Will Hendricks (16-2) Keep His Belt?
WELTERWEIGHT (170) TITLE REMATCH IN MAIN EVENT
Johny Hendricks will square off with Robbie Lawler (24-10, 1 NC) once again for the UFC welterweight title on Saturday night at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, NV. Their first fight back in March was a close decision that went in favor of Hendricks. It was a technical war, with both men showing off their grit and versatility. The rematch should match the intensity of the first fight, and a finish is not out of the question.
WILL INACTIVITY HURT HENDRICKS?
The champion has not fought since the first Lawler bout about 8 and a half months ago, and has said this is his longest layoff ever. This is a bit misleading, as he went 8 months from March 16, 2013 when he fought Carlos Condit (29-8) to November 16, 2013 when he fought then champion Georges St. Pierre (25-2). Hendricks may have lost the GSP fight on the scorecards, but the majority of observers felt “Bigg Rigg” should have gotten the nod that night, and it was one of his most impressive performances yet.
LAWLER HAS QUESTIONS SINCE FALLING TO BIGG RIGG
“Ruthless” scored a TKO3 of Jake Ellenberger (29-9) back in May and ended Matt Brown’s (19-12) 7-fight win-streak in July with a UD5 over the surging contender. He has been much more active than Hendricks, but I still expect the champ to keep his strap.
LIGHTWEIGHT (155) CHAMP PETTIS (17-2) FINALLY RETURNS
One of the most exciting fights in the UFC, Anthony “Showtime” Pettis will compete for the first time since submitting then-king Benson Henderson (21-4) for the belt last August. Across the cage from him will be Strikeforce’s last lightweight champion, Gilbert Melendez (22-3). Melendez has been off since last October, so he will not have much of an advantage when it comes to octagon rust. This is one that could go either way, but I expect the superior versatility of Pettis to be enough to pull off the win over a very game Melendez in the co-main event.
HEAVYWEIGHT ACTION ON UNDERCARD
Travis Browne (16-2-1) and Brendan Schaub (10-4) will look to improve their standing in the heavyweight division (265 limit) by taking on each other. I think Browne’s vastly superior chin and varied strikes will be enough to get the finish here. Rounding out the main card will be more heavyweight fireworks courtesy of Todd Duffee (8-2) and Anthony Hamilton (13-3) and a lightweight match between Tony Ferguson (17-3) and Abel Trujillo (12-5, 1 NC).
FOX SPORTS 1 PRELIMS
BANTAMWEIGHTS (135):
Uriah Faber (31-7) vs. Francisco Rivera (10-3, 1 NC)
MIDDLEWEIGHTS (185):
Eddie Gordon (7-1) vs. Josh Samman (10-2)
LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHTS (205):
Corey Anderson (4-0) vs. Justin Jones (3-0)
BANTAMWEIGHTS (135):
Raquel Pennington (4-4) vs. Ashlee Evans-Smith (3-0)
UFC FIGHT PASS EARLY PRELIMS
BANTAMWEIGHTS :
Sergio Pettis (11-1) vs. Matt Hobar (9-2)
FEATHERWEIGHTS (145):
Clay Collard (13-5) vs. Alex White (10-1)