Johny Hendricks: ‘I Wish GSP Would’ve Stayed Out’ of MMA Competition

One person who isn’t very excited to see the return of Georges St-Pierre is Johny Hendricks.

Hendricks is fresh off his unanimous decision victory over Hector Lombard last Sunday night (Feb. 19) inside the Scotiabank Centre in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. It was “Bigg Rigg’s” middleweight debut. Hendricks hasn’t made the top 15 in the official UFC 185-pound rankings yet, but he may be one win away from changing that.

Upon hearing the news of St-Pierre’s return, Hendricks didn’t sound too enthusiastic. Hendricks competed against “Rush” back in Nov. 2013 for the welterweight championship. St-Pierre retained his title by a controversial split decision win. He then went on a hiatus, vacating his title in the process.

Since that time, Hendricks has won the 170-pound title. He has also gone 3-4 in his last seven fights, losing the title to Robbie Lawler in that time.

On yesterday’s (Feb. 27) edition of “The MMA Hour”, Hendricks revealed he doesn’t necessarily agree with St-Pierre’s decision to come back:

“I am (surprised to see him back), I wish he would’ve stayed out. But you know what, a competitor is always going to be a competitor and we’ll see how he comes back. I heard he might be coming to 185, so you know I do (want a piece of him). So like I went through my rough period, and I did something and was able to bounce back. Whenever he went through his rough period, he got out. Yeah, you can train, yeah you could do these things, but has he done enough to where he is going to be able to come back a different fighter?”

An opponent, date, and venue have not been announced for “Rush’s” comeback fight. His coach, Firas Zahabi, hopes his fighter is eyeing big fights with UFC lightweight king Conor McGregor and middleweight title holder Michael Bisping.