Hendricks: 'It's time to say I'm done' if I lose to Magny
2016 has not been kind to Johny Hendricks.
The former UFC welterweight champion has gone winless in two fights this year, and should he fail to end it on a high note with a victory over Neil Magny at December's UFC 207, "Bigg Rigg" will be ready to call it a career.
"The last two I have lost, fair and square, I know I have," Hendricks told ESPN’s Brett Okamoto. "Realistically, if I go out there - and hey, crazier things have happened - I go out there and lose, that’s when it’s time to say, 'I’m done.' I’m not gonna keep fighting to hopefully find a person I can beat."
Hendricks lost to Stephen Thompson in February, then Kelvin Gastelum at UFC 200 in July, but his fall from grace began before the two-fight skid. The heavy-handed Oklahoma native sat atop the UFC welterweight heap just two years ago when he beat Robbie Lawler for the then-vacant divisional strap at UFC 171. His reign would be short-lived, as Lawler dethroned Hendricks in a rematch just nine months later. A decision victory over the scrappy Matt Brown stands as the only win in the two-year stretch.
His opponent most recently saw his three-fight win streak snapped with a starching at the hands of Lorenz Larkin at UFC 202. Magny had previously mounted a seven-fight run in which he tied a UFC record for the most wins in a calendar year, notching five in 2015 alone.
Hendricks' fate will be determined on Dec. 30 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
- With h/t to Bloody Elbow