A new welterweight champion was crowned at UFC 171.
Following a narrow and controversial loss to Georges St-Pierre at UFC 167, Johny Hendricks was pegged as one of the fighters who would compete for the vacant crown when the Canadian departed from MMA. An immediate rematch between St-Pierre and Hendricks was being considered, so Hendricks’ spot in Saturday’s title fight was a given.
Coming off of a win over St-Pierre teammate Rory MacDonald, Robbie Lawler was ultimately named Hendricks’ adversary. One of the few welterweight fighters capable of hitting as hard as Hendricks, Lawler was expected to deliver a brawl.
That is exactly what Hendricks and Lawler turned in over the weekend. The elite welterweights stood toe-to-toe, and both were rocked before Hendricks sealed a decision win with a takedown in the final round.
Now with a belt around his waist, where does Hendricks stand in the pound-for-pound rankings?
With UFC 171 in the books and UFC Fight Night 38 coming up on Sunday, here are the latest official UFC rankings via UFC.com.