GSP vs. Hendricks: What the Champ Will Need to Change for Next Time

Somewhere out there, Johny Hendricks is probably still scratching his beard wondering exactly what in the hell happened on Saturday night.

The top welterweight contender exited UFC 167 on the losing end of a controversial split decision to UFC champ Georges St-Pierre.

At the post-fight press conference, Hendricks, who didn’t have a single scratch on his face, looked flat out confused and irritated that he could still lose a fight without taking any damage. Meanwhile, St-Pierre’s face looked worse than Sylvester Stallone’s after fighting Ivan Drago in Rocky 4.

Many predicted Hendricks would be a handful for St-Pierre, but most of that bravado came from the fact that Hendricks’ left hand brandished just about as much knockout power as Thor’s hammer. Not many expected him to actually go the distance with St-Pierre and win on points.

After the bout, St-Pierre announced in his post-fight interview that he would be stepping away from MMA indefinitely to take care of some personal problems. During the post-fight media scrum, via MMA H.E.A.T.’s Karyn Bryant, UFC President Dana White claimed that St-Pierre’s personal problems weren’t that big of a deal, and he foresaw the champ returning to action soon.

Banking on White’s gut feeling, it would be surprising if an immediate rematch between St-Pierre and Hendricks isn’t next up.

If he draws Hendricks for a second time, what does St-Pierre need to do differently to ensure a more convincing outcome?

Perhaps the most interesting stat in the entire fight was St-Pierre only attempting one takedown in the open, which ended up being his best takedown of the night.

St-Pierre has this way of staying on the outside and utilizing his jab and kicks to frustrate opponents into coming forward. As soon as St-Pierre senses the pocket closing, he usually changes levels and shoots in for a takedown.

This technique worked to perfection early in the bout against Hendricks, who stormed forward looking for the knockout.

But after that sequence, St-Pierre resorted to attempting to out-point Hendricks on their feet and desperately seeking takedowns from the clinch against the cage. A stark contrast between Hendricks and other wrestlers St-Pierre has faced in the past is the incredible strength possessed by the former Oklahoma State Cowboy.

There were several times during the fight when Hendricks literally lifted St-Pierre off his feet to reverse to a more dominant position in the clinch.

Despite the obvious strength advantage, St-Pierre continued to engage Hendricks at a close distance instead of in the open, where he could have utilized his speed and footwork to be more offensive.

With minds like Greg Jackson, Firas Zahabi and John Danaher in St-Pierre’s corner, this will most likely be a point of emphasis in his next training camp. As long as St-Pierre stays on the outside, he should be able to out-land Hendricks on the feet and setup more takedowns.

If things go according to plan, maybe next time the world won't act so surprised when Bruce Buffer calls St-Pierre’s name at the end of a fight.