Penick's Take
Penick's UFC 171 Notebook: Welterweight shakeups, preliminary card standouts, and more from "Hendricks vs. Lawler" event
Mar 16, 2014 - 7:00:43 PM Penick's UFC 171 Notebook: Welterweight shakeups, preliminary card standouts, and more from "Hendricks vs. Lawler" event

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By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

Saturday's UFC 171 event featured a ton of action from both the main card and the prelims, and featured some big changes to the welterweight division in the UFC as well. Johny Hendricks and Robbie Lawler engaged in one hell of a fight in the main event, with Hendricks capturing the UFC Title that eluded him last November, while perennial contender Carlos Condit was felled by a nasty knee injury. Here's what stuck with me immediately out of the event:

-Robbie Lawler came really close to winning the UFC Welterweight Championship in 2014. Even losing the close fifth round, he had an argument for the first round as things didn't really kick off until the second, and he dominated the third and fourth frames. It was Hendricks looking the worse for wear of the two, and were it not for a big left hand midway through the fifth round and a final minute takedown, Lawler may have won that fight.

Still, it's Hendricks who comes out of Dallas with the Title. He fought a better fight against Georges St-Pierre last November, and used the argument of simply looking at the faces of the two to figure out who really won. That wouldn't have worked in his favor this time around, as Lawler gave him absolutely all he could handle. It was a thrilling fight, with quite a few sequences looking like they could have brought the end of the fight from both men.

It was a fight that established itself in the UFC Title record books as well. Hendricks landed 158 significant strikes, the most in a UFC Title fight, while Lawler landed 150 of his own for the third most in a UFC Title fight. It was a crazy fight, and while Hendricks comes out the victor, Lawler may work right back into contention.

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-In a fight that broke open the field for the next UFC Welterweight Title shot, Carlos Condit blew out his knee against Tyron Woodley. Condit was arguably the more deserving challenger than Robbie Lawler for the title fight with Hendricks, and instead, his knee popped out in horrific fashion in a fight he may have been on his way to losing anyway.

It was such an odd sequence, as Condit began opening up with his offense at the tail end of the first round, and started to do the same in the second when he was taken down. But Woodley's takedown did the initial damage, with his leg kick finishing things off as Condit spun and planted his leg wrong.

The injury was an awful way for that to end, and though Woodley doesn't think it takes away from the win, it just might when it comes to whom the UFC grants the next title shot.

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-Myles Jury figured out Diego Sanchez, and he fought an excellent fight because of it. Sanchez did what he's been doing quite often lately, pressing in and throwing wild strikes attempting to goad an opponent into a firefight. Only here, Jury didn't oblige him. Instead, Jury picked him apart in slightly less violent fashion than Gilbert Melendez did last fall.

Jury was in thorough control of the fight start to finish, getting in and out with his strikes while staying away from Sanchez's attempts to toss out flurries of strikes. Sanchez just isn't an elite fighter, he's a gatekeeper at best in 2014, and Jury passed that test extremely well.

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-It's hard to look good against Jake Shields. It's damn near impossible, and because of that, I don't hold much of that fight against Hector Lombard. What he did in the first round would have finished most fighters, and he still won the next two rounds even if things slowed down. He's not in title contention of that just yet, but another impressive win could get him there.

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-Nikita Krylov has some talent as a striker, but he can't handle the grappling game. He hasn't stopped a takedown attempt in his three UFC fights, and Ovince St. Preux made quick work of him with that Von Flue choke. That's not something you see often, because it's a move most prove they can defend positionally. Krylov couldn't do that, and he went to sleep.

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-On the preliminary card, there were several split decisions, some more warranted than others. Kelvin Gastelum got a split over Rick Story in a fight I had a draw, and had one judge give him an unacceptable 30-27 score. That, along with 10-8 in round two for Johny Hendricks, were the worst scores of the night from the notoriously awful Texas commission judges.

Raquel Pennington gave Jessica Andrade a hell of a fight, but fell just short as Andrade's aggression in the first half of the fight gave her the edge in the first two rounds. Pennington had a slight argument for round two, but the decision was fine.

Finally, of those fights, Alex Garcia pulled off the split over Sean Spencer in a fight that seemed pretty clearly his with at least two rounds, but one judge somehow leaned Spencer's direction. Regardless, Garcia picked up the win in a fun fight; the second round between the two was insanity and just a lot of fun.

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-In other standout prelim action, Dennis Bermudez has now won six straight fights, and it's time to get him a step up in both competition and profile. He controlled Jimy Hettes from the outset of their fight, mixing up his attacks nicely and never letting Hettes settle into a comfortable spot. Instead, he hurt Hettes several times throughout the fight, finally bringing an end to the bout in the third round. He looked excellent, and I hope the UFC gives him a big fight in his next outing.

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-On the Fight Pass prelims, it was an afternoon of successful debuts, with Francisco Trevino and Sean Strickland picking up wins in their first UFC fights. Trevino survived a first round onslaught from Renee Forte and dominated the next two rounds for a decision, and Strickland took out Bubba McDaniel in impressive fashion. Also, in his second UFC fight, Justin Scoggins put a beating on Will Campuzano in every way, shape, and form for three rounds, while Robert Whiteford handed Daniel Pineda his fourth loss in five fights for his first UFC win.

It was a great night overall, topped by a fantastic UFC Title fight, and the 170 lb. division is moving forward officially without Georges St-Pierre on top.