'I feel like Robbie Lawler was my first title defense,' says Hendricks

The welterweight champion considered himself the winner of the fight with St. Pierre and says he wants to face Lawler again next

Bruno ferreira

02/07/2014 | 19:47

Hendricks (left) and Lawler (right) faced each other in March. Photo: Disclosure/UFC

On March 15, John hendricks derrotou Robbie Lawler to become UFC welterweight champion. However, the American faced the occasion in a different way: for him, the fight marked his first title defense, all due to the controversy surrounding his fight with Geroges St. Pierre, in November last year.

In the main attraction of UFC 167, Hendricks and St. Pierre fought a tight five-round battle. Even though the Canadian won the judges' decision, many considered that the real winner of the fight was Hendricks. “I kind of feel like Robbie Lawler It was my first title defense because of the fight with Georges St Pierre. That's how I look at it. Technically it wasn’t my defense, but I kept the same mentality,” Hendricks told the North American website “MMA Fight Corner”.

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For his next fight, Hendricks wants to get a rematch against his last opponent, Lawler. “I will face whoever the number one challenger is. I'm not going to run from this, but there's a part of me that wants to see how I can perform against Robbie Lawler being healthy. Then I can train for Matt Brown, Rory McDonald or whoever,” continued the fighter.