health. And that's getting his lifestyle in order. He needs to start cleaning up his diet, his lifestyle and living a much healthier existence. Then, he can think about fighting at 170 again."
"Bigg Rigg" is already on the right path, as he says he is planning a test cut down to 170 pounds to see what he did wrong and what he can do avoid further catastrophe like the one in "H-Town."
If he can't hit the mark, then it might be time for "Bigg Rigg" to start swinging leather against bigger men.