UFC 181 hosted a rematch of one of the best welterweight fights in the promotion’s history, and while the results weren’t quite as electric the second time around, Johny “Bigg Rigg” Hendricks and the ultimately victorious “Ruthless” Robbie Lawler put on a solid show inside the Octagon.
In the first 60 seconds of the fight, Lawler was possessed. He was out for blood. He swung crisp hooks and flying knees, he pushed forward and would not ease up on the throttle until Hendricks was unconscious.
Unfortunately for him, Hendricks withstood the early barrage, hung tough and returned fire with some solid strikes and a late takedown to end the round.
From there, the champ took over.
In Rounds 2 through 5, Hendricks proved too much for Ruthless, taking over with his combinations, leg kicks and wrestling and showcasing his worth to the judges cageside. Save the final 30 seconds of the fight, when Lawler entered full-on berserker mode again, Hendricks was the aggressor and he controlled the action inside the cage.
But guess what, friends! Judges in MMA aren’t perfect.
What We’ll Remember About This Fight
We’ll remember the decision!
Robbie Lawler won a split decision (48-47 on one card, 49-46 on another) over Johny Hendricks, capturing the UFC welterweight title and finalizing his improbable and incredible ascent to the top of the 170-pound division.
In July of 2012, Lawler lost to Lorenz Larkin in Strikeforce, via lopsided unanimous decision, and his career looked all but done.
Now he’s the UFC’s welterweight king.
This sport is crazy, and UFC 181’s main event highlighted that fact. Fights are unpredictable. The fighters themselves sometimes traverse unpredictable career paths.
And judges are unpredictable too. A scorecard of 48-47 for Lawler is shaky to me (but passable), but 49-46? Nope. No way.
Hendricks seemed to clearly win Round 2, Round 3 and Round 4 (and possibly Round 1), but here we are. Lawler is the champion, and it’s still really cool to see him with that golden symbol of victory strapped around his waist.
MMA, ladies and gentleman. Just when you think you know this sport, you get a night like this.
What We Learned About Hendricks
Johny Hendricks showcased an evolved stand-up game in his rematch with Lawler.
In Round 2, Hendricks started to piece together nice combinations he ended with hard leg kicks, and his striking looked more fluid and diverse overall.
Add in his established wrestling attack—he scored five takedowns in the first four rounds, compared to just two total takedowns during their UFC 171 affair—and Hendricks is obviously a well-rounded, high-level mixed martial artist.
We already knew that, but we saw a slight upgrade over his previous self at UFC 181.
What We Learned About Lawler
You can’t count out Lawler. You just can’t.
If you told me (or any MMA fan/critic/analyst) in 2012 that Ruthless would be the UFC’s welterweight champion in December of 2014, you’d be greeted with a laugh and perhaps a smack in the face.
That’s nonsense. That just wouldn’t happen.
But it did.
Lawler stayed in the fight, avoided Hendricks’ most powerful strikes and poured it out in bursts to overwhelm Hendricks for 30 to 60 seconds at a time, getting the crowd involved and revving up the pulses of fans nationwide.
We already knew Lawler was tough, we already knew he was a fierce competitor and we already knew he was a legitimate welterweight contender.
Tonight, though, we learned Lawler is a champion. He finally did it.
What’s Next for Hendricks?
A trilogy fight with Lawler wouldn’t be unreasonable, given the nature of this decision, but I don’t see it happening.
Hendricks’ run at the top wasn’t long enough—this was his first title defense—and the welterweight division is only getting more and more confusing and stacked by the day.
Instead of matching up Hendricks with Lawler again, send him back down the ladder and give him the winner of the UFC Fight Night 60 main event between Matt Brown and Tarec Saffiedine.
It’s rare for the UFC to match up a fighter coming off a loss with a fighter coming off a win, but Hendricks’ stock isn’t plummeting by any means, and the winner of Brown vs. Saffiedine won’t have a claim for the title and need at least one more win to capture a shot at UFC gold.
Keep the division moving and let one of them prove—without question—they deserve the title shot.
What’s Next for Lawler?
Barring a Hendricks trilogy, Rory MacDonald is next for Lawler.
The fight has already been announced (h/t MMAjunkie.com) and still makes sense. Canadian superstar MacDonald earned his shot at the UFC title in what will be a rematch with Lawler.
MacDonald previously lost to Lawler at UFC 167 in November of 2013, but he’s won three straight fights since then and, as UFC 181 showed us, rematches don’t always produce identical results.
It’s fixing to be a great fight in the UFC’s welterweight division, and the 25-year-old TriStar Gym product might just slam the cover on Lawler’s Cinderella story before we even get to the second chapter.
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