UFC 171 has come and gone.
The event was a huge success for the UFC and for the city of Dallas. The attendance and gate announced at the post-fight
press conference was 19,324 for a live gate of $2.6 million. The attendance was
the largest in U.S. UFC history. Now for the breakdown of the fights and what’s
next.
Dallas native Johny
Hendricks won the Welterweight title by defeating Robbie Lawler in one of the
best fights of the last decade. Lawler and Hendricks engaged in a stand-up
battle for the better part of 5 rounds. Henricks came out early and landed some
big shots on Lawler, who didn't back down and answered right back with crisp right hooks and stiff jabs to counter the aggressive Hendricks.
It was back and forth for the first four rounds, Hendricks taking
the first two and Lawler taking the next two. The fifth and final round would
decide the next Welterweight Champion of the world. Both fighters left it all on the table in the
fifth and with just over one minute left in the final round Johny Hendricks
secured a takedown on Robbie Lawler solidifying round five and a victory. When the final totals were read, Johny
Hendricks was overcome by emotion, dropping to his knees and the crowd erupted
for their hometown hero.
Neither fighter had anything but praise for the other
after the fight, a sign of class from two of the toughest fighters in the
world. I can’t help but hope for a rematch, and soon.
The night wasn’t near as
good for the other Welterweight fighters on the card. #2 ranked welterweight
Carlos Condit was defeated by #10 Tyron Woodley when Condit tore his MCL and
ACL in the second round of the Co-Main Event.
#6 Jake Shields lost a unanimous
decision to #11 Hector Lombard. Lombard came out early and landed bombs right
on Shields’ chin.
Lombard easily controlled Shields for 3 rounds but couldn’t
finish him. Both Woodley and Lombard feel they did enough to warrant a title
shot with wins, but neither was overly impressive in their respective fights. Although they are teammates I
would like to see Woodley vs. Lombard next.
Stay tuned for updates on
the Welterweight title picture here on the Riff Ram Sports Blog.
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