UFC 181 is one of the most highly anticipated pay-per-views of the year, and the main event will feature defending welterweight champion Johny Hendricks squaring off against Robbie Lawler for the second time this year.
Hendricks and Lawler fought in March for the vacant UFC Welterweight Championship, and Hendricks won the fight via unanimous decision, earning the Fight of the Night award in the process.
Now fans are ready for the rematch.
Here is the full fight card with predictions and the latest comments from both main event fighters.
Breaking Down the Main Event
The battle between Hendricks and Lawler will be the rematch many fans didn’t expect to get this fast. After winning the title, it was revealed that the champion had torn his biceps before the fight and underwent surgery following the event.
With Hendricks on the shelf, Lawler took the loss as another wake-up call and ran through his competition. He beat Jake Ellenberger via TKO in May and followed it up with a unanimous decision win over Matt Brown in July.
Some fighters who win world titles become complacent, but Hendricks has fought Lawler before and understands the caliber of competition he is squaring off against.
Hendricks hasn’t shown any semblance of taking for granted his status as champion, and he told Andreas Hale of Sherdog.com about his approach to title fights:
This whole process I haven’t looked at myself as the champion. This is a fight and as soon as you sign that bout agreement, you are fighting for a belt that’s in the middle and belongs to nobody. I don’t get to take my past fights into this one. As soon as you start believing your own hype, it’s time to retire.
As much as Hendricks appreciates his spot in the UFC, Lawler left the company before and understands what he was missing. As he told Duane Finley of UFC.com that he will do whatever it takes to remain an elite athlete at the top level:
I’m excited to be fighting in the UFC and competing on the sport’s biggest stage again. This is just my time and everything has gone great. I’m excited to be here and I’m excited to be a mixed martial artist. That has shown in my fights and that is going to show again in this one.
I don’t think there was a period where I wasn’t excited to be training and be a mixed martial artist. I think it was more about whatever circumstances I was in at the time. Things just weren’t clicking on all cylinders I guess and we’ll just leave it at that.
While Hendricks can rely on his wrestling skills to make this a ground-and-pound showcase, he understands what puts fans in the seats. He spoke to Hale about his mindset coming into the rematch with Lawler:
I want to be exciting. There’s many ways to make money in the UFC. How many people are around today because they put on great fights? As soon as they step into that Octagon they’re fighting. That’s my reputation and that’s what I want to do: finish fights and keep fans on the edge of their seats.
The hope from most MMA fans is that Saturday’s fight resembles the first battle between these two men. If Hendricks and Lawler stand toe-to-toe in the middle of the Octagon, the ensuing slugfest will be a battle that could easily win Fight of the Night honors again.
Lawler deserves immense credit for contending with Hendricks in the first fight, but the champion is too good to lose his title at UFC 181. Both men will bring their best. But as seen in Hendricks’ fight against Georges St-Pierre, the champion is a physical freak.
Using a mixture of elite wrestling, powerful striking and overall ring awareness, Hendricks will steal the show once again and successfully defend the welterweight title.
Predicted Winner: Hendricks via fourth-round TKO
*Stats via UFC.com.
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