The UFC 181 event scheduled for December 6th in Las Vegas will feature the Welterweight title re-match between Johny Hendricks and Robbie Lawler, and the Middleweight title bout between Vitor Belfort and Chris Weidman has been moved out to early 2015.
Chris Weidman suffered a hairline fracture in his hand that will require a month using a cast, but before the match was moved, Weidman was a big (-485) favorite over Belfort, who returned (+385). An exact date for the match has not been announced, though a February date seems most likely.
Hendricks and Lawler is a strong replacement match where little is lost in terms of drama or expectations. The match is supported on the card by the Lightweight title bout between Gilbert Melendez and Champion Anthony Pettis, and that match is strong enough to warrant main event status on it’s own, so as long as things hold together from here, UFC 181 is still looking like a top notch card.
Hendricks was the favorite heading into their March 2014 meeting, and he walked away with the title after five rounds. Lawler was able to win several rounds however, and the match went into the final round even in the minds of most observers. Lawler was able to make adjustments throughout the match and the general talk about the loss is that he missed a chance to press the fight and perhaps get a definitive conclusion to it, or at least accumulate more credit with the judges. These factors will likely lead to a closer line when the books put the line up.
Hendricks has been impressive in earning the title, but he is making his first title defense and needs to get by Lawler in a definitive way to back up some of the talk that has been coming from his camp. As champion, and as a welterweight champion where Matt Hughes and Georges St Pierre have set an extremely high bar for excellence, Hendricks needs to put together a run of a couple of defenses if he is going to convince anyone he is on the level of previous welterweight champions. Now that you have the belt, you ain’t done nothing yet, Johny.
