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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief
Since the conclusion of UFC 154 a couple of weeks ago, there's been plenty of discussion about what Johny Hendricks should do next, depending on what happens with UFC Welterweight Champion Georges St-Pierre. However, despite a non-stop stream of speculation, Hendricks is very clear in his stance on what his plan is moving forward.
"I'm not going to fight unless it's for a belt," Hendricks said in an interview with MMAJunkie.com. "Nothing else matters but the belt. My last three fights were guys in the top five, and I finished two of those three fights. I stated my claim. My stock's really high right now, and the only thing left is to get a shot at that belt."
"I really want a belt. They don't come around that often, and I feel like I've done enough to earn a shot, and that's pretty much all I'm thinking of right now. I'm training for a five-round fight, and that's it."
Unfortunately for Hendricks, GSP's camp has two other fights on their minds at the moment. The Anderson Silva fight is still at the forefront of the conversation, and GSP's head trainer Firas Zahabi said this week he believed Nick Diaz deserves the No. 1 contender slot over Hendricks. It's that latter point that Hendricks can't wrap his head around.
"He's trying to keep money from my kids," Hendricks said. "If I win that belt and take it from him, my life changes. He's trying to not give me the fair shot. That's crazy to me to think this guy is trying to control my future. That makes me want to win that much even more. Here is a guy is trying to pull out a curveball saying, 'We really don't think we can win with this guy, but we think we can beat Nick Diaz.' That's what it sounds like to me."
But Hendricks remains confident he'll be fighting St-Pierre in his next fight, and that's how he's preparing as 2013 approaches.
"I think I'm going to be fighting GSP in six months – April or May," he said. "I want GSP, and nothing else matters. Nobody else is in the equation in my mind. But hypothetically, as long as it takes (to get GSP is how long I'll wait). You only get so many opportunities to fight at the top level and stay at the top level."
"I can't keep fighting and being the No. 1 contender for years. There has to be a time to take a stand, and I feel like now is that time."
Penick's Analysis: At this stage, if the GSP-Silva fight is what happens, Hendricks has nothing to pin on GSP. It won't be St-Pierre not trying to give him a fair shot, as that's the fight the UFC has talked about, and the fight pushed for by Anderson Silva. If GSP's camp pushes for Diaz over him, he's got more reason to complain, but at this stage, he may unfortunately just be the odd man out in the picture despite his impressive run. He can wait for the shot if he likes, but more than likely it's not coming for a considerable time.
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Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
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