Johny Hendricks vs. Robbie Lawler II: A Full Head-to-Toe Breakdown
It only took five rounds for the first part of this story to brand itself into an instant classic.
After five close rounds, Johny Hendricks walked away with the title he felt he—along with a good portion of the MMA community—had already won in his previous bout with then-champion Georges St-Pierre. Robbie Lawler walked away the loser.
Even in a losing effort, Lawler managed to take another big step on his resurgent path toward the top of the welterweight heap of contenders.
With only about a week to go before their reunion inside of the Octagon, these two heavy hitters are sure to put on a quality outing, one that will challenge their first title fight for Fight of the Year honors as 2014 comes to a close.
Scroll on to see how we break down the UFC 181 main event.
Striking
1 of 5
Twenty-nine seconds into the opening act of his UFC career, we were all introduced to Hendricks, the NCAA Division I wrestling champion who holstered a sledgehammer of a left hand.
He has spent a good portion of his time as a mixed martial artist proving he doesn't always have to rely on his often-unmatched wrestling pedigree.
Lawler, on the other hand, has never really given anybody the opportunity to cloud their perceptions. He was Ruthless when he started, and he's been Ruthless as of late. From his abilities to put solid combinations together on the feet, or his abilities to imprint his opponent's outline onto the mat with his ground-and-pound attack, it's Lawler's versatility that gets him the nod in this category.
Edge: Lawler
Grappling
2 of 5
A solid wrestler in his own right, Lawler has never been one to shy away from taking the fight to the mat.
But as mentioned in the previous slide, Hendricks has something Lawler doesn't: an NCAA Division I wrestling championship.
This is where Hendricks wedged some space between he and his opponent in the first title fight. This, in most circumstances, is where Hendricks has wedged any and all space between he and his opponents that weren't already being tended to by Herb Dean or one of his refereeing buddies.
When in doubt or any sensible danger, watch for Hendricks to revert to his Oklahoma State University days and utilize the wrestling that created his path toward the title.
Edge: Hendricks
Submissions
3 of 5
Submission due to strikes is a thing, right? In all likelihood, that's the only way this fight ends via submission.
It's not as if Lawler has never tapped in his 13-year career; five of his 10 professional losses resulted from his lackluster submission defense. In fairness, four of the five submission losses came in fights against Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza, Jake Shields, Jason "Mayhem" Miller and Evan Tanner, who all combine for a 61-2 MMA submission record.
Even in all his great abilities to get the fight down to the mat, Hendricks has only ever submitted one opponent, and he did it by a first-round brabo choke.
Don't hold your breath for any brabo chokes this time around, though.
Edge: Tie
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X-Factors
4 of 5
Robbie Lawler: Ruthless Hunger
Sure, it's sort of a cop-out to merely color Lawler a hungry fighter and call it a day. Most (if not all) fighters currently signed onto the UFC's roster are hungry for the title, and the latest welterweight title challenger is no exception.
Having been on this journey since he was 19 years old, most of those other fighters haven't seen the sort of trials and tribulations that Ruthless has. Much like the Mauricio "Shogun" Ruas and Vitor Belforts of the MMA world, Lawler has been a fighter for about as long as he's been an adult.
The journey has made him hungry. The path has made him Ruthless.
Johny Hendricks: One-Punch Knockout Power
For as much as Lawler's drive can lead him to the title, it's Hendricks' power that can stop Lawler from taking it. While that sounds like a cliche, Hendricks really is one of the few welterweights with natural knockout power that few else can match.
Just ask Martin Kampmann. And Jon Fitch. And T.J. Waldburger. And Charlie Brenneman. And Amir Sadollah.
OK, I think you get it: This guy hits hard—really, really hard.
Prediction
5 of 5
The first fight was close. If not for an exhausted Lawler coupled with a late Hendricks takedown, we may have been two to three fights into Lawler's reign as the welterweight king.
I'm betting the second part to this soon-to-be trilogy will be just as close but with a different outcome. Lawler stood toe-to-toe with the now-champion and absorbed just about all the wallops Hendricks had to offer that night.
He got hit. He smiled. He moved forward.
Sure, Hendricks already excused himself from notching the knockout victory because of a torn bicep and a fractured shin, essentially forcing us all to assume better of him in his first fight as champion. But it's the surgery on that torn bicep that kept Hendricks on the mend while Lawler was logging in some impressive minutes against some of the best welterweights the UFC had to offer.
Call it ring rust for Hendricks. Call it a revised game plan for Lawler. Call it a new champion for the UFC.
Prediction: Lawler wins via unanimous decision
Kristian Ibarra is a Featured Columnist at Bleacher Report MMA. He also serves as the sports editor at San Diego State University's student-run newspaper, The Daily Aztec. Follow him on Twitter at @Kristian_Ibarra for all things MMA.
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