UFC on FOX 3 Results: UFC Avoids Disaster as Johny Hendricks Beats Josh Koscheck

If you didn't already know, Johny Hendricks just made sure that everyone is well aware that he is a contender in the UFC welterweight division.

Regardless of how you feel about the controversial decision that saw Hendricks win a split decision over Josh Koscheck at UFC on FOX 3, what the fight did is solidify that he is not just a flash-in-the-pan. His flash knockout over Jon Fitch wasn't a fluke.

...or so the UFC hopes.

Whether they would be willing to admit it or not, it's hard to deny that the UFC was desperately hoping that Johny Hendricks would win this fight. It's not that they don't like Koscheck, but the reality is that as long as Georges St-Pierre is holding the UFC welterweight championship, Josh Koscheck is probably not ever going to earn another shot at the belt.

Koscheck's loss to St-Pierre at UFC 124 proved in many fans' eyes that Koscheck is a perennial contender. However, fair or not, it also proved to them that he is not championship material. 

At this point, Koscheck is a glorified gatekeeper in the UFC welterweight division, and with GSP still recovering from an injury, the division needs to keep all of the challengers it can. 

Certainly I'm not suggesting that the UFC would do anything malicious in trying to get another win on Hendricks' record...but that doesn't mean that they're not pretty happy with the result.

Hendricks now has back-to-back victories over consensus top five welterweight challengers and could very well find himself fighting for a title by the end of the year. 

It'll be interesting to see whether Jake Ellenberger or Johny Hendricks gets elevated to the top of the title conversation. Maybe they'll even end up fighting one another. 

Too many contenders? What a nice problem to have.