Hendricks was out quickly in the final frame but Lawler answered back. It took just 30 seconds for the champion to shoot for a takedown this time, and the crowd showered him with boos for it.
He managed to work nearly a minute off the clock before the referee called for a separation.
It didn't take long, however, for Hendricks to simply grab another takedown and force another stalemate. The referee allowed just about the same amount of time to go by before separating the two again.Lawler came out quickly swinging right for the fences. Lawler landed some big knees to the body that hurt Hendricks early. Lawler was giving Hendricks no room to breathe and kept the pressure on early. Lawler grabbed a hold of the clinch to set up his knees and Hendricks attempted to change levels for a takedown. Lawler landed a short elbow with his back to the cage. Hendricks started smothering Lawler against the cage as he continued searching for the takedown. Lawler landed a knee to the head as he continued to fight off Hendricks’ takedowns. Hendricks was relentless, however, but he was unable to do anything. Lawler was really finding a home for his knees to the body. Lawler attempted an elbow down the center, but Hendricks stopped the shot and started uncorking some heavy leg kicks. Hendricks started to find more success with his combinations and Lawler backed to the cage. With Lawler’s back to the cage, Hendricks started to once again look for a takedown. Hendricks put Lawler on his but, but was unable to get his back on the mat. Lawler was able to get back to his feet after avoiding damage and Lawler delivered a huge kick to the face.Lawler opened up with the front kick to the body. Hendricks answered with an impressive one-two combination that was capped off with an outside leg kick. Hendricks seemed to calm down and settle into his rhythm at the midway point of the fight, while Lawler seemed to continue holding back. With Hendricks gaining momentum, Lawler needed to mount some offense. Lawler appeared to be taking the round off and it was all Hendricks as the champion peppered away at the challenger.Lawler’s charge followed a listless performance in the third and round as Hendricks frequently beat him to the punch with sharp combinations. Hendricks was the more active fighter with a stiff left jab and combinations punctuated by attacks to Lawler’s lead leg.
After the first fight netted a total of 308 significant strikes landed, the rematch saw 226 between the two, according to official UFC stat provider FightMetric. Lawler edged Hendricks 57 percent to 48 percent in the category.Hendricks was injured in that fight and hadn’t fought since. Lawyer however got right back in the cage. He knocked out Jake Ellenberger in May and won a decision over Matt Brown in July to earn the rematch against Hendricks.
The welterweight title fight wasn’t the only one on the card Saturday. Anthony Pettis defended his lightweight title for the first time against number one contender, Gilbert Melendez. Pettis was long considered one of the biggest rising stars in the sport and that potential was finally realized last August when he defeated Benson Henderson to become the lightweight champion.Hendricks, meanwhile, suffers just the third loss of his professional career including a controversial split-call loss to now-retired champ Georges St-Pierre, which set up the March bout with Lawler for the vacant belt.
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