Roundtables
ROUNDTABLE: Overall thoughts on Saturday night's UFC 171 "Hendricks vs. Lawler" event
Mar 17, 2014 - 6:45:32 PM ROUNDTABLE: Overall thoughts on Saturday night's UFC 171 "Hendricks vs. Lawler" event

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What are your overall thoughts on Saturday's UFC 171 event? What stood out to you most? How does it stack up with the rest of the 2014 schedule thus far?


DAN MOORE, MMATORCH UK COLUMNIST

It was certainly a lot more enjoyable than UFC 169 and UFC 170. I thoroughly enjoyed the main card overall, and especially the main event, which more than delivered with one of the best fights I've seen this year. Hard not to feel sorry for Robbie Lawler, but I'm delighted Johny Hendricks finally earned what he should have got at the end of the GSP fight.

It was a shame the co-main event ended like it did but these things happen. Woodley was clearly winning the fight, but had Condit not injured himself, no one would've written him off until the final bell sounded.

I enjoyed most of the undercard and the quality of fights was generally on another level compared to what we've seen in the last month or two. Hopefully events like UFC 172 and UFC 173 end up even better than this event but sadly nothing else looks like coming close. That's the sacrifice we all have to live with now that the UFC have saturated their event calendar.


KALE HAVERVOLD, MMATORCH CONTRIBUTOR

It was a very good card in my eyes. What stood out to me was how competitive Lawler was in the main event, I thought Hendricks would just run right through him, and boy was I wrong.


FRANK HYDEN, MMATORCH CONTRIBUTOR

I thought it was a good event, but more so for those who had already ordered it. It was a two-fight card until Carlos Condit went down with injury. That basically turned the event into a one-fight card. The fights on the prelims were better. Yeah, we got a Fight of the Year candidate with Johny Hendricks-Robbie Lawler, but injury stoppages always take the wind out of the sails for me. This card compared favorably to most cards because of the main event. The rest was just kind of there, or disappointing.


CASH NORMAN, MMATORCH CONTRIBUTOR

Overall, I was impressed with the entire card. There were good performances by Jessica Andrade and Raquel Pennington in the women's divsion. Dennis Bermudez looked good in his performance and deserves a higher ranked opponent in the featherweight division. Ovince Saint Preux also needs a bump up in competition. Kelvin Gastelum has impressed me with how quickly he is developing and may become a contender within the welterweight division sooner rather than later.

Honestly, Johny Hendricks impressed me the most on the card. If you review his last three fights he has turned a corner and added new tools to his arsenal. The Johny Hendricks that fought Carlos Condit was different from the guy who fought Georges St-Pierre. While some fans seem to be disgruntled with Hendricks taking Lawler down in the fifth round, I have no problem with fighters being smart and securing a victory rather than needlessly putting themselves in danger.

The next card that stands out is UFC 172 in Baltimore on April 26 because it will have implications within multiple divisions. Well, get to see who's left standing in the lightweight division with bouts between current Light Heavyweight Champion Jon Jones takes on Glover Texeira as well as the return of Anthony Johnson vs Phil Davis. Then you have a welterweight matchup between Jake Ellenberger vs Tarec Saffiedine which could showcase a possible contender in the division. Since the UFC seems to have a flare for the dramatic this card will also feature Jake Ellenberger's twin brother Joe on the undercard. In addition, this card will feature a step up in competiton for lightweight Bobby Green as he takes on wily veteran Jim Miller and Andre Fili will go head to head with Max Holloway at featherweight.

While I will be in attendance for UFC 173 in Las Vegas May 24, for this card it's all about the main event as Chris Weidman will take on Lyoto Machida.


TOM STRONG, MMATORCH UK CONTRIBUTOR

I thought UFC 171 more than delivered on Saturday night, with surprise upsets from Whiteford, Tyron Woodley, outstanding finishes by Bermudez and Ovince St.Pruex, and the main event that had just about everything except from a finish!

A couple things that really stood out for me on Saturday night. 1) just how big and strong Hector Lombard looked at 170lbs. Tossing and throwing Jake Shields around like a rag doll at times. Something we have never seen much of before. 2) Tyron Woodley picking up a huge win in stopping Carlos Condit. A lot of talk has been mentioned about the knee of Condit, though I'm in with the theory Woodley made that happen by the take down.

The main event Hendricks vs. Lawler had everyone on the edge of their seats going into the five round. A back and forth battle right until the bell with both fighter putting everything that had on the line. What more could the fans asked for!