Johny Hendricks: Deer meat, dried up intestines, and kidney stone forced my body to quit

Johny Hendricks was forced out of his No. 1 contender fight against Tyron Woodley a few weeks ago (Sat., Oct. 3, 2015) at UFC 192 after "Bigg Rigg" had trouble shedding the weight to hit the 170-pound mark in Houston, Texas.

Hendricks was forced to take a trip to the hospital only to realize that his intestines had dried up and a kidney stone had set up shop in his system.

While others had plenty to say about the unfortunate situation, Hendricks has kept to himself since the incident. But during his stop by The MMA Hour, the former welterweight champion talked about what went wrong and what his future holds.

His words:

"Everything was going good. I was drinking two and half gallons a day and I was walking right around 193, which is normal. Then my body just quit, I couldn't go to the bathroom. It was was if my body was holding on to everything, which was sort of weird. So we started doing the weight cut, and I was still drinking two and half gallons a day. Then I just hit a plateau where I would feel lightheaded, which is common. I didn't think anything of it, and then I woke up on Thursday feeling really good at 184 pounds. I thought it was going to be perfect, lost 10 pounds then wake up on Friday and have to lose an extra three pounds. I went and did my first session and only lost two pounds. I was like, 'Oh boy.' That was when my body felt different. I tried to push through it, went and did another session and worked out and that is when I realized something was wrong. Both my left and right sides started to hurt. I went to the hospital and that's when I found out that my intestines were dried up and that I had a kidney stone on my right side."

As far as the backlash he received, Hendricks says he does his best to ignore it.

"I don't read it. Here's the thing: I know there is going to be venom spit my way. But people don't understand, they don't get to watch one fight. Well, I don't get paid. I had to give up three months of a training camp that I worked hard and that I was very prepared to fight Woodley. Then the next fight, lets say in March or April, I would be fighting for the title. These people that are spitting venom, they don't look at that. They only look at what's in front of them at that moment. What I say to them is, try to lose 20 pounds. I have to lose 30 pounds each training camp. I say to them, come with me and try to lose 20 and I'll give you a week to do it. How many people can actually say that they've lost 20 pounds in one week? I do know that this is my job and that's what makes me different than everybody else."

For the record, Hendricks has yet to pass the kidney stone.

As far as the "comedy of errors" that Mike Dolce blames for leading to the catastrophe, Hendricks says it's not the case. But, he did admit that his diet of deer meat and high animal protein may have lead to his issues.

"Bigg Rigg" says he is planning a test cut down to 170 pounds to see if his body can handle it. For now, Johny will tend to his health issues before he contemplates stepping back into the cage, which will still be at 170 pounds.

Sorry, boss.