Johny Hendricks: I should have been at middleweight two years ago

Former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) welterweight champion, Johny Hendricks, jumped up to 185 pounds after failing to make weight in multiple fights, in which he also failed to make the win column.

No turning back now.

That’s because “Bigg Rigg” is finally enjoying his career in mixed martial arts (MMA), something he hasn’t done in several years. In fact, the bearded brawler regrets not making the move when his body first betrayed him.

From UFC.com:

“I wish I’d have listened to myself a long time ago because I would have been at ’85 two years ago. As soon as I missed weight with Tyron, I wanted to go to ’85. After this last fight at ’70, as soon as I stepped off the scale, I looked at Joe Silva and said, ‘I’m an ‘85er.’ I’ll never see welterweight again. I refuse to go back there. Now that I don’t have to cut weight, I’m training almost all the time because I’m not dreading training; I’m not dreading going to the gym. I’m not looking at this going, ‘Man, if I get back in there, I’m going to have to kill myself to try to make weight.’ Now it’s really been fun. I have freedom. I don’t have to miss the girls’ birthday parties. I get to eat cake. I get to drink a Coke with them. In the ’70 days, forget that; I would go work out during their birthday parties. I have a life again; that’s the best way to explain it.”

Hendricks won his middleweight debut by outpointing Hector Lombard.

“Bigg Rigg” (18-6) will try to make it two straight when he tangles with grizzled veteran Tim Boetsch in the co-main event of this Sunday night’s (June 25, 2017) UFC Fight Night 112 event on FOX Sports 1.

For much more on that pending showdown click here.