For the last number of years former UFC welterweight champion Johny Hendricks has had a real issue making weight.
Hendricks’ struggles on the scales is the reason why current champion Tyron Woodley got his shot at Robbie Lawler to claim the belt. Woodley and Hendricks were scheduled to throw down in a title eliminator bout at UFC 192, but Bigg Rigg was forced to withdraw from the bout the day before fight night due to weight-cutting issues and Woodley was handed a crack at the title as compensation.
At UFC 200, he also missed weight by a quarter of a pound for his scrap against Kelvin Gastelum, who has since been bumped up to middleweight for his own issues making 170.
So as he was already being on thin ice with his employers, the real fight for Hendricks at UFC 2017 (aside from the one against Neil Magny) was to come in under that 171 lb limit. A third time not coming in under the limit would all but ensure he would never compete in the weight class again, but when the hour came Hendricks failed.
He confirmed to MMA Fighting that coming in 2.5 lbs over was the final nail in the coffin of his career as a UFC welterweight. After he squares off against Magny inside the Octagon, he plans on moving up.
“I’m done fighting at welterweight. Unless they open up a 175-pound division, I’m moving up to middleweight.”
The new protocol for fight week means that everyone already knew what the UFC 207 fighters’ weighed in at before the ‘just-for-show’ weigh-ins streamed later on Thursday. It was public knowledge that Hendricks missed weight along with flyweight Ray Borg who came in 3.5 lbs over the limit for his bout against Louis Smolka.
Just after Bigg Rigg stepped off the scales and shook hands with his opponent and Joe Rogan had announced he missed weight, UFC ring girl Arianny Celeste appeared to loudly score a dig on the former champion. Reddit user FilthySageNorthcutt spotted her seemingly uttering, ‘He always misses weight,’ right within earshot of Hendricks.
Check out the awkward incident below. (Celeste is the second ring girl in from the left)
