Former UFC welterweight champion Johny Hendricks beat Ben Askren and Tyron Woodley when all three were folkstyle wrestlers. Woodley and Askren wrestled for the University of Missouri, while Hendricks wrestled for Oklahoma State University. Woodley and Askren have wanted to fight him ever since the three all began mixed martial arts, and talked about it on the Morning Wood w/ Deez Nuts podcast. Heh.
“I’ve been around Johny since I was 16 when he beat me at the Junior National Championships,” said Askren to Woodley, as transcribed by David St. Martin for MMAFighting.com. “I understand what kind of person he is. Now if you read MMA forums people are starting to understand what kind of person Johny is and are starting to dislike him. He’s just a baby. You’ve been around him for years. He’s a freaking baby.
“That’s just what it is. I understood that and people didn’t see that originally, but now people are starting to get the picture. The guy’s a whiner.”
Woodley agreed.
“Johny has always been a whiner,” he said. “But the thing is, most people whine because they don’t have the abilities. He has the ability. He’s always going to win 90 percent of his matches. He’s won multiple national titles. He whined when he didn’t need to whine.
“You don’t need to whine. Your skills are already there. Your wins speak for themselves. Don’t add that whine because then people just want to smack the smile off your face.”
Woodley’s ire burned deep. In 2005 at the Big 12 championship, Woodley says he was fishhooked by Hendricks. But it was Hendricks who complained to the ref, citing a bite, and Woodley suffered a pont deduction, and ultimately a 4-1 loss.
“When I lost that match I didn’t forgive him for years,” said Woodley. “Then I realized, as a competitor, I had to forgive Johny and move on because I knew if I ever went out there to compete against him I would have just wanted to fight him. I probably would have completely lost my mind, went out there without any kind of strategy. It’s not the smartest way to fight a good competitor.”
“I actually like Johny as a person, now. I’ve hung out with him once or twice at a fan expo, but as an athlete, especially in the past, even now, every fight it’s this, this and this.”
