UFC 167: Top Storylines to Emerge from GSP vs. Hendricks Event

The UFC set out to celebrate its 20th anniversary in style with a stacked UFC 167 card. What resulted was a night full of shockers and just enough controversy to remind fans why we love (and maybe hate) this sport. 

The night featured yet another successful title defense for the longest-tenured current champion, a rising star flattened by a grizzled veteran and an emphatic statement from a former champion in the light heavyweight division. 

Here's a look at the most buzzworthy items that should be at the forefront of any discussion after the action in Las Vegas. 

Robbie Lawler Emerges as a Welterweight Contender

Johny Hendricks proved that he should remain atop the welterweight pecking order (more on that in a minute), but Robbie Lawler moved his name up the ladder as well. 

Rory MacDonald came into the fight as a 4-to-1 favorite, according to Bovada. After all, as the No. 3 welterweight in the UFC, the only thing holding him back from a title shot might have been his relationship with fellow Canadian and Tristar fighter, Georges St-Pierre.

However, Lawler proved he's more deserving of a title shot in the not-so-distant future in the welterweight division. He outstruck MacDonald in both the first and third rounds, according to FightMetric, and that was enough to earn the victory in the eyes of two judges, 29-28. 

Although "Ruthless" was just the No. 10 welterweight heading into this fight, he's now on a three-fight win streak since coming back to the UFC at 170 pounds. All of a sudden, he is a serious player in a newly shaken-up division. 

Rashad Evans Is Still a Relevant Light Heavyweight

After he lost a lopsided decision to Jon Jones, subsequently dropped a fight to Antonio Rogerio Nogueira and narrowly defeated an aging Dan Henderson by split decision, it would be understandable if you had written off Rashad Evans as a serious light heavyweight contender. 

But "Suga" made it clear to those watching on Saturday night that he isn't quite done yet. He punished Chael Sonnen via first-round TKO. 

Outside of an initial takedown attempt that led to a few seconds of control against the cage, Evans didn't allow Sonnen to do anything meaningful on Saturday night. Evans proved that he could not only beat the former light heavyweight and middleweight title challenger but beat him at his own game. He outwrestled Sonnen for position and eventually forced Herb Dean to call an end to the bout in the final minute of the first round. 

The win doesn't mean that he deserves another crack at champion Jon Jones. That loss was thorough enough to last a few years. But it does bode well for Evans if he ever wants to test the waters at 185 pounds. He just took care of business against one of the best middleweights in the world. 

GSP May or May Not Be Retired

Did we see one of the greatest athletes in the history of MMA walk away from the sport for good? For a little while? At all?

Well, it's all a bit muddled at this point. 

First, the fight between Hendricks and St-Pierre is bound to be the most discussed welterweight bout since Carlos Condit defeated Nick Diaz. After a very close bout based on FightMetric's numbers, many fans will argue (and perhaps correctly) that Hendricks should be wearing the welterweight championship belt right now. 

However, even more shocking than the bout might be that GSP intends to walk away from the sport—at least for a bit:

Dana White has other plans in mind though, per Todd Grisham of ESPN: 

Bleacher Report's Jeremy Botter added this update to the situation later in the evening:

White's insistence that GSP owes it to the fans and sport to offer Hendricks a rematch is understandable. As a promoter, he knows that a rematch after such a controversial decision would be a huge fight for St-Pierre, who is already a massive draw. 

However, the UFC must respect GSP's personal wishes, and if he does decide to hang up the gloves, he will go down as one of the greatest fighters of all time. There's no doubt his impeding decision will be one of the UFC's biggest storylines to watch as 2013 winds to a close.