[autotag]Johny Hendricks[/autotag] hasn’t had much of a relationship with mixed martial arts since he parted ways with the UFC in 2018.
A former UFC welterweight champion, who fought the likes of Georges St-Pierre, Robbie Lawler, and others hasn’t remained in the spotlight, trying to squeeze every last drop of competition out of his being, no.
“What I told everybody was, as soon as I retired, I was going to fall off the face of the earth,” Hendricks recently told MMA Junkie.
Until the past few weeks, that held true. Hendricks, 37, who now works full-time as a Texas police officer, had largely not been heard from. Largely inactive on social media, he’d seemingly vanished.
A key figure in the history of the UFC welterweight division, Hendricks still assisted on the local scene with wrestling from time to time. That’s the closest he got to combat sports. However, a call from his old manager with an intriguing task at hand has returned Hendricks to the MMA scene.
“When (manager) Oren (Hodak) contacted me about Kevin, he’s a Texas boy. He’s doing Texas proud, just like me,” Hendricks said. “My goal for him is that he can win the belt here in Texas as well.”
[autotag]Kevin Holland[/autotag] doesn’t do a single interview these days without being asked about the obvious: his wrestling defense. He’s never hidden from it. From the moment he lost his second straight fight, when he dropped a unanimous decision against Marvin Vettori in April, Holland (21-7 MMA, 8-4 UFC) has acknowledged the obvious, even joking about it at times.
“In my eyes, I still suck,” Holland bluntly told MMA Junkie in a recent interview.
Though he accepted an offer from Daniel Cormier and made the trip to out to Northern California for two brief training stints at Antdawg’s in Gilroy, Calif., Holland wanted help a little closer to his home city of Dallas – and who better than a former UFC champion to give that to him?
Although their personalities are opposite, their similarities shine through. The contrast in styles mesh well and they’re both “Texas boys.” Hendricks, a former UFC welterweight champion, is someone Holland aspires to follow in the footsteps of. The recipe is working, according to both coach and fighter.
“I’m a different coach than most,” Hendricks said. “… I like a two-way street. I like to hear the good with the bad and to move forward. Kevin has picked up on a lot of good things. The way he’s implementing them with his body is good. … I’ve just got to throw as much knowledge as I can toward him and let him absorb as much as he can. I know it’s not going to be 100 percent, but that’s what I want.”
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Holland echoed many of the same sentiments, “It works. We’re close. Johny is good at what the f*ck Johny does. You know what I mean? Johny can knock people out and take people down and he can stop you from taking him down. I like knocking people out. I want to stop people from taking me down and I’ve got a 100 percent takedown on Derek Brunson and he’s never been taken down. I think we’ve got some things that can click and mix plus we’re both KO Gang, so keep it Texas, baby.”
The key ingredient, perhaps, to the growing relationship between Holland and Hendricks is the later’s dedication to individual attention. Hendricks doesn’t have dozens of UFC fighters to coach, thus gives Holland the specific personalized instruction necessary.
Hendricks hasn’t had much of a public relationship with martial arts since a bare-knuckle boxing match in November 2018. Now working as a police officer, Hendricks trains Holland on the side and will be in his corner on fight night for “The Trailblazer’s” Oct. 2 bout vs. Kyle Daukaus. Dipping his toe back into the MMA waters, Hendricks has found passion, so he’s not ruling out more coaching in his future – just not with any middleweights.
“I’m not going to work with anyone else in the 185-pound division,” Hendricks said. “I’m not that type of person. I’ll be honest with you. I’ve gotten to know Kev. It’s actually been fun training and teaching somebody who wants to learn. Not only that, but trying to figure out every scenario with him and everything else going on.”
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Hendricks doesn’t think Holland needs a full revamp, but rather, some fine-tuning. A soft-spoken, respectful competitor during his fighting days, Hendricks recognizes Holland’s trash-talking “big mouth” ways are part of what led him to the dance in the first place.
“Usually, opposites attract to each other,” Hendricks said. “He can say everything I might be thinking. He’ll do it. I’m going to be more of the sheltered style. With him, it all boils down to that’s his personality. That’s his flow when he’s in the Octagon and outside the Octagon. That’s what he needs.”
So will Holland’s long-sought-after takedown defense be up to par come fight night? Two of Dallas’ all-time most notable UFC fighters seem to think so.
“My goal is that whenever Kevin goes out there everybody is like, ‘Well, damn, now we can’t deal with his wrestling. Damn, we can’t deal with his striking.’ How do we make a puzzle they can’t figure out?” Hendricks asked. “That’s really what it is.”
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