UFC 181 hits Las Vegas this weekend with not one but two championship belts up for grabs.
Johny Hendricks will defend his UFC welterweight title against Robbie Lawler in the main event of the pay-per-view. The two met earlier in 2014 in a Fight of the …
UFC 181 hits Las Vegas this weekend with not one but two championship belts up for grabs.
Johny Hendricks will defend his UFC welterweight title against Robbie Lawler in the main event of the pay-per-view. The two met earlier in 2014 in a Fight of the Year contender. The rematch has a lot to live up to.
Also defending his title for the first time is Anthony Pettis. After more than a year away from the cage he returns against Gilbert Melendez for the lightweight championship of the world. The two are coming off The Ultimate Fighter as coaches for the 20th season of the show.
The 11-fight card will become official on Friday evening when the fighters hit the scales to make weight. The weigh-ins get underway at 7 p.m. ET, and Bleacher Report will have full coverage of the proceedings. Come back here to find out who makes weight for UFC 181.
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-tw…
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.
The champions are finally healthy, and the challengers each ready to take their second shots at UFC gold.
Parallel storylines, you guys!
As Saturday night’s UFC 181 kicks off perhaps the most important (and potentially awesome) stretch of live events i…
The champions are finally healthy, and the challengers each ready to take their second shots at UFC gold.
Parallel storylines, you guys!
As Saturday night’s UFC 181 kicks off perhaps the most important (and potentially awesome) stretch of live events in UFC history, welterweight champ Johny Hendricks and lightweight titlist Anthony Pettis both ease back into active duty after significant injury layoffs. Good timing, right?
Across the cage from them will be two legitimate top contenders (Robbie Lawler and Gilbert Melendez, respectively) each preparing to make maybe his final try at capturing a world title. Lawler gets a do-over after losing a tight one to Hendricks at UFC 171 in March while Melendez gets his after suffering a razor-close defeat to Benson Henderson in his initial title shot at UFC on Fox 7 in April 2013.
So this ought to be interesting. With a few other compelling attractions on the main card, including—wait, what’s this?—a couple at heavyweight, UFC 181 demands that bold predictions be made.
To that end, Bleacher Report lead writers Chad Dundas (that’s me) and Jonathan Snowden are here to tell you how it’s all going to play out—maybe.
UFC 181 is nearly here, and the stacked card will be sure to satisfy your MMA appetite.
The show is headlined by two championship fights. The co-main event is for the lightweight title when champion Anthony Pettis takes on Gilbert Melendez. The main ev…
UFC 181 is nearly here, and the stacked card will be sure to satisfy your MMA appetite.
The show is headlined by two championship fights. The co-main event is for the lightweight title when champion Anthony Pettis takes on Gilbert Melendez. The main event will be for the welterweight strap when Johny Hendricks and top-ranked contender Robbie Lawler meet in a rematch.
Three more fights line the main card including a heavyweight attraction between Todd Duffee and Anthony Hamilton.
The final pay-per-view of 2014 may be the best the UFC has offered all year long. The betting odds on the main card are enticing to boot.
We are here to assist you by giving you more information on the action taking place this Saturday. The lines given will continue to move up until the fights take place. Before heading off to risk your hard-earned money, let’s take a peek at what you should expect during the main card at UFC 181.
It’s been an interesting year for Abel Trujillo.
The lightweight powerhouse put himself on the larger radar of the 155-pound scale back in February when he emerged as the last man standing in an all-out slug fest with Jamie Varner back at UFC 169. It w…
It’s been an interesting year for Abel Trujillo.
The lightweight powerhouse put himself on the larger radar of the 155-pound scale back in February when he emerged as the last man standing in an all-out slug fest with Jamie Varner back at UFC 169. It was a back-and-forth affair, with both men finding a home for their respective power with frequency, but it was Trujillo who landed the shot that counted as he claimed the biggest win of his career, but two performance-of-the-night bonuses in the process.
Following a victory of that caliber, Trujillo seemed poised for much bigger things, but the fight game is a tricky beast and the Team Blackzilians fighter would watch opponent after opponent pull out with injury. Three fighters in total would fail to make it to the Octagon to face the heavy-handed Iowa native, then a scheduled tilt with Ross Pearson would fall by the wayside due to Trujillo suffering an injury of his own.
Those circumstances would undoubtedly be enough to rattle even the most focused fighter, and while Trujillo will be the first to admit all the starting and stopping in his training camps weren’t the easiest things to manage, they served to test a mental fortitude he’s grown quite proud of. Therefore, when the bout with Tony Ferguson at UFC 181 was announced, “Killa” jumped right back into the proverbial saddle to sharpen up his skill set.
“I believe that whatever type of vibrations you put out into the universe is what you are going to get back,” Trujillo told Bleacher Report. “That’s why you don’t see me putting any negative things out there and why I always keep it positive. I keep my mental locked on the positives and I know good things are going to come.
Furthering what Trujillo believes is coming his way, The 31-year-old lightweight is confident it’s his time to shine. He plans on making a strong run up the competitive ranks of the lightweight division, and that mission jumps off against “El Cucuy” on Saturday night Las Vegas where Trujillo plans to make the biggest statement of his career at UFC 181.
“It feel great to be getting back in there,” Trujillo said. “I haven’t fought since February and that’s been nine or 10 months that have gone by. It feels good to be fighting again and it’s long overdue. I’m excited to preform and I’m coming into this fight injury free. I feel blessed, man. I got an opponent who will be there on fight night and I couldn’t ask for anything else.
“This fight with Ferguson is either going to separate the winner and put them into the top 15, or put one of us in a situation where they are back to just fighting in regular bouts. This fight is pretty much a career changer for me so it’s very important.”
“It’s one thing to be an exciting fighter, but when you are an exciting fighter who is getting dominant wins in there they can’t deny you,” he added. “They have to put your name up there with the title.”
When it comes to exciting styles, neither Trujillo nor Ferguson are in short supply. Both have built their respective reputations for bringing the ruckus each and every time out, and Trujillo believes their upcoming tilt at UFC 181 will be no different. Where Trujillo’s power is enough to discourage the majority of his opponents to stand toe-to-toe with him, he believes The Ultimate fighter alum may roll the dice against him in the striking realm.
If Ferguson decides to take a different route in the fight, Trujillo is confident he’ll be ready for that as well, and those dynamics have fight fans thinking this tilt could steal the show on the stacked card that features two title fights at UFC 181.
“It’s hard to say what Ferguson is going to do,” Trujillo said. “He stands in a lot of his fights, but I think he’s going to try to wrestle me. But it’s MMA so you never know. You never go into a fight with a solid game plan because you have to be able to adapt and improvise.
“A lot of people have been talking on Twitter about this fight having the potential to be the fight of the night. And I think that’s very agreeable. Tony likes to come forward and is very aggressive just like I come forward and I’m very aggressive. This fight has fireworks written all over it. Neither guy backs up and this is going to be a great fight.”
Duane Finley is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. All quotes are obtained firsthand unless noted otherwise.
If you’re Gilbert Melendez you must be pretty happy with how it all worked out.
In quieter moments, perhaps you can even marvel at your own good fortune.
When Melendez takes on Anthony Pettis on Saturday at UFC 181, it will mark his second oppor…
If you’re Gilbert Melendez you must be pretty happy with how it all worked out.
In quieter moments, perhaps you can even marvel at your own good fortune.
When Melendez takes on Anthony Pettis on Saturday at UFC 181, it will mark his second opportunity to win UFC gold in just three career fights inside the Octagon.
That would be a remarkable feat for anyone, but the fact it’s happening in the stacked lightweight division—where guys like KhabibNurmagomedov and Myles Jury can run off a half-dozen straight UFC wins and still have to wait their turn—makes Melendez’s persistent contender status all the more impressive.
Especially considering that just a few years ago, it was unclear if he’d ever even get his shot.
Before Eddie Alvarez and Ben Askren made being an outcast cool, Melendez was the original man in exile. He spent six years fighting primarily in Strikeforce, twice winning the smaller organization’s 155-pound title and successfully defending it six times. His trilogy of fights against Josh Thomson was epic, and by the end of his run among Scott Coker’s band of misfit toys, he was on the short list of guys who could conceivably be the No. 1 lightweight in the world.
Since arriving in the UFC, though, there have bumps in the road.
He brought considerable hype with him into the Octagon during 2013 but has since been largely eclipsed by other Strikeforce alums like Ronda Rousey and Daniel Cormier. At 32 years old, Saturday night’s fight may well represent his last best chance to rebalance the scales.
As Strikeforce’s last reigning 155-pound champ, Melendez was awarded a title shot in his UFC debut. He was coming off 11 months on the shelf due to a shoulder injury when he fought Benson Henderson on Fox last April, and Melendez lost. It would’ve been a tough assignment for anybody, but at least he made the most of it, going wire-to-wire with the champion before dropping a tight split decision that many observers believed could’ve gone his way.
But after easily outslugging Diego Sanchez at UFC 166, another lengthy period of inactivity ensued. A proposed bout with Nurmagomedovfell apart and it was then reported that Melendez was poised to exit the UFC as quickly as he’d entered it, having agreed to terms on a new contract with BellatorMMA.
He only re-upped after the UFC matched Bellator’s muscle with a deal MMA Fighting.com’s Shaun Al-Shatti wrote “will likely make Melendez one of the highest paid fighters in the current mixed martial arts landscape.”
Among other things, Melendez’s deal guarantees that at least 75 percent of his fights are on pay-per-view. Al-Shatti also wrote that his “contracted pay-per-view points will kick in at a lower minimum buy rate than for any contract in UFC history, meaning Melendez will still earn pay-per-view point income on an event that underperforms at the box office.”
Soon after the new contract was official, the fight company also announced he would score a coaching gig on Season 20 of The Ultimate Fighter and Saturday’s title shot against Pettis.
And so here we are.
For Melendez, this nifty bit of negotiation should probably be considered the biggest victory of his career. In just over a year-and-a-half, he’s gone from UFC outsider to major player, on the doorstep of a second title shot in MMA’s most competitive division, all with the ripe old UFC record of 1-1.
By the end of this weekend Melendez will have gotten two more chances to become UFC lightweight champion than top contenders Nurmagomedov, Jury, Donald Cerrone or Raphael dos Anjos. One more than divisional stalwart Sanchez or teammate Nate Diaz.
Not to mention, his timing suddenly seems downright fortuitous.
Pettis, after all, is also coming off a 16-month absence while he rehabbed his own knee injury. If Melendez is going to take a shot at dethroning the 27-year-old phenom, now seems about as good a time as any.
Yet the crowded nature of the lightweight division could just as easily serve as a caution to Melendez as a compliment. If he loses this one—and he’s currently going off as nearly a 2-1 underdog, according to Odd Shark—it’s tough to imagine him getting a third chance at the title any time soon.
A loss could effectively cast him in the same boat as Henderson; as an A-list fighter who is nonetheless locked out of the championship scene for the foreseeable future.
Perhaps Melendez’s double title shots and new contract already make him one of this division’s biggest winners. But to live up to the sparkling potential he once displayed in Strikeforce, getting the W on Saturday still seems like the most important thing.
The UFC invades Las Vegas on Dec. 6 with