Hendricks fights to bell to claim UFC title

When Johny Hendricks fought Georges St. Pierre in November, Hendricks coasted through the fifth round and was stunned to hear St. Pierre’s name announced as the winner.

Hendricks clearly learned his lesson.

He dominated Robbie Lawler in the fifth and final round in the main event of UFC 171 in Dallas on Saturday night to win a unanimous decision and capture the vacant welterweight title.

“That fifth round, I knew I had to win it,” Hendricks said. “And I did.”

Hendricks still believes he should have been awarded the decision over longtime champion St. Pierre in November. St. Pierre won, however, only to announce a hiatus from the sport a few weeks later, vacating the title.

Hendricks took advantage of his second chance Saturday. He established his jab and leg kicks early, taking a more cautious approach than usual. Lawler landed a couple of big shots in the first round, but Hendricks landed more.

It proved to be the decisive round.

Hendricks controlled the second round before Lawler took over in rounds three and four. He appeared close to finishing Hendricks in the third round but couldn’t seal the deal.

“I saw it as 2-2 going to the fifth,” Hendricks said. “I thought I did really well the first two rounds. Robbie did a couple changeups, and I didn’t adapt fast enough in the third and fourth. If I was going to win, it had to be in the fifth, and that’s what I was going to do.”

With Hendricks’ dominance in the final five minutes, the fight came down to how the judges scored the first round.

All three gave it to Hendricks.

“I just needed to do a little bit more, and he did enough to win, plain and simple,” Lawler said. “He was just taking it to me. He got a couple takedowns. He fought a hell of a fight.”

Hendricks’s first challenger could be former Strikeforce welterweight champion Tyron Woodley.

The former two-time All-America wrestler at Missouri won his second straight fight and improved to 3-1 in the Ultimate Fighting Championship with a second-round stoppage of former interim champion Carlos Condit.

Condit appeared to injure his right knee when Woodley took him down. After working back to his feet, Condit absorbed a kick to his left knee, and his right knee completely gave out under the pressure.

“I heard him say something when I took him down. He was complaining about the knee,” Condit said. “When he got back up, I targeted it. I didn’t know which knee, so I kicked at both, and I hit the right spot eventually. It was time to get him out of there. Very glad I got the win, and all the best to Carlos.”

In another pivotal welterweight bout, Hector Lombard utilized his Olympic-level judo to throw Jake Shields around on his way to a unanimous decision.

Top lighweight prospect Myles Jury remained undefeated with a unanimous decision over Diego Sanchez, and light heavyweight Ovince St. Preux extended his winning streak to four with a first-round submission of Nikita Krylov.

Contact reporter Adam Hill at ahill@reviewjournal.com or 702-224-5509. Follow him on Twitter: @adamhilllvrj.