Johny Hendricks blasts MMA media, explains recent retirement talk

Former UFC welterweight champion Johny Hendricks is currently in the midst of a rough stretch.

First, he lost his belt in a competitive fight with Robbie Lawler. Though he was able to rebound with a nice win over Matt Brown in his next fight, his next fight thereafter saw him succumb to a first round TKO dealt by Stephen Thompson. From there, things got even worse for the former champ, as he failed to make weight for a UFC 200 bout with Kelvin Gastelum, and ultimately lost that bout by decision.

Given his recent skid, Hendricks has stated several times that his UFC 207 fight with Neil Magny could be his last. In a recent interview with FOX Sports, however, he changed his tune a bit, saying this retirement talk was merely a way of encouraging the media not to ask him what comes next after Magny.

“I want the press to not start shooting me past my fights,” Hendricks told Fox Sports. “I get so caught up in what’s next, this, this, this and this, and it sort of ruined me. It sort of got me to where I wasn’t focused on the fight I needed right now.”

“That’s why I said retirement. Cause guess what? Now you guys can’t ask me what’s next. You’ve got to be there Saturday and you’ve got to call me on Saturday and say ‘hey are you still going to fight or not?’ Then we can talk about what’s next.”

“I’m just tired of people asking 30,000 questions that don’t revolve around my fight. That’s why. Here’s the thing, if I didn’t mention retirement what would you all be doing right now? You’d all be saying well what about [Georges St-Pierre] or what about this person or what about this person? I’m done with those questions. What if’s — I’m done with what if’s.”

“I started coaching wrestling again and it made me realize, who cares about what if’s. That’s not in my control. Dec. 30 is in my control. Neil Magny is in my control. Nothing else is.”

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