The UFC invades Las Vegas on Dec. 6 with UFC 181, a stacked card featuring a lightweight title fight between Anthony Pettis and Gilbert Melendez and a welterweight title fight between Johny Hendricks and Robbie Lawler at the top.
While the one-two punch of the co-main and main event is impressive, the card is equally intriguing all the way down to the Fight Pass preliminary portion, where Alex “The Spartan” White battles Clay Collard and the younger Pettis, Sergio, faces Matt “The Crowbar” Hobar.
To help us break down the action, Fox Sports analyst and UFC middleweight superstar Michael “The Count” Bisping picked up the phone, dialed in and chatted about what we can expect Saturday night from the evening’s combatants.
This is “Journalist vs. Analyst: UFC 181 Edition.” Let’s see what The Count thinks of this event.
Bleacher Report: Hey, Michael, thanks for taking the time to chat.
We have an incredible card Saturday evening, stacked at the top with two title fights. In the main event, we’re looking at a welterweight title fight rematch between the champ, Johny Hendricks, and the challenger, Robbie Lawler. Their first fight was an instant classic. Will it be as good this time around?
Michael Bisping: I think so, absolutely. Both guys came so close to winning that first fight. Obviously, Johny Hendricks walked away with the title, but Robbie Lawler is going to be so determined and just on a mission to win that title, because he’s been involved in this sport for so long, but he’s never been UFC champion. He feels like it’s in his destiny to be the champion one day, and he almost got it after that fight. It got away, but he beat Matt Brown, he beat Jake Ellenberger, and he reasserted himself again as the No. 1 contender.
While that was happening, Johny Hendricks sat on the sideline recovering from a torn bicep. He doesn’t want to lose his title to the person he won it from. He wants to prove that he’s a worthy champion and build a legacy of his own.
So both of these guys, and especially when it’s a rematch, when you’ve been in there with someone before and you’re fighting them again, you push yourself in training because you know what this guy’s capable of. So the first one was great, and I think the second one is going to be even better!
B/R: And for Robbie Lawler, you look at a guy who, usually if somebody loses two title fights, the UFC isn’t too excited about giving them a third chance. Is this kind of his last chance? If he doesn’t win it, is that going to be it for Lawler’s title hopes?
MB: You know, never say never. That’s the way I live my life. That’s my attitude. I think it applies to Robbie Lawler in this case and this title fight, because there’s no doubt that Robbie Lawler, this resurgence he’s had in his career has been incredible. Since he came back to the UFC from Strikeforce, he’s looked unstoppable. It really was only Johny Hendricks who was able to beat him.
And as I said, perhaps Matt Brown would’ve gotten the next title fight. But Johny Hendricks had to recover. In the meantime, Robbie Lawler was hungry. He kept fighting. He kept winning, and the UFC had no choice but to give him the title fight. Now, let’s say he doesn’t win (the rematch). If he goes in, does the same thing and beats two, three, four people, then that speaks for itself. So never say never.
B/R: Speaking of that layoff for Hendricks while Lawler stayed active, as a fighter yourself, how hard is that to come off a layoff like this while the other guy has been active? Is that going to play a big part in the fight, do you think?
MB: I do believe that is an advantage for Lawler. Every time you’re in a fight camp, you get better. You learn things about yourself. You make improvements. You learn about the mistakes you were making, and your skills just generally get better and better. This will be the third camp he’s had—one with Ellenberger, one with Matt Brown and now this third one for Johny Hendricks again.
In the meantime, Johny Hendricks has sat on the sidelines. I’m not saying that is an indication of who’s going to win the fight, but I am saying it’s got to be an advantage for Robbie Lawler.
B/R: And then on the flip side, in the co-main event, you have Anthony Pettis, who also hasn’t fought in a long time, and it seems like the fans aren’t too happy about that. But Gilbert Melendez hasn’t fought since October 2013 either, and it seems like that’s kind of getting swept under the rug. So how is ring rust going to play a factor when both guys are probably a little rusty?
MB: I don’t think ring rust is going to be a factor with either of these guys, to be honest. I know they’re both professionals, they both look out for themselves outside of the ring, and they are lifelong martial artists. And they’re both young, but they’re both very successful. So I don’t see ring rust being an issue.
Obviously, Pettis, he did have a legitimate injury. He kind of tore his PCL a little bit, and then he tore it completely, and that was very unfortunate. But the fact is, they just coached The Ultimate Fighter and gauged each other. And when you do that, when you’re around your opponent for all that time, that really fires up the competitive streak in an individual. So I expect both of these guys to be in the best shape of their lives and really bring it.
B/R: So taking that all into account, how does the fight play out?
MB: Regarding the matchup, I’m a fan of the way Anthony Pettis fights, but if you look at his fight with Clay Guida, I think that’s the way that Gilbert Melendez is going to approach this fight. Clay Guida was able to take Pettis down repeatedly, control him on the floor, avoid his submissions and land some ground-and-pound, and by doing that, he was able to take the decision away from Anthony Pettis.
I think Gilbert Melendez is a little bit bigger, he’s a better wrestler, he hits harder, and he’s more aggressive. So I see Melendez trying to replicate the same game plan that Clay Guida did, and if I had to pick a winner, I’m going to go with Gilbert Melendez by ground-and-pound stoppage in the fourth round.
B/R: Look at that! Michael Bisping with the hot take, going with the challenger against Pettis. I like it, man. I like it.
MB: There you go.
B/R: Before they even take the cage though, we’ve got a killer heavyweight scrap too, with Travis Browne and Brendan Schaub. How important is this fight for each guy? In the heavyweight division, it only takes one or two big wins to launch yourself into title talks, so how important is this fight?
MB: You know, every fight is important, but certainly when you’re both coming off losses, that’s huge, and both guys are, so they’re both looking to re-establish themselves. Travis Browne is ahead of Brendan Schaub in the rankings and certainly in name recognition, if you will, so Brendan Schaub has more to gain from this matchup.
But Brendan Schaub is a tireless worker, and I know he’s the underdog in this fight, but I’ve had the pleasure of training with him, and like I said, he’s a tireless worker, he’s surrounding himself with the right people, he’s wrestling on a daily basis with Patrick Cummins, and he’s an absolute beast. He does his jiu-jitsu with Ryron Gracie, and he’s got fantastic boxing coaches as well. So all the ingredients, with the right attitude and the athleticism that he has, he’s certainly a tough fight for anyone.
Of course, Travis Browne, on the flip side, that guy is an animal. He’s absolutely huge, he’s only lost two fights in his entire career—one to Fabricio Werdum and one to Antonio Silva—so there’s no shame in that. I’m just looking forward to the fight.
You do have to favor Travis Browne in this fight simply because of level of competition and some of the wins that he’s had against guys like Josh Barnett, for example. But, as I said, do not sleep on Brendan Schaub.
B/R: And both of them have legitimate one-shot knockout power, and Schaub, as you said, has that Gracie-trained ground game that’s only getting better and better. Is there any chance that this fight goes to a decision?
MB: Yeah, there’s no way I see that this fight is going to a decision. As you said, most guys at heavyweight, they all have that one-shot power. It’s just about connecting on the chin, and if you do that, somebody’s going to sleep.
I guarantee it right now. I’ll put my name on the line that this fight is not going the distance.
B/R: There we go. We got you on the record with that one. It’s making the article for sure so that people can blow you up if you’re wrong!
MB: There you go.
B/R: We turn away from Browne and Schaub, and we have another great heavyweight fight with Todd Duffee and Anthony Hamilton. Is this Duffee’s time? I feel like he’s been around, then he disappeared, then he came back, then he disappeared again. Is he finally here to stay? What are we going to see from him?
MB: You’re going to see from Todd Duffee what you always see, and whether that’s wins or losses, you always see a knockout. Every win that he’s got on his record is by knockout, and the two losses he’s had, he got knocked out there as well. So one thing’s for sure, you’re getting an entertaining fight when Todd Duffee steps in there. Because as fight fans, we like to see knockouts, and that’s what he brings.
He has had some personal problems, apparently he has a bit of an attitude problem as well. He’s addressed that, and apparently the injuries he’s had have cleared up, and I’m hoping we see the start of a long, lengthy run in the UFC, but of course Anthony Hamilton, on the other side, he’s hoping to come in and play spoiler. He’s not here to let that happen.
Anthony Hamilton, he’s no pushover himself, so I’m very much looking forward to that fight.
B/R: I’m going to make some predictions, and I want you to tell me if I’m right or wrong and why. Sound good?
MB: Go ahead.
B/R: Raquel Pennington and Ashlee Evans-Smith are going to win Fight of the Night.
MB: No, I think you’re absolutely wrong. While I think it will be a good fight—Raquel Pennington always brings it—I think Fight of the Night is going to go to Tony Ferguson and Abel Trujillo.
B/R: OK, you’re kind of reading my mind here, because my next one is: Tony Ferguson and Abel Trujillo are supposed to be in a rock ’em, sock ’em crazy fight, but both guys are going to look a little tentative, and it’s going to go to a disappointing decision. Why am I wrong there?
MB: You’re wrong because Tony Ferguson is just mean. And not only is he mean, he has the skills to back it up. He has a very impressive ground game, he goes for crazy submissions, he’s not afraid to give up positions to get the submission, and of course he has knockout power in both hands.
And Abel Trujillo is just a super aggressive fighter himself. He swings for the fences every time, he’s an accomplished wrestler, he’s got aggressive takedowns and nasty ground-and-pound, so I see that being Fight of the Night, and I don’t think that’s going to be a decision, either.
B/R: So I’m 0-2 with The Count, but how about this one: Urijah Faber completely outclasses Francisco Rivera and submits him early.
MB: Yeah, to be honest, I mean, I don’t want to be negative toward Rivera, but he’s really up against it in this one.
Urijah Faber, outside of Renan Barao and Dominick Cruz, those are really the only guys who have beaten him. I see a guillotine submission for Urijah Faber, maybe in Round 2.
Do you agree with Bisping’s analysis? Sound off below, and we’ll discuss The Count’s picks.
*All quotes obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted.
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