The UFC 181 card went off last night in Las Vegas, headlined by title fights in the welterweight and lightweight divisions. Welterweight titlist Johny Hendricks lost a narrow five round split decision to nemesis Robbie Lawler, and at lightweight, champion Anthony Pettis overcame a slow start to finish the tough Gilbert Melendez. Lawler paid off as an underdog, while Pettis was favored in his bout.
For Lawler and Hendricks, this evens the series at one win a piece, and they have gone 10 rounds and are basically stalemated. They will probably be called upon to do the fight a third time in short order. Waiting in the wings for a shot at the title is Rory MacDonald, but he is young and can wait. They need to cue up Hendricks-Lawler III, possibly for one of the May PPV events.
At lightweight, Pettis is the star of the show. He was coming off a long layoff of sixteen months that involved a surgery and recovery time, and in the opening round he appeared to be shaking off the ring rust. Melendez, a veteran grinder who has long been considered top five in the weight class, was able to get in close and shut down Pettis offense. The early part of round two was more of the same, as Pettis showed flashes, but was unable to put any offense together. Then he exploded, and it was over fast. He tagged Melendez, who went for the takedown and exposed his neck. That was all it took as Pettis finished Melendez with a guillotine choke.
For Pettis, he is in a talent rich weight class, and several contenders, including Donald Cerrone and undefeated Russian phenom Khabib Nurmagomedov, so the key for him is to avoid injury and stay healthy. He is young, and after the long layoff, the UFC should consider booking him for 3 fights in 2015.
Melendez finds himself at a crossroads. He is very well paid, as he renegotiated with a Bellator offer under his arm, and he received additional compensation for being on the reality show, but he is 1-2 with the UFC and he has received two title shots. He also has been inactive and should go into the rotation for 2015 with three fights as a goal. Perhaps match him with Cerrone, then Eddie Alvarez and keep him busy.
Below, check out the UFC’s video of highlights from the post fight press conference:
