Johny Hendricks was supposed to fight Tyron Woodley at UFC 192 in October. A win would have more than likely earned him a shot at a title that many believe he should not have lost in the first place.

Instead, two months later, Hendricks is further away from the belt than he has been in years and that isn't even his chief concern. His health and well-being are.

Hendricks didn't lose to Woodley. He couldn't even make the fight. Two days before, he found himself in the hospital with a kidney stone and a blockage of an intestine thanks to an extreme weight cut he has attempted to perform all too many times.

That frightening incident might have scared the former UFC welterweight champion straight. Hendricks has hunkered down and hired a nutritionist, Louis Giordano, who preaches weight management rather than weight cutting. Giordano is already working with Aljamain Sterling and Eddie Gordon from the Serra-Longo camp and Hendricks is a recent addition to his stable.

"I've killed my body way too much," Hendricks told MMA Fighting. "That's not even counting college. That's not even counting high school and that's not even counting middle school. I've been cutting weight literally since I was 13 years old. I'm 32. Yeah, I know how to cut weight, but there's a point where your body just wants to be done with it."

Giordano said Hendricks has already hit 180 and his walking around in the low 180s around two weeks before his fight with Stephen Thompson at UFC 196 on Feb. 6 in Las Vegas. By the time he arrives for fight week, Giordano hopes there's only about six or seven pounds left to cut. Hendricks has looked shredded in recent pictures he's posted on social media -- a major departure from the past. Previously, Hendricks would arrive on fight week up to 20 pounds off.

#UFC196 #training A photo posted by Johny Hendricks (@johnyhendricks) on Jan 25, 2016 at 12:40pm PST

The idea, Giordano said, is to not dehydrate. He hates the term "weight cut," because that implies losing weight in an unhealthy, extreme way. Giordano, a New Jersey native, has a degree in exercise science, is a certified weight management specialist and has been working in and health and fitness for 15 years.

"There's a big difference between dehydrating yourself and losing weight while still being hydrated," he said. "The goal is to make sure they're 100 percent when they step in the cage and it's actually impossible to dehydrate yourself and be 100 percent in 24 hours."

In MMA, fighters want to be as big as possible -- bigger than their opponents, if possible -- going into a fight. It is a culture taken from amateur wrestling. Giordano, who was a wrestler from the age of 5, said it doesn't really make sense. A major weight cut is only going to hamper a fighter's performance, he added, and that is backed up by medical science.

"Size has no affect on strength," Giordano said. "Just because you're walking around and you're bigger doesn't mean you're necessarily stronger. It's basic physics -- more mass equals slower speed. So in essence you're going to be slower if you put on a lot more mass for that fight. It's a really big misconception. Like doctors said, it's impossible to dehydrate yourself to where you're cutting nine, 10 pounds in two hours to step on a scale and then refuel, rehydrate and be 100 percent."

'It's a really big misconception. Like doctors said, it's impossible to dehydrate yourself to where you're cutting nine, 10 pounds in two hours to step on a scale and then refuel, rehydrate and be 100 percent.' - Louis Giordano

Hendricks and his former nutrition guru, Mike Dolce, parted ways earlier this year. "Bigg Rigg" used some of Dolce's principles for weight cuts after the split, but strayed from his initial plan before his training camp for Woodley. Dolce has criticized Hendricks for getting too far out of shape in the offseason, a fact that Hendricks does not necessarily dispute.

"I made the wrong decisions on how to eat and what to eat," Hendricks said. "It goes back to me just sitting here saying, 'I don't know anything about it, let's get somebody who does.' I was being like, 'Hey, I got this.' It cost me and I want to make sure it never costs me again. That's where Louis comes in."

Hendricks (17-3) is, without hyperbole, one of the very best talents in the sport. The former two-time NCAA wrestling national champion has two losses in the last five years and many thought he should have won both of those split decisions against Robbie Lawler and Georges St-Pierre. Despite the results, Hendricks went into many of those fights following a very steep weight cut.

Outside of how it could affect his performance, Hendricks was going through practices that could be very harmful to his health long term. Dr. Margaret Goodman, a neurologist and former ringside physician, told News 3 Las Vegas recently that extreme weight cutting can cause renal failure and liver disease. There is also evidence that rapid dehydration and then rehydration can increase the risk of brain trauma in a fight. A boxer from Nicaragua died last year following a knockout loss and losing 10 pounds in 24 hours to make weight.

California State Athletic Commission (CSAC) executive director Andy Foster has called weight cutting the biggest problem facing MMA today and CSAC hosted a weight-cutting summit last month in Los Angeles to discuss possible rule changes.

Hendricks said he is now serious about both his health and the longevity of his athletic abilities. He said he was either going to move to middleweight, retire altogether or hire a nutritionist. He chose the latter.

"I'm learning more about nutrition," Hendricks said. "I thought I knew enough to do it on my own. And that last fight, it sort of proved that I don't know enough about nutrition to do it on my own. That's where Louis -- or should I say 'Loutrition' -- comes into play."

Giordano said Hendricks is eating similar things that he did before. His diet consists mostly of chicken and fish with some red meat and venison, which is a Hendricks favorite. There are also sweet potatoes, greens, eggs, oatmeal, almond butter and protein shakes on the menu.

"What I did was just kind of clean up, make sure our portions were right, our meal timing was right, while still giving him foods he enjoys," Giordano said. "That's how it becomes a realistic lifestyle change that these guys take with them months and months after the fight."

When Hendricks arrives in Vegas, Giordano wants him to be around six or seven pounds from the welterweight maximum. Getting to 170 from there will be slow and steady, he said. Hendricks will even eat breakfast and maybe even have another meal on weigh-in day.

Giordano believes that any fighter going through an extreme weight cut only performs at 60 percent. This, he said, will be a new Hendricks.

"That's the scary thing," Giordano said. "Where Johny's mindset is now, where his body is, where is training is and everything else in between, it's a scary thing. I think you're going to see a guy who is going to take over that division and take it over for a very long time. Because you're going to see him at 100 percent when he steps in."