That said, I wish Condit had stuck with his punches and not have thrown so many kicks and knees. Hendricks timed each kick and knee perfectly and threw Condit to the ground almost every time Condit threw one. However, Hendricks didn't have an answer for Condit when he kept his range and mixed up his punches. If Condit done that the entire fight he would have won, IMO. I also think Condit would have won regardless if it was a 5 Rounder instead of 3.
First, I agree 100% that Condit would have won a five-rounder. He was getting the better of the fight toward the end of it, and really lighting Hendricks up. There was a couple of exchanges where if he had put an extra punch or two in, he probably could have gotten a TKO, or at least a couple of knockdowns to throw it into his favor.
I think it comes down to the fact that Condit really thought like the majority of the MMA community, and felt that Hendricks was all hype. I've said all along that anybody that can flatline Jon Fitch quick like that isn't hype. I think once Condit felt Hendricks power, it completely changed up the game plan. Carlos clearly got his wits back in the third round, and Hendricks was tiring out a bit. That's my only cause for concern with Hendricks leading into the GSP fight, is cardio. I would imagine that's a lot of what their camp leading up to will be about.
But I'm being nit picky here. The fact is, Hendricks did a lot better than I ever expected him to and he no doubt deserves a shot at GSP. My only criticism of Hendricks is his lack of action while on top, but other than that... I have to give him nothing but respect for last night's performance. I still think GSP beats him decisively, but I can't deny that Hendricks deserves his chance at him.
I think an argument can be made for Hendricks lack of top game as being respectful to Condit's ground game, and realizing that regardless of how much film you watch it's impossible to know what Condit is going to do, because he probably doesn't even know what the hell he's going to do until a few seconds before he does it. He's easily the most unpredictable bottom fighter I've ever watched.
If Hendricks comes in prepared to go five rounds, and can stuff some of GSP's early takedowns, he has a real chance to win the fight. If he isn't prepared to go 5 rounds, he's probably going to be competitive for 3 rounds, and then get wrestle-fucked for the final two for a decision. I think Hendricks is going to beat St. Pierre up on the feet quite a bit, and if he can rattle St. Pierre on the feet, and stuff some of his takedowns, he has a chance to TKO him late in the second, or middle of the third.
All that said if I'm putting money down on it, I would go with St. Pierre as he seems to pretty much be a gameplan machine. He's like the Canadian versian of Ivan Drago, but he wins. It's more likely that he survives Hendricks and out-wrestles him. But Hendricks is definitely going to put hands on St. Pierre a couple of times and make it look good.
