Ariel Helwani interviewed Johny Hendricks’ manager Ted Ehrhardt, founder of Team Takedown, on the MMA Hour yesterday. Ehrhardt had a lot to say about his fighter’s epic UFC 167 title fight with Georges St-Pierre, the controversial decision and GSP’s future. Here’s some highlights:
“I haven’t heard anything from the UFC, but I am (sure Hendricks’ next fight will be a rematch) because Dana makes things happen,” Ehrhardt said. “I mean, Anderson (Silva) after the (Chris) Weidman loss said he was done, then next thing you know, they’ve got a rematch scheduled. Dana makes the fights happen that the fans want to see. He’s been great about that. GSP, being the champion he’s been, surely would not want to go out on a fight that he lost and got a win. No respectful champion would want to go out on those terms. So I’m confident between that and Dana White making it happen, that yeah, we’ll have a rematch next fight.
“Who’s to say if a year (layoff) becomes two years,” Ehrhardt explained. “So if [St-Pierre] is going to walk away, I think he should give up his belt and let us fight for the belt. Don’t matter who it is (against).
“Like Johny said, it’d be wonderful to take the belt from GSP because he has been such a great champion. But the main thing is getting the belt. It’s not beating GSP. I mean, we already kind of feel like we just did that.
“I would hope GSP would come back and do the right thing,” Hendricks’ manager said. “If he’s going through stuff, of course you feel bad for a guy for that. But he’s made a lot of money in this sport. Like Dana said, he owes it to the sport, not just Johny and the UFC. The sport of MMA has really made him who he is, just like it has Johny. That’s what the fans are going to want. They’re going to want a rematch, Johny vs. GSP.
“The fans are what make the UFC. The fans are what make Johny, GSP, any of these guys. And that’s the [group] that should get what they deserve. All those people that spent that money on that pay-per-view deserve to be able to see another fight and get to watch it.”
What do you think? Does GSP owe the UFC and the fans and Johny Hendricks a do-over?
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