UFC 181: Robbie Lawler Defeats Johny Hendricks

UFC 181: Hendricks vs. Lawler II took place on December 6, 2014, at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas. Robbie Lawler won the UFC welterweight championship by split decision over Johny Hendricks, while Anthony Pettis submitted Gilbert Melendez to retain the lightweight title.

Event video: Hendricks versus Lawler II.

Lawler takes the title with a late surge

Hendricks controlled important stretches with combinations, leg kicks, and takedown pressure, but Lawler attacked aggressively at the beginning and end of the fight. In the fifth round, Lawler sprawled on repeated takedown attempts and finished with a sustained burst of punches and elbows.

The judges scored the bout 49–46 Lawler, 48–47 Lawler, and 48–47 Hendricks. The split decision made Lawler UFC welterweight champion and avenged his loss to Hendricks at UFC 171.

Pettis submits Melendez

Melendez pressured Pettis with clinch work and takedowns in the first round. In the second, Pettis hurt him with a right hand and caught a guillotine during another takedown attempt. Melendez submitted at 1:53, giving Pettis his first successful title defense.

The rest of the card

Travis Browne stopped Brendan Schaub with ground-and-pound at 4:50 of round one. Todd Duffee knocked out Anthony Hamilton in 33 seconds. Tony Ferguson submitted Abel Trujillo, Josh Samman knocked out Eddie Gordon with a head kick, and Urijah Faber submitted Francisco Rivera.

Complete UFC 181 results

• Robbie Lawler def. Johny Hendricks — split decision; round 5, 5:00. Lawler won the UFC welterweight championship.
• Anthony Pettis def. Gilbert Melendez — submission (guillotine choke); round 2, 1:53. Pettis retained the UFC lightweight championship.
• Travis Browne def. Brendan Schaub — TKO (punches); round 1, 4:50.
• Todd Duffee def. Anthony Hamilton — KO (punches); round 1, 0:33.
• Tony Ferguson def. Abel Trujillo — submission (rear-naked choke); round 2, 4:19.
• Urijah Faber def. Francisco Rivera — submission (bulldog choke); round 2, 1:34.
• Josh Samman def. Eddie Gordon — KO (head kick); round 2, 3:08.
• Corey Anderson def. Justin Jones — unanimous decision; round 3, 5:00.
• Raquel Pennington def. Ashlee Evans-Smith — technical submission (bulldog choke); round 1, 4:59.
• Sergio Pettis def. Matt Hobar — unanimous decision; round 3, 5:00.
• Clay Collard def. Alex White — unanimous decision; round 3, 5:00.

Sources

UFC: official UFC 181 event record; UFC: official weigh-in results; Sherdog event record.

Article Tags

UFC 181, Robbie Lawler, Johny Hendricks, Mixed Martial Arts, UFC Results