UFC 181 Results – Hendricks Robbed by Robbie, Pettis Strangles Title Hopes for Melendez

UFC 181 Results – Hendricks Robbed by Robbie, Pettis Strangles Title Hopes for Melendez

UFC 181 had two title fights on the night, the welterweight and lightweight titles were up for grabs.  One champion retained while another exchanged hands.  The Dec. 6 event aired live on pay-per-view from the Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The welterweight championship was a rematch of a fight from earlier this year where Robbie Lawler and Johny Hendricks would battle for the vacant title after Georges St. Pierre walked away from the sport.  Hendricks won that fight.  Tonight would be different, although it may not have been obvious.

Hendricks had a full two rounds of complete control, a full 10 minutes of 25.  That left 15 minutes to decide who would take home the strap.  Lawler slowed down during the middle rounds and it looked dim but somehow he was able to pour it on in the fifth and win over the judges.

Lawler has finally earned UFC gold and a rubber match is always possibly but it is likely that he will defend against St. Pierre’s protege in Rory MacDonald.

In the co-main event Gilbert Melendez came on strong in the first round and early in the second.  Things seemed to be going his way but a quick mistake lead to fast movement by the champion in Anthony Pettis who was able to slip in a guillotine choke and submit the number one contender with ease.

When asked if Pettis had a message for the other 155’ers in his division he said “I just sent it.”

After the first fight on the pay-per-view portion of the card it was announced that former WWE wrestling star CM Punk has been signed to a multi-fight deal wit the UFC and will debut in 2015.  Punk said he is definitely not fighting at light heavyweight but likely middleweight or even welterweight.  Punk said he will not yet reveal which fight camp he is training with but he seemed extremely excited to be entering the world of mixed martial arts and being signed to fight in the octagon.

The main event on the preliminary card ended with fan favorite Urijah Faber being booed for the first time in his career after he inadvertently poked Francisco Rivera in the eye and then choked him out.

Main Card (Live on PPV, 10:00 PM ET)
-Robbie Lawler defeated Johny Hendricks via Split Decision (48-47, 47-48, 49-46)
-Anthony Pettis defeated Gilbert Melendez via Submission (Guillotine Choke, Round 2, 1:53)
-Travis Browne defeated Brendan Schaub via TKO (Punches, Round 1, 4:50)
-Todd Duffee defeated Anthony Hamilton via Knockout (Punches, Round 1, 0:33)
-Tony Ferguson defeated Abel Trujillo via Submission (RNC, Round 2, 4:19)

Preliminary Bouts (Live on FOX Sports 1, 8:00 PM ET)
-Urijah Faber defeated Francisco Rivera via Submission (Rear-Naked-Choke, Round 2, 1:34)
-Josh Samman defeated Eddie Gordon via KO (Head Kick, Round 2, 3:08)
-Corey Anderson defeated Justin Jones via Unanimous Decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-26)
-Raquel Pennington defeated Ashlee Evans-Smith via Technical Submission (Bulldog Choke, Round 1, 4:59)

Preliminary Bouts (Live on UFC Fight Pass, 7:00 PM ET)
-Sergio Pettis defeated Matt Hobar via Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
-Clay Collard defeated Alex White via Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)

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