Johny Hendricks facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Johny Hendricks
Hendricks in 2017
Born	(1983-09-12) September 12, 1983 (age 41) Ada, Oklahoma, U.S.
Other names	Bigg Rigg
Height	5 ft 9 in (175 cm)
Weight	185 lb (84 kg)
Division	Welterweight (2007–2016) Middleweight (2017–2018)
Reach	69 in (175 cm)
Style	Wrestling
Stance	Southpaw
Fighting out of	Fort Worth, Texas, U.S.
Team	Team Takedown Jackson Wink MMA Academy
Rank	Purple belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu
Wrestling	NCAA Division I Wrestling
Years active	2007–2018 (MMA)
Mixed martial arts record
Total	26
Wins	18
By knockout	8
By submission	1
By decision	9
Losses	8
By knockout	3
By decision	5
University	Oklahoma State University
Medal record Collegiate Wrestling Representing the Oklahoma State Cowboys NCAA Division I Championships Gold 2005 St. Louis 165 lb Gold 2006 Oklahoma City 165 lb Silver 2007 Auburn Hills 165 lb Big 12 Championships Gold 2005 Omaha 165 lb Gold 2006 Ames 165 lb Gold 2007 Columbia 165 lb Silver 2004 Ames 157 lb

Johny Hendricks (born September 12, 1983) is an American former mixed martial artist and collegiate wrestler. He was a top competitor in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). He even became the UFC Welterweight Champion.

Early Life and Wrestling

Johny Hendricks was born in Ada, Oklahoma. He showed great talent in wrestling from a young age. In high school, he won three state championships in Oklahoma. He also became a national champion twice while attending Edmond Memorial High School. His impressive high school wrestling record was 101 wins and only 5 losses.

College Wrestling Success

After high school, Hendricks went to Oklahoma State University (OSU). In 2004, he finished 5th in the nation at 157 pounds. He then moved up to 165 pounds for his next three seasons. He won the Big 12 titles and NCAA Division I national championships in both 2005 and 2006.

In 2007, Hendricks had a perfect record of 34 wins and no losses. He also won his third straight Big 12 title. However, he had a surprising loss in the national championships final match. He finished 2nd in the nation that year. Johny Hendricks was a four-time All-American at OSU. He ended his college wrestling career with an amazing record of 159 wins and 13 losses.

Journey into Mixed Martial Arts

Starting His MMA Career

After finishing college in 2007, Johny Hendricks decided to try mixed martial arts (MMA). He moved to Las Vegas to train. Later, he joined Team Takedown in Texas. This team helps fighters with their training and shares their earnings.

Hendricks had his first professional MMA fight just seven months after his last college wrestling match. He won his debut fight on September 28, 2007, by TKO. He won two more fights in 2007 and 2008, showing his strong skills.

Fighting in the WEC

Johny Hendricks then signed a deal with World Extreme Cagefighting (WEC). He won his first fight in the WEC in December 2008. His next fight was in March 2009, where he won by unanimous decision. This was his last fight in the WEC. The company decided to focus on lighter weight fighters and closed his weight class.

Joining the UFC

Because the WEC closed his weight class, Hendricks moved to the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). This is one of the biggest MMA organizations in the world.

His first UFC fight was in August 2009 at UFC 101. He faced Amir Sadollah. Hendricks won very quickly, knocking Sadollah down with an uppercut just 29 seconds into the first round. Some people thought the fight was stopped too early, but the referee said Sadollah was not able to continue.

Hendricks continued his winning streak in the UFC. He won against Ricardo Funch and T. J. Grant by decision. He also defeated Charlie Brenneman by TKO. His first loss in the UFC came in December 2010 against Rick Story.

His Winning Streak

After his first loss, Johny Hendricks went on an impressive winning streak. He won against TJ Waldburger by TKO, earning a "Knockout of the Night" award. He then won a close fight against Mike Pierce.

In December 2011, Hendricks faced Jon Fitch, a very tough fighter. Hendricks knocked Fitch out in just 12 seconds of the first round. This was a huge win and earned him another "Knockout of the Night" award. He continued his success by winning against Josh Koscheck and Martin Kampmann. His knockout of Kampmann in 46 seconds also earned him "Knockout of the Night."

He then fought Carlos Condit in March 2013. Hendricks won by unanimous decision. Both fighters earned "Fight of the Night" honors for their exciting match.

Welterweight Title Fights

After his winning streak, Johny Hendricks earned a chance to fight for the UFC Welterweight Championship. He faced Georges St-Pierre in November 2013. It was a very close fight, and Hendricks lost by a split decision. Many people, including UFC president Dana White, believed Hendricks should have won.

Because Georges St-Pierre decided to take a break from MMA, the championship belt became empty. Hendricks got another chance to fight for the title. He faced Robbie Lawler in March 2014. It was an exciting fight, and Hendricks won by unanimous decision, becoming the new UFC Welterweight Champion. This fight also won "Fight of the Night" and was named "Fight of the Year" by many sports outlets.

A rematch with Robbie Lawler happened in December 2014. This time, Hendricks lost the fight by split decision, and Lawler became the new champion.

Post-Championship Fights

After losing his title, Hendricks continued to fight. He won against Matt Brown in March 2015. However, he had to cancel a fight in October 2015 because he had trouble making weight.

In 2016, Hendricks faced Stephen Thompson and lost by TKO. This was the first time Hendricks had been stopped in his MMA career. He then lost two more fights by unanimous decision, one against Kelvin Gastelum and another against Neil Magny. For both of these fights, Hendricks had difficulty making the required weight.

Moving to Middleweight

Because of his struggles with making the welterweight weight limit, Hendricks decided to move up to the middleweight division. His first fight at middleweight was in February 2017 against Héctor Lombard. Hendricks won this fight by unanimous decision.

However, he continued to have issues with his weight. He missed weight again for his fight against Tim Boetsch in June 2017. He lost this fight by TKO. His last fight was in November 2017 against Paulo Costa, which he also lost by TKO.

On June 27, 2018, Johny Hendricks announced his retirement from professional mixed martial arts. He decided to focus on coaching wrestling instead.

Bare Knuckle Boxing

A few months after retiring from MMA, Hendricks decided to try bare knuckle boxing. This is a sport where fighters punch each other without gloves. His first fight was in November 2018 against Dakota Cochrane. Cochrane defeated Hendricks by knockout in the second round.

Personal Life

Johny Hendricks is married to Christina, and they have four children.

His nickname, 'Bigg Rigg', came from his jiu-jitsu coach. The coach said Hendricks hit like a large truck. Hendricks also owned a large Ford F350 truck.

Hendricks has German, Dutch, and Native American heritage. He is a member of the Otoe–Missouria Tribe of Indians. His great-great-grandfather was a chief of the Otoe Missouri Tribe.

After he stopped fighting professionally, Johny Hendricks began working as a police officer in Texas.

Championships and Achievements

Collegiate Wrestling

• National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA)
  • NCAA Division I All-American out of Oklahoma State University (2004, 2005, 2006, 2007)
  • NCAA Division I 157 lb – 5th place out of Oklahoma State University (2004)
  • NCAA Division I 165 lb – Champion out of Oklahoma State University (2005)
  • NCAA Division I 165 lb – Champion out of Oklahoma State University (2006)
  • NCAA Division I 165 lb – Runner-up out of Oklahoma State University (2007)
  • Big 12 Conference Championship out of Oklahoma State University (2005), (2006), (2007)

Amateur Wrestling

• USA Junior Freestyle Championship
  • USA Junior Freestyle Championship 165 1b – Winner out of Oklahoma (2001)
  • USA Junior Freestyle Championship 165 1b – Winner out of Oklahoma (2002)

Mixed Martial Arts

• Ultimate Fighting Championship
  • UFC Welterweight Championship (One time)
  • Knockout of the Night (Three times) vs. TJ Waldburger, Jon Fitch, Martin Kampmann
  • Fight of the Night (Three times) vs. Carlos Condit, Georges St-Pierre, Robbie Lawler
  • UFC.com Awards
    • 2009: Ranked #6 Newcomer of the Year
    • 2011: Ranked #7 Fighter of the Year, Ranked #4 Knockout of the Year vs. Jon Fitch & Ranked #2 Upset of the Year vs. Jon Fitch
    • 2013: Ranked #10 Fight of the Year vs. Georges St-Pierre, Ranked #5 Fight of the Year & Half-Year Awards: Best Fight of the 1HY vs. Carlos Condit
    • 2014: Fight of the Year vs. Robbie Lawler 1 at UFC 171
• World Extreme Cagefighting
  • Fight of the Night (One time)
• MMAValor.com
  • 2012 Fighter of the Year
• mmafighting.com
  • 2014 Fight of the Year vs. Robbie Lawler at UFC 171
• Sherdog
  • 2014 Fight of the Year vs. Robbie Lawler at UFC 171
• MMAJunkie.com
  • 2014 March Fight of the Month vs. Robbie Lawler
• Bleacher Report
  • 2014 Fight of the Year vs. Robbie Lawler at UFC 171
• Wrestling Observer Newsletter awards
  • 2014 MMA Match of the Year vs. Robbie Lawler at UFC 171

Mixed Martial Arts Record

NCAA Wrestling Record

NCAA Championships Matches
Res.	Record	Opponent	Score	Date	Event
2007 NCAA Championships at 165 lbs
Loss	18-3	Mark Perry	3-4	March 17, 2007	2007 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships
Win	18-2	Travis Paulson	TB 2-1
Win	17-2	Matt Pell	Major 10-2
Win	16-2	Justin Fraga	Tech Fall 20-5
Win	15-2	Daniel Atondo	Fall
2006 NCAA Championships at 165 lbs
Win	14-2	Ryan Churella	9-8	March 18, 2006	2006 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships
Win	13-2	Muzaffar Abdurakhmanov	4-3
Win	12-2	Dan Thompson	9-6
Win	11-2	Garrett Atkinson	Fall
Win	10-2	Brian Busby	Tech Fall 25-8
2005 NCAA Championships at 165 lbs
Win	9-2	Mark Perry	5-2	March 19, 2005	2005 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships
Win	8-2	Ryan Churella	6-2
Win	7-2	John Sioredas	Fall
Win	6-2	Joey Hooker	Major 12-3
Win	5-2	Garry Price	Fall
2004 NCAA Championships 5th at 157 lbs
Loss	4-2	Alex Tirapelle	1-4	March 20, 2004	2004 NCAA Division I Wrestling Championships
Win	4-1	Phillip Simpson	4-2
Win	3-1	Charlie Brenneman	Major 11-1
Loss	2-1	Ryan Bertin	4-7
Win	2-0	Derek Zinck	2-1
Win	1-0	Brian Cobb	TB 6-5

Pay-Per-View Bouts

Bareknuckle Boxing Record

See Also

In Spanish: Johny Hendricks para niños

• List of current UFC fighters
• List of male mixed martial artists