SINGAPORE – In an absolute slobber-knocker, Johny “Bigg Rigg” Hendricks and Robbie “Ruthless” Lawler gave fans all the action they could handle for five full rounds at the America Airlines Arena in Dallas, Tex., Sunday, March 16.
The two most dangerous southpaws in mixed martial arts today took each other to hell and back, with Hendricks winning on all three judges’ scorecards, 48-47, earning the right to be called undisputed champion of the stacked UFC welterweight division. It was the first time the welterweight belt changed hands since 2008, after Georges “Rush” St. Pierre vacated the title when he decided to take some time off from cage fighting.
“Robbie’s [expletive] tough,” said Hendricks.
After having full control of the first two rounds with his impressive kick-boxing game which featured a new diverse element to his striking in leg kicks, Hendricks put enough work in early to take the steam out of the always-dangerous Robbie Lawler when it mattered.
By the start of the third round, it became apparent that it was a much more technical striking matchup than anyone expected, but certainly not one lacking of any action.
Lawler came out of the gates looking to box and weave, while Hendricks looked to invest in low leg kicks. It was however, Lawler’s heavy hands that drew first blood.
Lawler lunged in with an uppercut from hell midway through the third that rocked Hendricks. The visibly dazed Texas farm boy tried his best to defend himself from an onslaught of left hand bombs, but could not stop them all as Lawler landed sporadically.
Hendricks appeared to have recovered towards the end of the round, gaining back his defensive stance and even shooting and scoring on a takedown attempt in the last few seconds.
However, the fourth round was much of the same as a smiling Robbie Lawler took Hendricks into even more dangerous ground with his beautiful boxing technique. Lawler than found the mark on a straight left which opened up a nasty gash above Hendricks’ right eye.
It was all Lawler at that point, but Hendricks being as tough as he is, simply would not go away. With his vision partially impaired and blood streaming down his face, Hendricks swung for the fences, remaining active to keep Lawler on the defensive, preventing him from launching any further attacks.
Still sharp however, the +265 betting underdog Lawler continued to home in on the target, Hendricks’ right eye which was at this point a bloody mess.
Tied at two rounds apiece, Hendricks knew he had to come out with a dominant fifth round to secure the fight and the title, so did Lawler.
“I feel very blessed. The fifth round, I knew I had to win it,” said Hendricks.
When the fifth round horn sounded off, both guys came out swinging for the fences. Fortunately for Hendricks, all the work he put into decommissioning Lawler’s lead right leg finally paid off.
A much slower Robbie Lawler who didn’t have as much strength to push off his right foot than he had in the early going, got overwhelmed by the physically stronger Johny Hendricks.
Hendricks simply had more left in the tank in the championship round. After an even, back and forth fifth salvo, Hendricks stunned Lawler with a gorgeous left hand that came out like a bat out of hell in the final minutes of the matchup. The unstable and punch drunk Lawler could not defend himself and ate a bunch of haymakers on the chin.
Hendricks knew Lawler was still dangerous though, so he shot for the takedown, tied up Lawler’s legs and rode off into the sunset with the UFC welterweight title belt around his waist. It was quite frankly the biggest takedown of Johny Hendricks’ life.
Lawler shook his head in disappointment, knowing he missed out on the opportunity of a lifetime.
“Robbie’s a tough dude, I’m not going to take anything away from him,” said Hendricks, in his post-fight interview with Joe Rogan. “I promise you I’m going to be fighting him again.”
“He (Hendricks) is one hell of a fighter. I was trying to roll off and come back later,” said Lawler, explaining his gameplan to the fans in attendance. “Hats off to him, he fought a hell of a fight.”
Asked whether or not he should have diversified his striking more, rather than just sticking to boxing, Lawler replied.
“I just didn’t feel like the kicks were there, maybe I should have gone to it more.”
With the victory, Hendricks improved to 16-2 while Lawler slid down to 22-10. It was an instant classic, one that definitely deserves a rematch.
Even with the absence of GSP, there is no shortage of exciting matchups to be made in a hot UFC welterweight division.
But for Johny Hendricks at least, the dream has finally come true. He’s now the new UFC welterweight champion, and he’s here to stay. – Rappler.com
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