SINGAPORE – When Georges “Rush” St. Pierre, or GSP as he’s often called, decided to take an extended leave of absence from the UFC, the Canadian standout left a huge void to fill. Luckily for fight fans across the world, the UFC’s welterweight division is certainly not lacking in heavy hitters, ready, willing and able to take his place.
This Saturday, March 15 (Sunday morning, Manila time), at the American Airlines Arena in Dallas, Texas, Johny “Bigg Rigg” Hendricks (15-2) takes on Robbie “Ruthless” Lawler (22-9) for the right to wear UFC gold, and to usurp GSP as the welterweight division’s top dog.
It’s a highly anticipated matchup between two fighters with pop in their hands, both devastating knockout punchers.
Heavy hitters
Hendricks, a locally grown Texan boy, is farm-strong – physically imposing with his brute strength and powerful wrestling. In fact, the last time we saw Hendricks was when he was taking GSP apart bit by bit inside the Octagon. For five brutal rounds, Hendricks roughed up, bruised and battered the former champion. Even though he didn’t officially nab the victory (GSP won via split decision), Hendricks was perceived by many cage-side observers and fans alike to be the true victor.
Hendricks also has other remarkable wins on his resume which includes a decision win over Carlos Condit, and knockouts over Martin Kampmann and Jon Fitch.
Lawler on the other hand, has had an up and down career, being one of the youngest fighters in the UFC at the time he made his professional MMA debut. It didn’t quite pan out for Lawler early, and a move to Strikeforce pushed Lawler into obscurity. The potential was there but the fire was lacking.
But something changed in Lawler.
After moving back to the UFC, shifting gyms to American Top Team and resurging as a welterweight, Lawler found a groove, winning his first three fights since returning to the promotion. Those three wins in fact were quite impressive – a TKO of veteran Josh Koscheck, a KO of Bobby Voelker, and a hard-earned decision over the always tough Rory MacDonald.
Fast forward to 2014, and Lawler is no longer the unfocused adolescent with immense talent. He’s now one of the most feared men inside the Octagon with a notable 18 wins by KO/TKO.
At UFC 171, Hendricks and Lawler take their power punching to the championship level as they duke it out in the center of the cage for the right to be called champion.
Preview
Don’t blink because this one could be over quick.
As previously stated, both guys possess concussive knockout power and will be eager to crack each other’s skulls wide open if given the chance.
It’s certainly no secret that Johny Hendricks has a particular liking for his powerful left hand, but he was once thought to be one-dimensional, oftentimes preferring to use his god-given strength to outmuscle opponents rather than trying to out-skill them.
That isn’t so much the case now. The Team Takedown stalwart will still most likely try to clobber Lawler with his brick-like fists, but with better wrestling to boot.
Hendricks’ experience against GSP will also prove to be invaluable in this matchup. There’s no doubt that Hendricks has learned from his most recent setback and will look to right the wrongs.
Robbie Lawler, who is of Filipino and Anglo-American descent, is one of the hardest punchers in the sport regardless of weight class.
When Lawler decides to go for the kill, he’s a savage beast on berserk and will not stop until he claims victory. His confidence level right now is also sky-high with his re-emergence as a top player in a teeming welterweight division.
Prediction
Look for both fighters to swing for the fences in a fight that should not go the distance. This matchup was made to end quick by design and should be a great way to cap off a night of MMA action.
Expect Lawler to have his moments of ferocious offense, and hit that incomparable second-gear of his. Hendricks should be able to survive the onslaught without so much as flinching though, using his gargantuan strength and iron chin to weather the storm.
Hendricks will use his wrestling to keep Lawler on the back foot up against the cage, and remain in control with overwhelming physical force.
In a fan-friendly matchup complete with all the pre-fight pageantries and a storybook run-up, Johny Hendricks will quite honestly be too strong for the streaking Robbie Lawler, imposing his will upon his opponent and finally capturing the UFC welterweight belt that he thought he won the last time around against St. Pierre.
Though Hendricks is indeed favored to win, don’t count Lawler out too quickly as he has the ability to take the fight to Hendricks and batter him into submission. This matchup, for all intents and purposes, is a true toss-up. But for the sake of picking a winner, let’s go with the safe bet and choose Johny Hendricks.
PREDICTION: Johny Hendricks by Decision or Late TKO
– Rappler.com
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