{"id":275599,"date":"2018-05-02T05:59:42","date_gmt":"2018-05-02T12:59:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/?p=275599"},"modified":"2018-05-02T05:59:42","modified_gmt":"2018-05-02T12:59:42","slug":"now-a-free-agent-johny-hendricks-says-ufc-wants-him-back-at-welterweight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/mma-news\/johny-hendricks\/now-a-free-agent-johny-hendricks-says-ufc-wants-him-back-at-welterweight\/","title":{"rendered":"Now a free agent, Johny Hendricks says UFC wants him back at welterweight"},"content":{"rendered":"

There was a time not all that long ago that Johny Hendricks was considered the best welterweight on the planet. Unfortunately, his career has taken a rather grim turn, and he’s now a tough 3-7 in his last 10 bouts. Not even a move to the middleweight division, where the weight cut is less taxing, could bring him renewed success.<\/p>\n

After his last loss, a knockout at the hands of surging middleweight contender Paulo Costa, Hendricks became a free agent<\/a>. And though he could surely find a home as a member of the Bellator or PFL rosters, he’s hoping to return to the UFC welterweight division, where he once medalled. Apparently, this is something the UFC is also interested in.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m a free agent,\u201d Hendricks said on MMAJunkie Radio<\/a> (transcribed by Jed Meshew for MMAFighting<\/a>). \u201cI am up for grabs. The UFC stills wants me. They want me back at 170 [pounds] and I agree. If you\u2019re gonna keep giving me these big ol\u2019 85 pounders, I\u2019ve got to get back down to 170.\u201d<\/p>\n

While Hendricks says the UFC is interested in re-signing him as a welterweight, he expects a tough road back to title contention.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve got to fight back to what I want to get to,\u201d said Hendricks. \u201cI\u2019m not that type of guy that says, \u2018No, I think I deserve more.\u2019 I will get back to where I want to be at the welterweight division. I really do believe that. I\u2019m starting to get faster. I\u2019m working with a trainer here, Ryan. He\u2019s been working on my fast-twitch movement, he\u2019s been working on my speed – quickness, explosion – and whenever I\u2019m doing these things and then I go back and train boxing or whatever, everyone can see that I\u2019m getting quicker and my weight is coming down.\u201d<\/p>\n

Whatever the case, Johny Hendricks says his last two bouts against hulking middleweights Tim Boetsch and Paulo Costa helped rejuvenate his confidence \u2014 confidence he’s hoping to carry back down to the UFC welterweight division.<\/p>\n

\u201cRight after my last fight I emailed [the UFC] saying, \u2018Hey, I want to go back to 170. Obviously, y\u2019all don\u2019t want me at 185. I understand,\u2019\u201d said Hendricks. \u201cAnd realistically, the only reason I went up to 185 was because I thought I had one more fight on my contract. So I go, screw 170, I\u2019m gonna go to 85 and then we can renegotiate a contract…”<\/p>\n

\u201cNeedless to say, I got two big ol\u2019 boys [at middleweight] and it didn\u2019t go the way I wanted it to. But after fighting those fights, it really brought back something in me because I was like, \u2018Dude, they don\u2019t kick that hard.\u2019 I still hurt all those 85-pounders with my punches and with my kicks. So if I can hurt 85-pounders, what can I do if I go back to 170. It sort of built my confidence back up to where I believe in my power, I believe in what I can do.\u201d<\/p>\n

What do you think the future holds for Johny Hendricks?<\/p>\n

This article first appeared on\u00a0<\/i>BJPenn.com<\/i><\/span><\/a>\u00a0on 5\/2\/2018.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

There was a time not all that long ago that Johny Hendricks was considered the best welterweight on the planet. Unfortunately, his career has taken a rather grim turn, and he’s now a tough 3-7 in his last 10 bouts. Not even a move to the middleweight division, where the weight cut is less taxing, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":54430,"featured_media":275600,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mi_skip_tracking":false},"categories":[10111],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nNow a free agent, Johny Hendricks says UFC wants him back at welterweight | BJPenn.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/mma-news\/johny-hendricks\/now-a-free-agent-johny-hendricks-says-ufc-wants-him-back-at-welterweight\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Now a free agent, Johny Hendricks says UFC wants him back at welterweight | BJPenn.com\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"There was a time not all that long ago that Johny Hendricks was considered the best welterweight on the planet. Unfortunately, his career has taken a rather grim turn, and he’s now a tough 3-7 in his last 10 bouts. Not even a move to the middleweight division, where the weight cut is less taxing, […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/mma-news\/johny-hendricks\/now-a-free-agent-johny-hendricks-says-ufc-wants-him-back-at-welterweight\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"| BJPenn.com\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/bjpenn\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-05-02T12:59:42+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/wp-content\/uploads\/Johny-Hendricks.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"696\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"399\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Tom Taylor\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@bjpenndotcom\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@bjpenndotcom\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Tom Taylor\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/mma-news\/johny-hendricks\/now-a-free-agent-johny-hendricks-says-ufc-wants-him-back-at-welterweight\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/mma-news\/johny-hendricks\/now-a-free-agent-johny-hendricks-says-ufc-wants-him-back-at-welterweight\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Tom Taylor\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/#\/schema\/person\/e1a3f1e5a045aeaf5b59aa1549a06a87\"},\"headline\":\"Now a free agent, Johny Hendricks says UFC wants him back at welterweight\",\"datePublished\":\"2018-05-02T12:59:42+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2018-05-02T12:59:42+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/mma-news\/johny-hendricks\/now-a-free-agent-johny-hendricks-says-ufc-wants-him-back-at-welterweight\/\"},\"wordCount\":534,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/#organization\"},\"articleSection\":[\"Johny Hendricks\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"copyrightYear\":\"2018\",\"copyrightHolder\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/#organization\"}},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/mma-news\/johny-hendricks\/now-a-free-agent-johny-hendricks-says-ufc-wants-him-back-at-welterweight\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/mma-news\/johny-hendricks\/now-a-free-agent-johny-hendricks-says-ufc-wants-him-back-at-welterweight\/\",\"name\":\"Now a free agent, Johny Hendricks says UFC wants him back at welterweight | BJPenn.com\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2018-05-02T12:59:42+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2018-05-02T12:59:42+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/mma-news\/johny-hendricks\/now-a-free-agent-johny-hendricks-says-ufc-wants-him-back-at-welterweight\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/mma-news\/johny-hendricks\/now-a-free-agent-johny-hendricks-says-ufc-wants-him-back-at-welterweight\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/mma-news\/johny-hendricks\/now-a-free-agent-johny-hendricks-says-ufc-wants-him-back-at-welterweight\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"MMA News\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/mma-news\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Johny Hendricks\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/mma-news\/johny-hendricks\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":4,\"name\":\"Now a free agent, Johny Hendricks says UFC wants him back at welterweight\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/\",\"name\":\"| BJPenn.com\",\"description\":\"MMA & UFC News, Results & Fight Videos\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/#organization\",\"name\":\"| BJPenn.com\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/bj_penn_logo_amp.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"http:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/bj_penn_logo_amp.png\",\"width\":600,\"height\":148,\"caption\":\"| BJPenn.com\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/instagram.com\/bjpenn\",\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/bjpenn\",\"https:\/\/www.pinterest.com\/bjpenndotcom\/\",\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/0fficialbjpenn\",\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/bjpenn\",\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/bjpenndotcom\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/#\/schema\/person\/e1a3f1e5a045aeaf5b59aa1549a06a87\",\"name\":\"Tom Taylor\",\"description\":\"Tom Taylor is a globetrotting writer currently based in Ottawa, Canada. He is a staff writer for BJPenn.com, and also covers mixed martial arts for Fightland and Vice Sports. Follow him on Twitter @TomTayMMA.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/author\/tom-taylor\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Now a free agent, Johny Hendricks says UFC wants him back at welterweight | BJPenn.com","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/mma-news\/johny-hendricks\/now-a-free-agent-johny-hendricks-says-ufc-wants-him-back-at-welterweight\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Now a free agent, Johny Hendricks says UFC wants him back at welterweight | BJPenn.com","og_description":"There was a time not all that long ago that Johny Hendricks was considered the best welterweight on the planet. Unfortunately, his career has taken a rather grim turn, and he’s now a tough 3-7 in his last 10 bouts. Not even a move to the middleweight division, where the weight cut is less taxing, […]","og_url":"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/mma-news\/johny-hendricks\/now-a-free-agent-johny-hendricks-says-ufc-wants-him-back-at-welterweight\/","og_site_name":"| BJPenn.com","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/bjpenn","article_published_time":"2018-05-02T12:59:42+00:00","og_image":[{"width":696,"height":399,"url":"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/wp-content\/uploads\/Johny-Hendricks.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"Tom Taylor","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@bjpenndotcom","twitter_site":"@bjpenndotcom","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Tom Taylor","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/mma-news\/johny-hendricks\/now-a-free-agent-johny-hendricks-says-ufc-wants-him-back-at-welterweight\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/mma-news\/johny-hendricks\/now-a-free-agent-johny-hendricks-says-ufc-wants-him-back-at-welterweight\/"},"author":{"name":"Tom Taylor","@id":"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/#\/schema\/person\/e1a3f1e5a045aeaf5b59aa1549a06a87"},"headline":"Now a free agent, Johny Hendricks says UFC wants him back at welterweight","datePublished":"2018-05-02T12:59:42+00:00","dateModified":"2018-05-02T12:59:42+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/mma-news\/johny-hendricks\/now-a-free-agent-johny-hendricks-says-ufc-wants-him-back-at-welterweight\/"},"wordCount":534,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/#organization"},"articleSection":["Johny Hendricks"],"inLanguage":"en-US","copyrightYear":"2018","copyrightHolder":{"@id":"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/#organization"}},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/mma-news\/johny-hendricks\/now-a-free-agent-johny-hendricks-says-ufc-wants-him-back-at-welterweight\/","url":"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/mma-news\/johny-hendricks\/now-a-free-agent-johny-hendricks-says-ufc-wants-him-back-at-welterweight\/","name":"Now a free agent, Johny Hendricks says UFC wants him back at welterweight | BJPenn.com","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/#website"},"datePublished":"2018-05-02T12:59:42+00:00","dateModified":"2018-05-02T12:59:42+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/mma-news\/johny-hendricks\/now-a-free-agent-johny-hendricks-says-ufc-wants-him-back-at-welterweight\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/mma-news\/johny-hendricks\/now-a-free-agent-johny-hendricks-says-ufc-wants-him-back-at-welterweight\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/mma-news\/johny-hendricks\/now-a-free-agent-johny-hendricks-says-ufc-wants-him-back-at-welterweight\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"MMA News","item":"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/mma-news\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Johny Hendricks","item":"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/mma-news\/johny-hendricks\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":4,"name":"Now a free agent, Johny Hendricks says UFC wants him back at welterweight"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/#website","url":"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/","name":"| BJPenn.com","description":"MMA & UFC News, Results & Fight Videos","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/#organization","name":"| BJPenn.com","url":"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"http:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/bj_penn_logo_amp.png","contentUrl":"http:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/01\/bj_penn_logo_amp.png","width":600,"height":148,"caption":"| BJPenn.com"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/instagram.com\/bjpenn","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/bjpenn","https:\/\/www.pinterest.com\/bjpenndotcom\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/0fficialbjpenn","https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/bjpenn","https:\/\/twitter.com\/bjpenndotcom"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/#\/schema\/person\/e1a3f1e5a045aeaf5b59aa1549a06a87","name":"Tom Taylor","description":"Tom Taylor is a globetrotting writer currently based in Ottawa, Canada. He is a staff writer for BJPenn.com, and also covers mixed martial arts for Fightland and Vice Sports. Follow him on Twitter @TomTayMMA.","url":"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/author\/tom-taylor\/"}]}},"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/275599"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/54430"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=275599"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/275599\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/275600"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=275599"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=275599"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/staging.tcpcharms.com\/bjpenn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=275599"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}