Coach: Johny Hendricks 'came in around 210 or 215' for UFC 192 camp, blames weight cut flop on last minute dieting

Johny Hendricks is a man who likes to eat and it's hard to fault the former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) welterweight titleholder, who trains out of Dallas, Texas.

However, that mentality has impacted Hendricks training camps before and yesterday it forced him to withdraw from one of the biggest mixed martial arts (MMA) fights of his life when "Bigg Rigg" bowed out of his UFC 192 co-main event and welterweight title eliminator opposite Tyron Woodley tonight (Oct. 3, 2015) because of a blockage in his intestine and a kidney stone.

His failure to make weight, which "frustrated" and potentially rewarded Woodley with the next 170-pound title shot, was because of the Team Takedown representative's inability to reign in his diet in the weeks leading up to his clash with the Roufusport fighter (via MMAjunkie).

Hendricks' strength and conditioning coach Adrian Ramirez has the scoop:

"I think that he just came in too heavy for this camp, and it was just waiting until the last minute before zoning into his diet. I think that was the biggest issue he had with this camp. I think it was just waiting until the last minute to really get this weight off. This camp he came in around 210 or 205, which is a little too heavy for our liking. I think that's the biggest factor in this camp - just coming in too heavy and starting his meal prep a little bit too late."

What a shame Hendricks let this physique go to waist.

The 32-year-old has never actually missed weight for a UFC encounter, but it has affected his performance in the Octagon. Last December, in a UFC 181 title loss with rival and current chanpion Robbie Lawler, Hendricks faded in the championship rounds by his own account.

He then pondered retirement and move up to middleweight -- which is becoming more of a realistic possibility because of his bosses' thoughts -- before a split with MMA nutrition guru Mike Dolce, in which Dolce slammed Hendricks' "lifestyle," stating he can't carry the championship if he's not living like a champion.

Hendricks came in on weight and took a lopsided decision over perennial 170-pound contender Matt Brown in his next fight in Houston last March at UFC 185, which Ramirez recalls as the best his client ever looked prior to a fight.

"For the fight with Matt Brown, we had made a pact that he wouldn't get above 195 - and he did that successfully for that camp," Ramirez said. "He stayed under 195. Last camp was one of the best weight camps we've ever had in the history of Johny's fighting career. He did everything right, stayed on the diet and was where we wanted him to be."

After stating that he could "do it" on his own after UFC 181, Hendricks was put in touch with a nutritionist via phone by his management team, which resulted in miscommunication between both sides as to how the former NCAA All-American wrestler should approach his weight cut.

"Our management arranged a conference call with (him), whom we'd never met, and he'd never met Johny. I had a couple concerns, because if you don't know Johny and know his lifestyle, I feel like you can't really comment on how much he needs to be eating," said Ramirez. "He was pretty much telling Johny that he should increase his meals because Johny was telling him that he was feeling run down after his training, which is fine.

I'm not blaming (him) or anything like that. But I think after that conference call, Johny took what he said and justified that he should start eating more and increasing his calories. Johny isn't a certified nutritionist or anything like that."

What went wrong this go-around lands squarely on Hendricks' shoulders, Ramirez remarks.

"I didn't think that bringing in another nutritionist for a conference call was the right move. I think Mike Dolce had the answer: If you do everything that he says to do, the diet is going to come into place," said Ramirez. "Other than that, Johny started too late on his weight cut, and he has to take full responsibility for that."

First off, I'm not one to kick a fighter when they're down.

I'm not sure all of the blame lands on Hendricks' shoulders, but it's clear that there is problem within the camp. There needs to be structure and everyone needs a defined role, but most of all, there needs to be excellent communication.

Nowadays, you rarely see a fighter taking the lead in their camp. There's usually a head coach, or someone in charge, there to hold their pupil accountable and I'm not seeing it here, except for a whole lot of blame.

Hendricks can't make weight all on his own and this latest screw-up just cost him some precious time in the sport he won't be able to recover. FYI: Middleweight isn't the answer.

For more on the UFC 192: "Cormier vs. Gustafsson fight card, click here.