Johny Hendricks reflects on Georges St-Pierre loss years later: “Not having a win over GSP hurt me”

Johny Hendricks says he doesn’t think about the Georges St-Pierre fight anymore.

Back at UFC 167, St-Pierre was looking to defend his welterweight title against Hendricks. It was a back-and-forth fight but when the final bell rang, most fans and media, including UFC president Dana White thought Hendricks had won. But, the judges’ gave GSP a hard-fought split decision victory.

Following the loss, St-Pierre took a hiatus from the sport, and Hendricks fought for the vacant title against Robbie Lawler. Although many thought the loss would be a heartbreaking moment for Hendricks, he says he didn’t even think about it too much.

“I don’t watch fights as you would think. I watched it to learn what I did wrong then I would move on. At that point, you are already planning on what’s next,” Hendricks said to BJPENN.com. “After that fight, I went home, and then we went to Disney World and that’s when I found out I was fighting Robbie Lawler for the belt. So, I didn’t have much time to kick back and re-watch.”

At the time, Hendricks says he was frustrated with the outcome. Now, however, he says he doesn’t care that many think he was “robbed” against St-Pierre. Instead, he says he learned a valuable lesson of don’t put the fight in the hands of the judges’.

“You know what, a little bit. The fans knew what happened. I think I got more fans off that fight because I handled the loss well. Even though I did lose, the way I handled myself afterward. Now, that I’m retired I don’t really worry about it,” Hendricks explained. “It did bother me at the time, like not having a win over GSP hurt me. But, now that I look back, everything happens for a reason and I got a title shot anyway and won the belt in Texas. It’s the hard part of the career knowing your life is in the judges hands.”

Although a win over St-Pierre would’ve been massive, Hendricks doesn’t think it would’ve done anything special for him. He doesn’t believe it would’ve added to his legacy as he ended up winning the title anyway. So, for him, he doesn’t put much thought into that fight anymore.

“Right now, I don’t think it does anything. But, then, if I beat GSP, the next time I fight maybe I don’t lose a close decision to Lawler. They say you have to beat the champ to be the champ,” he said. “You have to destroy the champ in order to win the belt. I’ve seen Jon Jones lose multiple times but still held onto the title. I think I would’ve been the champion a little longer. But, fate wasn’t on my side. You just deal with what you got.”

Do you think Johny Hendricks beat Georges St-Pierre back at UFC 167?

This article first appeared on BJPENN.com on 5/1/2020.