Set your DVR's kids - on Saturday night in Montreal, it's UFC 154: St. Pierre v. Condit. My dream of this setting up an Anderson Silva v. Georges St. Pierre at Cowboys Stadium appears to be on hold for a while, but this could be a decent fight.
The main event is obviously Carlos Condit agreeing to get his fanny kicked by Georges St. Pierre, but the undercard is extensive and features a local guy.
Martin Kampmann will fight Johny "Bigg Rigg" Hendricks, who makes his home in Mansfield, Texas.
Hendricks is 13-1-0. A college wrestler at Oklahoma State, Hendricks (29) was introduced to MMA only in the last few years and has steadily risen up in the UFC.
He took a break from his training in Las Vegas for a brief chat.
The Big Mac Blog: Given your record are you aware of the need for a perfection because a title shot looks so attainable?
Johny Hendricks: That is every fight for me. Doesn't matter where you are at. When I started this I thought, 'I have to win every fight'.
The Big Mac Blog: Do you go back on any of your fights and think, 'I got away with this or that' and still won or is it - I won, that's it?
Johny Hendricks: I think on all of them I won I did just enough to win. That's not good enough. I am my own worst critic. If I win I’m automatically thinking, 'Where can I re-watch it?' and we’re dissecting it within two days. When I did lose it was because I had been complacent and happy where I was. Now after every fight I go back and try to find the negatives.
The Big Mac Blog: Do you enjoy winning more is your drive about the fear of feeling awful because of a loss?
Johny Hendricks: I do love winning. I'm not going to lie. I hate losing more than anything but I love the thrill of winning more than anything. My fear is that I am going to go out there and not do the best I can. I don't want that fear to control me.
The Big Mac Blog: How did you wind up in UFC?
Johny Hendricks: I wrestled for three years at Oklahoma State. I was a national champion my junior year. My senior year I was asked if I would like to fight, and I thought I would try it. I did three 'Tap Out' shows. I wanted to do 10 fights before I did UFC, but I did only five. That's how I got into it.
The Big Mac Blog: What is harder or UFC?
Johny Hendricks: This is a lot easier than wrestling. Those five years I was in college I was training every day and you have to compete almost every weekend. Now I get to train every three or four months and then I fight.
The Big Mac Blog: Hard questions - where is your favorite place to eat when you are home?
Johny Hendricks: Texas de Brazil. I love steaks and that place has the best steaks.
The Big Mac Blog: OK - what's with the name. Why do you spell your first name with only one 'n'?
Johny Hendricks: My real name is John. I just added the 'y'. I didn't want to make my name harder, or longer. It's easier. It's good I didn't add another 'n'.
The Big Mac Blog: Do you people screw it up?
Johny Hendricks: Oh man, a lot of people.
The Big Mac Blog: Do you still have that giant beard?
Johny Hendricks: Oh yeah, I'm rockin' it right now. I started it three years ago. I was training for a fight and as soon as I found out I was fighting I said I would not shave for eight weeks and right before the bout I would shave it. I ended up keeping it.
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