Hendricks lost because he was playing the scorecards...

[Buddie05]

guess johnny didn't know gsp was the champ and that he probably should've gone 100%

Well said.

 

[ErnestoRoost]

No, Hendricks lost because he was shafted.

GSP lost because he wasn't good enough.

Lets not blame the victim here ffs.

 

[Amygdala]

Watching the fight you could clearly see Hendricks thought he was in control and was winning the fight going into the 5th round (which based on damage done, he was right.)

He completely let up in the 5th round. It was clear he went into that round with the mentality that as long as he does not get subbed/knocked out that he would win a decision. THAT was his fatal mistake. If he goes out and pushes the pace and makes that round even CLOSE, he likely would have gotten the favor in the judges' minds based on the tempo of the rest of the fight.

It's his own fault he lost. Tough lesson learned. I think he will see it on tape when he watches the fight... and most importantly won't make the same mistake again.

Kind of ironic that GSP gets blamed for being a points fighter, yet JH's admitted points fighting is what cost him the 5th round and the fight.

 

[grooves12]

What in the world????? Please tell me you mean you think the judges would give him the 5th if that round was close.

Psychology... GSP's face was marked up, Hendricks was clearly the fresher fighter, had controlled the pace of the fight, and he had just put out a dominant round 4. In the eyes of the Judges it would have been a continuation of the momentum of the fight if he continued pressing forward in a close round. But, he completely relented and gave the judges no choice but to give GSP that round.

 

[Free_MMAson]

HENDRIC only gave 70%

 

[LazyFatass]

Every sane person on Earth thought Hendricks was winning. Going balls to the wall when you have the fight in your hands can get you KTFO.
Hendricks is not to blame for this BS.

Every sane person on Earth thought that the fight was really close going into the 5th round. Rounds 2 and 4 were for Hendricks, round 3 was for GSP, and round 1 was really close and could have gone either way.

Even if Hendricks was ahead, it wouldn't have been by much, certainly not enough that he could have let off the gas. And, lo and behold, he lost the fifth round and the fight. He didn't have to go balls to the wall, but he certainly needed more urgency than he showed.

 

[DLX]

Hendricks thought he could beat GSP at playing it safe...

 

[csroster]

Every sane person on Earth thought Hendricks was winning. Going balls to the wall when you have the fight in your hands can get you KTFO.
Hendricks is not to blame for this BS.

How is Hendricks not to blame? Every sane person on Earth knows that the MMA judges can be fairly insane.

GSP was more likely to get KO'd by Hendricks than the other way around, yet GSP still went balls to the wall (even though on the judges scorecards the fight was basically even going into the 5th).

Hendricks knows the rules, the judging, and deference to the champion in decisions. Coasting in the final round is far riskier than fighting with some urgency.

--

Maybe a better way to put it would be:

Knowing what Hendricks knows now, would he still have coasted in the 5th round or would he have tried to seize the moment?

 

[DickRitchie]

Hendricks lost because the judges are idiots. Sal D'Amato was one of them at 167. He was the guy who gave Frankie all five rounds in the first fight against BJ.

 

[welcometohavoc]

Same thing GSP does

 

[georgejjr]

Every sane person on Earth thought Hendricks was winning. Going balls to the wall when you have the fight in your hands can get you KTFO.
Hendricks is not to blame for this BS.

I think that's true (and I think Hendricks should have won 48-47).

However, GSP got a lot of criticism for not going balls to the wall when he had the fight in his hands, its interesting how many people who hated GSP for not going for the finish are okay with Hendricks not going for the finish.

I also note that Hendricks hasn't been able to finish either of his last two fights - the fact is, it gets very hard to finish top level fighters. Makes it more understandable that GSP hasn't been finishing guys at that level either.

If it was wrong for GSP not to finish in his fights, then it is wrong for Hendricks not to finish (and GSP and Condit both stood right in front of Hendricks, neither was avoiding him at all, or taking him down). If it was okay for GSP to play for points when ahead, then its okay for Hendricks. Can't have it both ways.

Either both GSP and Hendricks are wrong for playing it safe, or both are right for doing so.

 

[csroster]

I think that's true (and I think Hendricks should have won 48-47).

However, GSP got a lot of criticism for not going balls to the wall when he had the fight in his hands, its interesting how many people who hated GSP for not going for the finish are okay with Hendricks not going for the finish.

I also note that Hendricks hasn't been able to finish either of his last two fights - the fact is, it gets very hard to finish top level fighters. Makes it more understandable that GSP hasn't been finishing guys at that level either.

If it was wrong for GSP not to finish in his fights, then it is wrong for Hendricks not to finish (and GSP and Condit both stood right in front of Hendricks, neither was avoiding him at all, or taking him down). If it was okay for GSP to play for points when ahead, then its okay for Hendricks. Can't have it both ways.

Either both GSP and Hendricks are wrong for playing it safe, or both are right for doing so.

I'd rather nobody play it safe, not only for excitement but because you never know with judging these days.

However, the champion coasting is slightly more reasonable than the contender, imo. The challenger should NEVER coast against a long standing champ. The odds of the decision going to a dominant champion in a relatively 'close' fight is just too likely.