UFC’s Hendricks V Jon Fitch Dec 30th, The Happy Beard Man Talks to Takedown

Posted on | November 1, 2011 | No Comments

Article by: Antwan Jackson of Bleacher Report

Jon Fitch is arguably the No. 2 welterweight in the UFC. The Gray Maynard of the welterweight division, he’s fought some of the sport’s best, including B.J. Penn, Georges St-Pierre and Thiago Alves. He’s made it very clear to matchmaker Joe Silva and head man Dana White that he only wanted to fight either Penn or GSP. When that didn’t come to fruition, he opted to agree to what some saw as a tune-up fight versus Johny Hendricks at UFC 141.

One problem with that:

Hendricks is a hot welterweight looking for a three-fight win streak (including a knockout of the night win over TJ Waldburger at UFC Fight Night 24) to add to his fabulous record of 11-1. He’s not whom Fitch would want as a tune-up for a title shot.

With nothing to lose and everything to gain, Hendricks looks to move into contender status with an upset of Fitch. But how will he do it? Let’s take an in depth look at the man known as the “Happy Beard Guy.”

Jon Fitch has an excellent wrestling pedigree, which serves as the basis of how he gets his wins. He was a four-year letterman and team captain at Purdue University under the tutelage of former Pride fighter Tom Erikson. His strategy in most fights is to use conditioning and wrestling to wear the opponent down either in the clinch or on the ground. The consensus is that he doesn’t look to finish fights, but rather utilizes the “lay and pray” method that has gotten the dubious title of having the most decision victories in UFC history along with GSP.

The counter for his wrestling is the stellar wrestling background of Oklahoma State All-American Johny Hendricks. A four-time All-American, three-time Big 12 conference champion and two-time national champion, Hendricks appears to be more skilled than Fitch in the area of wrestling.

With this being the case, takedowns will be hard to get, and it allows Hendricks to dictate the fight—something previous fighters were unable to do against Fitch.

Jon Fitch hasn’t knocked anyone out since 2006. He uses his hands the same way the Dallas Cowboys use their running game. Everybody knows it doesn’t work, but they do it just to keep their opponent honest. He hasn’t learned what boxing can do for him from his training partner and good friend Josh Koscheck. Being multi-dimensional helps every fighter, and that’s not something Fitch can say he emulates.

Johny Hendricks, on the other hand, has shown he is more than willing to stand and trade with anyone and expects to come out on top. He has good boxing technique and power that is similar to that of Koscheck. Hendricks has a killer instinct that won’t allow Fitch to maintain a slow, easy pace for himself.

Hendricks will force pugilistic action. Fitch won’t like that much.

Hendricks enters this fight with absolutely nothing to lose. He received a major step up in competition. Whether it was warranted and well deserved, some would debate. However, he has an opportunity to stake his claim as a welterweight to be reckoned with in the division.

What happens if Hendricks defeats Fitch

If UCLA were to beat Alabama by even the smallest of margins, everyone is going to take notice. That’s similar to the luxury Hendricks has in this fight. If he loses, no big deal—it was expected to happen. He would draw on those experiences as he systematically improves his physical game as well as his mental game.

But if he wins? That changes everything for him. He would immediately be thrust into a contender battle and the Silva-White tag team would try to match him up against the top-tier welterweights to move him into title contention. His purses would increase, his visibility would increase and we would get to see more of that incomparable beard.

It’s truly a win-win for Hendricks, so he should enter the cage with no monkey on his back to maintain like Fitch will have. He should be loose and let punches fly and put Fitch in compromising situations that will allow us to see Fitch fight his way out, or fold under the bearded pressure.

Can Fitch continue his lackluster domination

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