5 Reasons to Watch UFC 181: Hendricks vs. Lawler 2
On paper, UFC 181: Hendricks vs. Lawler 2 might end up being the best fight card of the entire year. There's not a bad fight on the show from top to bottom.
At the top of the bill we have Johny Hendricks and Robbie Lawler battling again after their first fight was likely the best of the entire year, and also a lightweight title bout pitting Anthony Pettis against Gilbert Melendez.
Further down the card, heavyweight knockout machine Travis Browne takes on Brendan Schaub in an intriguing main card bout, not to mention former WEC champion Urijah Faber is back in action in the FOX Sports 1 prelims against heavy-handed bantamweight striker Francisco Rivera.
To get ready for the card this weekend, UFC on FOX analysts Jon Anik and Michael Bisping will give you five good reasons to make sure and tune into UFC 181.
Fight of the Year: Part 2
We can only hope Hendricks-Lawler 2 is as good as the first.
Back in March when the UFC was crowning a new welterweight champion after Georges St-Pierre vacated the belt and opted for a career sabbatical, there was no telling how good the matchup between Johny Hendricks and Robbie Lawler might end up being. Five rounds and 25 minutes later, what resulted was likely the best fight of all of 2014.
Hendricks staggered Lawler with punches. Lawler countered and nearly knocked Hendricks' beard off his face. Each fighter won two rounds and it all came down to the last five minutes to declare a winner. It was everything you could ever hope for in a UFC title fight.
And now they are going to do it all over again.
"The pressure's always on after such an amazing fight, but I really think they can do it again," Bisping said about the rematch. "Obviously Johny won, but Robbie came so close to winning that first fight. It was the takedown in the fifth round for Johny Hendricks that won him the fight. There's a lot of factors why they are both going to come in motivated and ready for this one."
Anik definitely agrees because putting Hendricks and Lawler together in a fight will always have an explosive element no matter when they get in the Octagon together.
"(Jose) Aldo/(Chad) Mendes is a close second, but Hendricks/Lawler is probably the fight of the year so far," Anik said. "There's a chance these guys will forever be linked as welterweight rivals. This is about as bulletproof as it gets when it comes to championship matchmaking. I just think neither of these guys knows what it's like to sit back or fight conservative in any realm of mixed martial arts."
Best Career Rejuvenation in UFC History?
Will Robbie Lawler complete his rejuvenation?
When Robbie Lawler left the UFC in 2004 he was still an extremely talented fighter, but there were still questions about the untapped potential he never quite used while competing in the Octagon. Lawler was a prodigy under UFC Hall of Famer Pat Miletich and was like a little brother to UFC legend Matt Hughes. He had some of the most impressive knockout power the UFC had ever seen, but never quite made it to the level where he would be a title contender.
In 2013, almost nine years after his last UFC fight, Lawler returned while also going back to the welterweight division where he first cut his teeth almost a decade ago. Lawler quickly dispatched of Josh Kosheck, Bobby Voelker and Rory MacDonald to earn his first career crack at a UFC title. He lost in a narrow decision to Hendricks in March, but then came back even stronger with two incredible performances over Jake Ellenberger and Matt Brown.
Now Lawler stands on the precipice of another title shot. Maybe it's the last time he'll be in this position. Maybe not. What's certain is the fact that Lawler has managed to stay relevant for more than 10 years in the sport, but somehow managed to have his best days after hitting age 30. Now he has the chance to finally capture that elusive UFC title he's always wanted and maybe cap off one of the greatest career rejuvenations to ever take place in MMA history.
"The biggest storyline for me maybe all year is to see if Robbie Lawler can break through," Anik stated. "If he could somehow break through and win a UFC championship, I don't know if there's a story all year that could top that for me."
The Return of Showtime
Anthony Pettis is a highlight reel waiting to happen.
Win, lose or draw on Saturday night, Anthony Pettis returning to the lightweight division is good for everybody. The 155-pound champion has been out of action for over a year dealing with a knee injury as well as filming this past season of The Ultimate Fighter, but now the king is returning to reclaim his throne, and it's good to have him back.
Pettis is one of the most creative and prolific strikers in all of MMA. His head-kick knockout over Joe Lauzon was a highlight of 2012, not to mention the way he shredded top lightweight contender Donald "Cowboy" Cerrone in under three minutes. And if you want to go back just a little further, his "Showtime" kick against Benson Henderson while fighting in the WEC might remain the greatest highlight in MMA history.
Now Pettis is back and he wants to make an example of Gilbert Melendez while proving to every lightweight in the world that if they want a shot at the title, it's going to go through him. And that's a tall order to tackle.
"He doesn't want to just be the lightweight champion or be a paper champion," Anik said about Pettis. "He has heard all of the venom sent in his direction and he wants to be an active champion. He's already looking at 2015 as the year he can fight three times and not only cement himself as a champion in the UFC, but (as) one of the best fighters pound-for-pound in the world. He wants to be one of the greatest of all time."
Travis Browne: Contender or Pretender?
Travis Browne, show us if you're for real.
In three consecutive fights over the last year and a half, Travis Browne proved that he is not only one of the top prospects the UFC heavyweight division has ever found, but he's also a dangerous and deadly knockout striker. Maybe the best there is in the entire weight class. He earned three consecutive Knockout of the Night awards before finally facing Fabricio Werdum earlier this year with a shot at the heavyweight title on the line.
Then the bottom fell out.
Browne lost a lopsided decision to Werdum, and now he's coming back for the first time since that fight to face unranked heavyweight Brendan Schaub on the main card of UFC 181. Browne is a supremely talented fighter, but he recently changed training camps and started working with a new head coach. Now the question becomes can Travis Browne bounce back with another emphatic knockout victory this weekend, or is he destined to become one of those fighters that got close but never got back there again?
"Other than Urijah Faber, there is no fighter on this card that has more pressure on him than Travis Browne. He knows it," Anik said. "A lot of people were even wondering why he would accept a fight against a guy who is ranked significantly below him without a ton of momentum in Schaub. I think this is do or die for Travis Browne."
Show Stealer for UFC 181
The lightweight matchup between former Ultimate Fighter winner Tony Ferguson and knockout artist Abel Trujillo might end up being the best fight on this entire loaded card.
Ferguson is known for his knock-down, drag-out style where he'll hit an opponent with a sledgehammer right hand, put them on the mat and then choke them out in a trifecta of domination. On the other side of the Octagon stands Trujillo, a monster at 155 pounds with bricks in his hands and the ability to put his opponent's lights out with one punch landed.
In other words, these two are going to throw down and only one will be left standing when it's over, but the thousands in attendance and the millions watching around the world will be the real winners watching this battle happen.
"Tony Ferguson and Abel Trujillo, both of those guys bring it every single time," Bisping said about the lightweight matchup. "It's hard to get attention on a card that's so stacked. Ferguson's last fight against Danny Castillo was so much fun. Trujillo, he's super aggressive, knockout power in both hands and he trains with the one guy that's beaten Ferguson in the UFC, Michael Johnson. Potential Fight of the Night right there. Don't sleep on that one."
Bonus Reason: An Incredible Undercard
Five reasons just isn't enough for why everyone should watch UFC 181 this weekend. In addition to the great main card, the prelims airing on FOX Sports 1 are just ridiculous.
Urijah Faber headlines the card, taking on Francisco Rivera in a bantamweight bout that could set the tone for the entire show on Saturday night. Faber rarely has an off night and Rivera might be the most powerful striker in the bantamweight division. On top of that, Eddie Gordon and Corey Anderson debut after making quite the impression at "The Ultimate Fighter 19" finale earlier this year. Their season of the reality show didn't exactly inspire anyone to get excited, but the way both fighters performed at the finale should show that these are two of the best prospects at light heavyweight and middleweight, respectively.
And there's the women's bantamweight fight between Raquel Pennington and newcomer Ashlee Evans-Smith. This fight has fireworks written all over it and that's the first fight on the preliminary card. UFC 181 is a non-stop adrenaline rush. Get yourself ready because by the time Hendricks and Lawler hit the Octagon, you might just be out of breath.
