Ten Thoughts on UFC 171

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Ten Thoughts on UFC 171:

1. Hendricks vs. Lawler is the Fight of 2014. Up to this point, it’s not even close. These guys put on an absolute show, just a brutal back and forth slugfest that pushed both guys to their limits and beyond. Add it to the list of classics. Jones vs. Gustafsson, Shogun vs. Henderson, Alvarez vs. Chandler. Hendricks vs. Lawler was one of the greatest fights of all time. We saw two guys standing right in the pocket, dishing out a ton of punishment, taking the worst of what the other guy had to give, and continuing to do it for five full rounds. Both guys were in trouble at times and both showed incredible resiliency and heart. And what made it even better was what was at stake. It was for the welterweight title, to be the first new UFC welterweight champion in a good six years. We witnessed history being made. It will be one hell of a fight that tops Hendricks vs. Lawler in 2014 and beyond.

2. Lawler DID get robbed…by Johny Hendricks. What’s with all of the talk that Robbie Lawler got robbed in a decision? The judges didn’t rob anyone. Johny Hendricks won that fight, and he almost certainly won it because of his fifth round dominance. It came down to one round and it was essentially up for grabs. Lawler was oh so close to grasping the gold. His fingertips were just inching towards it and then Johny Hendricks snatched it away from him with a big round. 48-47 unanimously was a very sensible decision and it very likely came down to that last round, which Hendricks clearly won. It would have been more of an upset had Lawler won the decision. He certainly showed that he could have and there were flashes when it looked like he would, but he just couldn’t put Hendricks away. What a bizarre lack of kicks from Lawler, who used them so effectively against prior opponents. Lawler was all hands. We could probably count the number of significant kicks he threw on two hands. Just a strange approach that proved to be inadequate in the end.

3A No halfway champions. Robbie Lawler and Johny Hendricks gave everything in that fight. They left it all in the cage. These guys are as tough as they come. They are rare. It gives you an idea of what it takes to be a world champion. You have to be willing to sacrifice everything. Hendricks was in big trouble at certain points and he hung in to persevere. How many kicks and punches did Lawler eat during that fight? Not only did he shake them off, he smiled afterward. The guy is a freak. These guys showed what it takes to be the best. Winning a fight in itself is difficult enough, winning in the UFC is even harder. Winning a title fight? It really puts into perspective how superhuman guys like Anderson Silva, GSP, Jon Jones and Jose Aldo really are.

3B Main event, final words. Hendricks and Lawler will almost certainly meet again. Or at least Lawler will find himself close to another title fight. Make no mistake about it. This fight was too close and too entertaining. If Gus needed to take another fight to get a second crack at Jones, Lawler should be in the exact same spot. Hendricks didn’t dominate him, and if Lawler had just a bit more left in the tank at the end of it, we could be looking at Ruthless being the champ. Lawler was incredibly entertaining and withstood the hands of Johny Hendricks better than anyone so far with the exception of possibly Carlos Condit. Fans will want to see him fight again soon and if it’s for the title, all the better. He looked so relaxed and comfortable, it was more like a sparring session than a title fight for him.

4. Woodley’s victory is marred. First off, hearts out to Carlos Condit and here’s to a speedy recovery for one of the classier and very entertaining fighters in MMA today. No one wanted to see the fight end because of that. Second, Woodley won that fight and performed very well. He looked fantastic against Condit in the first round and didn’t look outmatched at all against one of the best strikers in MMA. But to say that the way he won holds the same weight as his victories over Koscheck and Hieron is flat out wrong. Yes, he “caused” Condit to get injured with a takedown, and subsequently kicked Condit’s other leg to make his knee buckle, but there will always be question marks about this one. What would have happened if Condit didn’t get injured? We don’t have those questions about Koscheck or Hieron. Woodley is in talks for title contention and deservedly so, but his win over Condit has a shadow over it.

5. Composed performance by Myles Jury. It would be too easy to get caught up in the moment and the spirit of the fight, but Jury fought smart and made Sanchez look completely outmatched. Sanchez will never be an elite fighter, but he has the heart of a lion. Unfortunately, heart just isn’t going to be enough against the fighters of today, who have been training extensively and have the physical tools to separate themselves from the competition. Jury legitimized himself with a decisive win over Sanchez, and he did it in relatively easy fashion. Keep your eye on this guy.

6. Have we heard everything, Hector? What a strange fight. First off, Lombard dominated Shields everywhere. But why take his foot off the gas? He was on the verge of crushing Shields in the first round, and he really just backed off and kept things a lot closer than they should have been. Just a bizarre shift from the wrecking ball we saw in the first round compared to the almost reluctant fighter we saw in the rest of the fight. It seemed like Lombard might have injured himself, but nothing was mentioned in his post-fight interviews. Rogan nailed it when he said that Lombard didn’t deliver that “give me the next title shot” performance that he easily could have. Shields could not handle Lombard’s explosive striking, but for some reason, Lombard just didn’t push it. No one, in any sport, wins championships by doing that.

7. OSP with the submission of the year? Who saw that coming? Besides Dan Miragliotta and St. Preux of course. What an impressive, really shocking submission pulled off by OSP. That’s a new one and there’s a lesson to be learned there about holding onto a guillotine attempt in that position. We expected to see some striking and banging in the stand up, and maybe a KO finish, but a submission happening in that way? Krylov was supposed to be the submission guy, but OSP pulled off an amazing move that has to be in the running for submission of the year.

8. Questionable split decisions. What the hell is going on with the judges when one judge scores it 29-28 for one fighter and another judge says 30-27 for the other? Split decisions aren’t always meaningless or useless, but when that happens, which it did at least twice on the 171 card, it just brings into question the consistency of the judging. Hard to say who really won or lost when it’s scored that way. Or, maybe it’s easy to say who won or lost, but the judges just don’t get it right.

9. Do not sleep on KG. No, not the future hall of fame basketball player. Kelvin Gastelum is going to become a household name, if he isn’t already. This guy isn’t the underdog anymore. He was favored to win against Rick Story and for good reason. He survived the best Story had to offer, weathered the storm and kept his composure to squeeze out a hard fought win. Crisp striking, the toughness and smarts to overcome a powerful striker like Story, ground defense, you name it, he showed it. KG was tested in every area and passed. He’s going places in the division and he’s going to get there fast.

10. Jessica Andrade has no fear. Height disadvantage? Size disadvantage? Reach disadvantage? No problem. Andrade overcame those physical discrepancies through simple aggression. How many fighters, both male and female, could take a page out of her book in terms of her aggression, toughness and attitude? It wasn’t necessarily the smartest and most technical strategy, and a more capable fighter would have made Andrade pay for it. But the sheer volume and pace…shades of Nick Diaz, Diego Sanchez, and Cris Cyborg there. There are very few fighters that bring it for every second of every round. Andrade is clearly one of them. She’s got a crazy entertaining style, but she has to shore it up if she’s really going to hang with the best of the best. Pennington could have easily won that fight, and you can bet that some of the more technical, smarter fighters will execute a different game plan.

Dan is a new addition to the InsideFights team. When not teaching at the local college during his day job, he likes to ride his fixed gear bicycle around town. Given the choice, he'd rather bike than drive any day (ride on!). He also enjoys trying new craft beers and vegetarian/vegan foods, playing guitar, writing fiction and of course, catching up on all things MMA. Dan currently lives in Los Angeles with his awesome wife.