Hendricks 4-0 in Fights Where He Is The Big Favorite
Published on March 15th, 2014 12:37 am ESTJohny Hendricks will be taking on "Ruthless" Robbie Lawler in the main event of UFC 171 tomorrow night. The winner will walk away with the currently vacant Welterweight title, while the loser will need to work their way back up the Welterweight title ladder.
Johny Hendricks is currently a big favorite to win on Saturday night - here are the current betting odds:
Johny Hendricks, -400
Robbie Lawler, +300
How has Johny Hendricks fared in fights where he is the big favorite? Let's take a look.
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Since entering the promotion back in August of 2009, Hendricks has compiled an impressive record of 10-2, with his only losses coming against Georges St. Pierre and Rick Story.
Hendricks has been the underdog in four fights (Sadollah, Fitch, St. Pierre and Koscheck) and has gone 3-1 in those fights, with many people believing that he did enough to beat GSP.
In fights where Hendricks has been a favorite (Funch, Grant, Brenneman, Story, Waldburger, Pierce, Kampmann, Condit), Hendricks has been able to compile a 7-1 record, with his only loss coming against Rick Story at the Ultimate Fighter 12 finale. Of those 7 victories, 5 came via knockout (Sadollah, Brenneman, Waldburger, Fitch, Kampann).
Hendricks has been a big favorite (-300 or more) in four of his UFC fights:
Ricardo Funch, UFC 107, Win, Unanimous Decision, -425
TJ Grant, UFC 113, Win, Majority Decision, -465
Charlie Brenneman, UFC 117, Win, KO 2nd Round, -400
TJ Waldburger, UFC Fight Night Nogueira vs Davis, Win, KO, 1st Round, -340
All four instances resulted in victories for Hendricks.
Hendricks is also a big favorite for Saturday's fight against Lawler, but there are a few things to remember:
1) Hendricks nearly missed weight, and this will likely have an impact on Saturday night. Will he have the same power as normal? What about his gas tank if the fight goes into the championship rounds?
2) Lawler is extremely explosive and can win the fight just as quickly as Hendricks can win the fight
3) Lawler is extremely experienced
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While Hendricks certainly deserves to be the favorite in this fight, it's actually (in my opinion) quite a bit closer than the line would indicate.
