UFC welterweight champion Johny Hendricks is currently recovering from surgery on his right biceps, but the injury isn't the reason he won't be competing anytime soon. ESPN.com reports that Hendricks can fight before the end of this year, but likely won't because of the UFC's currently booked pay-per-view schedule.
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According to the report, Hendricks' wrestling coach Kenny Monday said "Big Rigg" is "about 85 percent" recovered from the March surgery. He said Hendricks is training at full strength on a daily basis, but it's likely he won't return to the octagon until February at the earliest.
"I know everyone would have loved January, but it doesn't look like that's going to work out," Monday told ESPN.com. "I'm thinking he fights in February or March."
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When Robbie Lawler solidified his status as the number-one contender with a win over Matt Brown in July, he said he'd prefer to fight in January. Hendricks would be ready to fight if needed, but the problem is that the UFC has already announced its next six PPV main events through Jan. 31. The UFC also doesn't want to book a fight before Hendricks is completely healed to avoid him suffering another injury.
"The last thing the UFC wanted was to start promoting a fight and have to postpone it if Johny had a setback," Hendricks' manager Ted Ehrhardt said. "He's well past that point now but the schedule is full. He's a main event fighter and all the main events are taken. It looks like he'll fight some time in February."
Hendricks won the welterweight title in March at UFC 171 by a unanimous decision win over Lawler. He revealed the torn biceps after the fight. Lawler became the number-one contender by defeating Jake Ellenberger by TKO in May and then beating Brown by unanimous decision.
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