UFC 171 Results and Recap; Johny Hendricks win 170 lbs. title

By TXMMA Staff | Photos: UFC.com, Zuffa LLC via Getty Images

“Big Rigg” Johny Hendricks defeats Robbie Lawler by close decision; wins UFC welterweight title

DALLAS, TX, March 16, 2014 – He finally did it. Dallas-based Johny Hendricks is now the welterweight champion of the world after beating Robbie Lawler last night in Dallas at UFC 171. The victory came by the slimmest of margins too. The two went back and forth up with Hendricks taking the first two rounds and Lawler roaring back to take rounds 3 and 4. With the title hanging in the balance Johny he had to win the fifth round. He did it in the final minute by landing his first takedown of the fight in the close round. It was there that he sealed up the 48-47 scores on all the judges’ cards to take home the championship win.

With the UFC 171 win Hendricks now moves to 16-2 overall and is now the first new 170 lbs. UFC champion in quite some time following his loss to GSP that resulted in St. Pierre vacating the title this past December. Looking forward he’ll have no shortage of challenges with guys like fellow UFC 171 winners Tyron Woodley and Hector Lombard along with many more all eager to get their own crack at the belt. Woodley surprised many with his second round TKO finish of former top contender Carlos Condit at UFC 171 while Lombard also impressed by taking out another top contender in Jake Shields. With those wins, the welterweight division is more wide open now that it ever has been since GSP took the reins way back in 2006-2007. Definitely exciting times ahead here.

Frank Trevino wins UFC debut; fellow Texans come up short despite valiant efforts

There were six other fighters from Texas on the UFC 171 card in addition to Johny Hendricks. Most successful among them was debuting RGV native Frank Trevino. Fighting in the UFC for the first time since his days at STFC and Legacy FC, Frank took on Brazilian Renee Forte. The betting underdog headed into the fight, Frank remained undaunted. He fought off a submission-minded Forte in the opening moments but got stronger as the fight wore on. By the third round it was clear that the Muay Thai specialist had more in his gas tank. He was able to push through to win the round and gain the decision. Afterwards he dedicated the first UFC win of his career to his late grandmother who passed away during this training camp.

Another Texas fighter who performed well despite defeat was Sean Spencer. He took on Tristar gym prospect and GSP teammate Alex Garcia and came away with a split decision loss that could also be a moral victory. Garcia was quick to throw power shots and shoot the takedown throughout the fight. Each time Sean would get up and fire back. He was able to rock Garcia in the second round and hung in when Garcia hurt him as well. From there it was back-and-forth with Garcia winning ultimately by virtue of having more takedowns completed. Not sure what’s next for Sean but his performance in Dallas should no doubt have earned him another UFC bout in short order.

Also competing and representing Texas at UFC 171 was Robert (Bubba) McDaniel, Will Campuzano and Daniel Pineda. McDaniel lost by first round submission to Sean Strickland while Campuzano and Pineda lost by decision to Justin Scoggins and Robert Whiteford respectively.

See below for the complete results from UFC 171.

UFC 171 – Quick Results from March 15, 2014 in Dallas, TX

• Johny Hendricks def. Robbie Lawler by unanimous decision (48-47, 48-47, 48-47)
• Tyron Woodley def. Carlos Condit by TKO (injury) – RD 2, 2:00
• Myles Jury def. Diego Sanchez by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
• Ovince St. Preux def. Nikita Krylov by submission (Von Flue choke) – RD 1, 1:29
• Kelvin Gastelum def. Rick Story by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 30-27)
• Jessica Andrade def. Raquel Pennington by split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
• Dennis Bermudez def. Jimy Hettes by TKO (knee) – Round 3, 2:57
• Alex Garcia def. Sean Spencer by split decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
• Frank Trevino def. Renee Forte by unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
• Justin Scoggins def. Will Campuzano by unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
• Sean Strickland def. Robert McDaniel by submission (rear-naked choke) – RD 1, 4:33
• Robert Whiteford def. Daniel Pineda by unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)