:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/10523699/20130315_jla_bb5_382.0.jpg)
Thankfully Georges St. Pierre has changed his tune on Johny Hendricks.
"Rush" caught some flack earlier this year when he claimed the former two-time NCAA Division I champion wrestler was not the legitimate number one contender because he felt Hendricks was awarded a lucky decision win against Josh Koscheck at UFC on Fox 3 in 2012.
That opinion didn't sit well with the Team Takedown-trained fighter, who called St. Pierre "an idiot" for his use of logic to determine who deserves a shot at the belt.
But oh, how a victory over a former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) interim titlist can alter an opinion in 15 minutes or less. Hendricks scored perhaps the biggest victory of his career earlier this month with a unanimous decision win over Carlos Condit in the co-main event of UFC 158 to score his sixth straight victory and his fourth over a Top 5-ranked opponent.
Afterward, he told MMA Digest that the champion finally gave him the credit he deserved when they briefly spoke at the post-fight press conference.
"He just said 'you earned this spot to challenge me by beating Carlos Condit' and that's what I wanted. That's all I wanted was a shot at him. It's not even so much of that, I just want a shot at the belt. That's really what I've been training for and trying to get to and he's just the guy that holds it and the guy that's held it for 3-4 years now."
Hendricks has defeated the likes of Jon Fitch, Josh Koscheck, Martin Kampmann and now Condit during his impressive run through UFC's welterweight division and is hoping for a title shot in August or September later this year.
Thankfully, St. Pierre's Achilles injury wasn't nearly as severe as original concerns projected, but "Bigg Rigg" might have to wait out the champion's recent Captain America movie role before beginning his pre-fight training camp.
What do you make of GSP finally giving Hendricks the credit he deserves?
Get the latest gear
