Fans were happy to see that a former fighter who achieved great success inside the Octagon has found a new career path.
Modern day fight fans may not remember just how feared Johny Hendricks was during his best years in the UFC’s welterweight division.
His run of impressive wins and knockouts led ‘Bigg Rigg’ to a classic title fight with Georges St-Pierre that many still believe Hendricks should’ve won.
The American’s run in the UFC came to an unceremonious end in 2017 with Paulo Costa dismantling Hendricks at UFC 217 in a fight that Joe Rogan claimed ‘was an assault’.
After one bare knuckle boxing fight in 2018, the former welterweight champion hung up the gloves and kick-started a career outside of fighting which he’s still maintaining to this day.
Fans happily react to photo of Johny Hendricks working as a police officer in Texas
After officially announcing his retirement from MMA in June of 2018, Johny Hendricks stated that he would look to use his highly-credentialed wrestling background as a coach.
The 41-year-old competed 21 times inside the Octagon but his career path ended up taking him away from his combat sports background after he departed the UFC.
Hendricks went on to become a police officer in Texas with a recent photo of ‘Big Rigg’ on the job hitting social media and surprising fans.
Though a lot of the reactions made reference to the various highs and lows of his MMA career, many people were happy to see that the former champion has been able to successfully move on to a new chapter after fighting.
As several replies pointed out, the former UFC star who fought the likes of Georges St-Pierre, Robbie Lawler and Carlos Condit, may look like an unassuming officer, but he’s far from that.
‘Legend’
‘That dude is a beast, would not want to be on the other side of law facing him. Deep respect’
‘Hell Yeaaaaaaahhh!!’
‘Yeah, it’ll be best to just comply with this officer’
‘Good career move for him.’
‘Glad to see he landed on his feet. Kinda abruptly disappeared from the UFC. He looks huge. Also broo what is that hair?! Time to let it go. Just shave it’
‘Good for him’
‘No way! Was only thinking the other day what Bigg Rigg was up to’
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Johny Hendricks won four bonuses in a row during his UFC peak
Johny Hendricks’ UFC career ended after he won just one of his last six fights inside the Octagon but this isn’t reflective of his run as a whole.
‘Bigg Rigg’ suffered a steep drop off after he lost the welterweight title at UFC 181 but before that, he was on a remarkable run.
After beating the likes of Jon Fitch and Josh Koscheck, Hendricks would go on to win four consecutive bonuses for a string of remarkable fights and performances.
| Opponent | Event | Result | Bonus |
| Martin Kampmann | UFC 154 | KO Win | Performance of the Night |
| Carlos Condit | UFC 158 | Decision Win | Fight of the Night |
| Georges St-Pierre | UFC 167 | Decision Loss | Fight of the Night |
| Robbie Lawler | UFC 171 | Decision Win | Fight of the Night |
As a former welterweight champion, Hendricks is far more than the guy at the bar talking about how he should have beaten the great Georges St-Pierre.