Three years ago, Johny Hendrix was untouchable. He had a near perfect record of 16-2 with his only losses coming via decision to Rick Story and Georges St. Pierre. He had just won the UFC welterweight title in a war with Robbie Lawler, and the stage was set for "Bigg Rigg" to rule his division for the foreseeable future. Unfortunately for him, fate had other plans.
Johny Hendrix's fall from grace
After receiving fight of the night honors for their incredible performance, Hendrix and Lawler were set to face each other in an immediate rematch. Despite putting on an impressive showing in the first round, Johny Hendrix slowed significantly in rounds two through five and lost his title via split decision.
Although he won his next fight with Matt Brown, Hendrix then dropped three fights in a row - first to Stephen Thompson by TKO then to Kevin Gastelum and Neil Magny by unanimous decision. Hendrix failed to make weight and looked sickly when stepping onto the scale for his last two fights, and the UFC forced him to move up a weight class. Speculation ran rampant about his possible retirement, a rumor that Hendrix fueled the flames of following his loss to Magny, stating, if his wife wanted him to retire, that he would do just that.
Johny Hendrix's return to the limelight
Last night in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, Johny Hendrix stepped into the cage with Hector Lombard in his middleweight debut.
The former champion returned to his old ways, being very active on his feet and landing strikes almost at will in the final two rounds. He defeated his opponent via unanimous decision with two judges scoring the contest as 30-27 and a third scoring it 29-28. It may have been Hendrix's first victory since March 14, 2015 at UFC 185, but considering how well he performed, it would not be a stretch of the imagination to assume that he may have one last run for the title in him.
Although Johny Hendrix has looked terrible over the past two years, his stellar performance combined with how rejuvinated he seemed make for a promising start as he looks toward the future.
