GSP, Johny Hendricks play nice at UFC 167 news conference

If you didn’t know that Georges St-Pierre and Johny Hendricks are scheduled to square off in a title fight at on Nov. 16 in Las Vegas, you might have thought they were long-time fishing buddies at Thursday’s UFC 167 press conference.

GSP repeatedly complimented Hendricks’ professionalism and his value as a role model and the challenger said he considers the welterweight champ a friend.

“He’s a really great guy,” Hendricks told reporters of St-Pierre. “We have fun together whenever we’re around, and that’s what this sport’s about. It’s business, but we can be friends. That’s what I enjoy. I can go have a beer with him. I can hang with him. But we have to fight and that’s the way it goes.”

All this mutual respect has to be refreshing for GSP after dealing with Nick Diaz’s antics leading up to his latest title defence in March.

“He’s a gentleman and he represents the sport very well,” St-Pierre said of Hendricks. “He’s a good role model. But if we’re nice to each other, it doesn’t mean it’s going to be a bad fight. It’s going to be an even better fight. A style match-up. I’m looking forward to it.”

This fight is a huge opportunity for Hendricks. St-Pierre is riding an 11-fight win streak, which has led to speculation that his next real challenge would be a superfight against Jon “Bones” Jones or Anderson Silva. But even though St-Pierre is listed as a solid -278 favorite at Sports Interaction in this bout with Hendricks, he’s going to have to be careful with the challenger. Hendricks is a four-time All American wrestler with knockout power. He has done his homework on St-Pierre too and knows dealing with GSP’s jab will be essential in this fight.

“Punch me in the face, I’ll punch you twice as hard,” Hendricks said. “When I’m in there, all my goal is to break somebody’s jaw. Let them forget who they are that night. Let them wake up the next morning and go, ‘What the hell happened?’”

Chris Weidman’s knockout of Anderson Silva last month served as a good reminder that anything can happen in the octagon. Hendricks certainly has a chance, but you know St-Pierre will be well prepared and ready for anything the challenger throws at him. GSP still has dreams of cementing his UFC legacy with superfights down the road and knows he’ll have to take care of Hendricks before there’s any chance of a fight with Silva or Jones. Right now, you have to like the favorite to continue his winning streak.