Johny Hendricks Update: 'Bigg Rigg’ Eyes Late 2014 Return After Successful Bicep Surgery; Injury Almost Cost Him The Title In Fight Against Robbie Lawler?
Johny Hendricks' update is up and the "Bigg Rigg" plans to return to action in by late 2014. The newly crowned UFC welterweight champion is currently on a short hiatus following a bicep surgery in March stemming from his title fight against Robbie Lawler at UFC 171.
"Bigg Rigg's" manager Ted Erhardt spoke to reporter Ariel Helwani on UFC Tonight about Johnny Hendrick' update, saying that his fighter will be able to do some light training in three weeks time.
Ted Erhardt also gave additional Johnny Hendricks update saying some positive feedback about his rehab process, and the manager believes that "Bigg Rigg" can fight again around September to December, but is still dependent on recovery time and the UFC's schedule for the fall.
Johnny Hendricks himself talked to Helwani on a different show, this time for The MMA Hour. "Bigg Rigg" explained how he fought through the entire 25 minutes of action with an injured elbow, which hindered him from effectively use his takedowns.
"Realistically, it's my elbow," Hendricks said. "It happened actually a week-and-a-half before, and it happened in the first round."
Johny Hendricks' pre-fight injury put him at a slight disadvantage, which he himself did admit. But like the hungry fighter that he always has been, "Bigg Rigg" fought through the pain.
"There were a couple of punches where I thought, I really need to throw back," Hendricks continued. "Because [I thought] if I let him get a couple more of these in, yeah, it could be over. But I told myself, hey, just fire back. Just fire back. Calm down. And when I told myself that I was able to start landing some of my own punches."
"Bigg Rigg's" resilience eventually got him his ultimate end goal: the world title. He never let his injury get in the way, even if its severity almost had him pull out of the fight.
"We thought about it. But that world championship means a lot more."
