Johny Hendricks' UFC career is at a pivotal moment. Dallas-Fort Worth's biggest mixed martial arts star has lost his title, dropped two of his past three fights and had weight-making problems that removed him from another. He's gone through a messy divorce from his previous team and some of his coaches.

But things are looking up for Hendricks. His wife had the couple's fourth child -- Christian Rigg Hendricks - and first boy in April.

And Hendricks next faces off against Kelvin Gastelum on July 9 at UFC 200 in a star-studded pay-per-view card. We spoke to Hendricks at Genesis Jiu-jitsu in Fort Worth, one of two places he trains, this week:

So explain your son's name being Rigg: It's just like my nickname. (Here's what Hendricks told us in the past about it): The nickname came because I drive an F350; I pulled up to go to practice one day and a guy said, 'That looks like a big rig.' And beforehand my jiu-jitsu coach said I hit like a Mack truck, so the nickname was born. (On the double g's) I was playing World of Warcraft and big rig was already taken so I did bigg rigg and it worked. That's how we got the spelling.

And your wife was OK with this? My wife was the one who said to do it. I hadn't thought of it good name. It's a one of kind name. I should patent it.

How is having your first boy, any differences between him and having three girls? A little bit when you are changing diapers. It's a little different. Other than that, it hasn't been. The dude he eats 4-5 ounces every meal and sleeps. He's huge and he's standing up on his own with some help. ... My wife does an amazing job. That's one thing I've been blessed with. She keeps the house a home while I'm training. You're thankful she loves kids that much. My wife want to be around them 24-7. After my fight, I'll take 2-3 weeks off and it's all going to be theirs.

You've struggled to make weight (170 pounds) at times. Before the last fight you switched nutrition coaches to Louis Giordano. How do you feel? The body feels. The weight I am not worried about it, I hit 187 pounds (Tuesday). (Lou's plan) is great. One, it's not as hard on my body. I'm slowly losing body fat over a two-month period of time. Before I didn't worry about the body fat, I worried about the water loading. When you do that it hurts the kidneys and I'd have to pass kidney stones. This last fight, I was drinking up to the fight and the weigh-ins. In fact, we made the weight too quickly. We made weight on Thursday, weigh-ins are Friday. I had to hold 174 all day, then I had to hold 171 all day the next day.

What's different about this camp vs. the last one, before you lost to Stephen (Wonderboy) Thompson? We did a lot of sparring, which we didn't do last fight. Now I understand the difference in that (Thompson) might throw a punch and get out of range. (Thompson) switched his gameplan. I should have kept taking angles. I took the center of the octagon and it was my failing.

On why he lost to Thompson: You can't make a guy fight you. Mentally, I was so worried about what's next and not worried about the task at hand. The task ahead is Gastelum. Focus. Watch tape. We have brought in some guys here who are southpaws and some boxers who are southpaws. One thing we didn't do last fight, I only sparred three times. This time we've sparred seven.

How much was it switching teams? It might be a little bit of that. I let it get to me too much. The pressure was there: 'Can he win on his own?' I did it myself. You lose focus on the task. This time, I'm way better prepared.

What have you been doing in your spare time? I'm going to start my own gym for wrestling and jiu-jitsu in Midlothian. I hope to open it August 1.

What are you most excited for at UFC 200? Cain Velasquez vs. Travis Browne: I'm a huge Cain fan. DC (Daniel Cormier) made me a fan of Cain. Miesha Tate: Whenever we are at a UFC event she's always talking to me. Frankie-Aldo: I'm a Frankie guy. DC-Jon Jones: I want DC to win.