Johny Hendricks and Robbie Lawler meet at UFC 171 for GSP’s vacated title
Either Johny Hendricks (15-2 MMA, 10-2 UFC) or Robbie Lawler (22-9 MMA, 7-3 UFC) will win the belt today vacated by UFC welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre (25-2 MMA, 19-2 UFC).
Following St-Pierre’s announcement that he’s taking an indefinite break from competition and surrendering his long-held title, UFC President Dana White today announced that Hendricks and Lawler will fight for the vacant belt at UFC 171.
“It’ll be an absolute gun fight,†White said.
UFC 171 takes place March 15 at American Airlines Center in Dallas. The main card, initially slated to feature a light heavyweight title fight between champion Jon Jones and Glover Teixeira, airs on pay-per-view following prelims on FOX Sports 1 and MMAjunkie.
Although White initially said Jones vs. Teixeira would remain on the card, he later clarified it’s been moved to UFC 172.
In addition to Hendricks and Lawler, another fighter in the title mix is Carlos Condit (29-7 MMA, 6-3 UFC). White, though, said he has a plan for the former interim title champion and expects him to fight on the UFC 171 card, as well. He didn’t name a potential opponent.
Hendricks recently fought St-Pierre for the title at UFC 167 and suffered a narrow split-decision defeat (though every major media outlet scored the fight for Hendricks) on Nov. 16. Prior to the setback, Hendricks had claimed No. 1 contender’s status with a six-fight winning streak. The former NCAA Division I national wrestling champ’s streak included wins over the likes of Condit, Martin Kampmann, Josh Koscheck and Jon Fitch.
Lawler, meanwhile, is enjoying a career resurgence since a drop down from middleweight. After rejoining the UFC and debuting at 170 pounds, the Strikeforce vet has posted three consecutive wins. The most recent, which came over highly touted (and St-Pierre training partner) Rory MacDonald, followed knockout wins over Koscheck and Bobby Voelker.
The latest UFC 171 card now includes:
Johny Hendricks vs. Robbie Lawler – for vacant welterweight title
Hector Lombard vs. Jake Shields
Myles Jury vs. Diego Sanchez
Ovince St. Preux vs. Thiago Silva
Robert McDaniel vs. Tor Troeng
Alex Garcia vs. Sean Spencer
