Johny Hendricks on possible GSP return: 'I’ve got the belt, and he has to beat me'

With rumors of an eventual return of former UFC welterweight kingpin Georges St-Pierre looming large over the 170-pound division, current champ Johny Hendricks is left to field questions about a possible rematch with the Canadian superstar.

Hendricks lost a controversial decision to St-Pierre at UFC 167, after which GSP announced he was taking a hiatus from the sport and vacated his title. Since then, Hendricks claimed the championship in a violent nip-tuck firefight with Robbie Lawler, while GSP underwent surgery to repair a torn ACL. 

As GSP rehabs his ACL, talks of his return to the Octagon have gone from a whisper to a dull roar, with pictures of a highly muscled ex-champ surfacing along with interviews where he claims that when he has "the fire", he's still the best in the world.

Despite the media firestorm surrounding a possible second meeting between Hendricks and GSP, the champion isn't buying into the hype.

“Just because you put on an extra pounds doesn’t mean it’s muscle, and just because you put on an extra two or three pounds of muscle doesn’t mean you’re going to be strong as me,” Hendricks told MMAJunkie. “He didn’t feel that strong, and so that’s just one of those things where I’d like to face him again. Now, I’ve got the belt, and he has to beat me. And realistically, I don’t think he’s going to."

Hendricks, who is recovering from a torn right biceps suffered during his victory over Lawler, will likely make his first title defense against the winner of the upcoming (and probably wonderfully violent) clash between Lawler and Matt Brown.