[ads1]
The UFC 171 PPV event took place on Saturday night in Dallas, Texas, at the American Airlines Arena, and provided one of the best MMA cards we’ve seen in a long time capped off by a classic main event between Johny Hendricks and Robbie Lawler. Those two fighters were vying to become the new UFC welterweight champion since Georges St. Pierre vacated the title a couple of months ago. Let’s take a look at what we learned from the awesome event:
- Johny Hendricks defeated Robbie Lawler in the main event to become the new UFC welterweight champion, but there was absolutely no loser in that fight. They both brought it and provided one of the best fights in UFC history. I always respected Lawler, but he really showed that he’s an elite welterweight with an iron chin. He either deserves an immediate rematch or win one fight to get another crack at the title for that performance. Johny Hendricks proved to have the heart of a champion in the fifth round. Had he fought the fifth round like that against Georges St. Pierre at UFC 167 he would have been defending the title instead of fighting for the vacant title. Nevertheless, he dug deep when Lawler had all of the momentum as the fourth round came to a close and found a way to take the fifth and final round.
- Tyron Woodley is correct in that his win over Carlos Condit should not be tarnished with Condit’s knee injury. He definitely won the first round and was in control of the second round prior to the injury. I think it’s absurd that Joe Rogan asked him if he thought the win was tarnished, but didn’t so the same with Chris Weidman’s second win over Anderson Silva. Woodley deserves the next title shot if Lawler isn’t given the immediate rematch. He beat a much better opponent and looked better doing so when compared to Hector Lombard or Rory MacDonald’s last fight.
- Hector Lombard dominated Jake Shields. I don’t think Shields landed 10 strikes in the entire fight. Lombard versus Robbie Lawler would be an excellent fight to make should the UFC feel that Lawler needs another win to earn another title shot.
- I don’t care to ever see Jake Shields fight again.
- The judge that awarded Jake Shields a round in that fight should never be a judge again.
- Myles Jury looked pretty good in his performance against Diego Sanchez. Jury is still young, but I’m not sold on him as a legit contender at this point. I thought Sanchez fought a really one dimensional fight(as has done so a lot in the past couple of years), but I’d like to see Jury against someone with a good wrestling game.
- Diego Sanchez is one of my favorite fighter’s of all time, but should probably retire.
- I thought Rick Story should have gotten the nod over Kelvin Gastelum in their fight. I thought Story won the second and third rounds, and whichever judge scored the fight 30-27 for Gastelum should never be a judge again. However, Gastelum looked like he has improved standup with an improved jab and straight left to compliment his wrestling and submission game.
- Ovince St. Preux looked good in his quick win over Nikita Krylov. That’s three consecutive wins in the UFC with two finishes.
- Jessica Andrade and Raquel Pennington put on a great fight. I thought Pennington did an excellent job of deflecting a lot of Andrade’s offense while countering effectively. However, the constant pressure of Andrade(she did land a lot of strikes too) was the right call.
- Justin Scoggins is a great talent, and at 21 years old the sky is the limit for that kid. He’s a star if the UFC decideds to push him.
Overall, I was happy with the entire event. However, the main event was one of the best fights I’ve ever seen. It involved two of the best welterweights in the world, crazy back and forth action, drama, and incredible heart from both fighters.
Feel free to give us your thoughts on the event in the comments section!
[ads2]