With the news that GSP is taking an At The Drive-In style “indefinite hiatus,” Johnny Hendricks has been left without a rematch for the belt he believes is rightly his. Queue Dana White giving us news on the GSP conference call that Robbie Lawler will replace GSP, giving us a fight which I feel is one of the most exciting announcements in a very long time. We might not know what the future holds for Georges, but we do know the welterweight belt will be in heavy, heavy hands with Robbie Lawler taking on Johnny Hendricks.
Guys, do you you remember the time Melvin Manhoef was beating Robbie Lawler like you would beat a dirty rug and Lawler’s response was to return the beating in concentrated fashion in the form of a right hook from hell? Who didn’t love that fight? Rhetorical question, because everyone loved that fight. I can’t remember a bad Robbie Lawler fight, but I do remember his last; a decision win over Rory MacDonald, a fighter most people assumed was a champion waiting for a vacant throne.
A title fight may not be something that you’d have read in Lawler’s tea leaves when he joined the UFC again after a long stint in Strikeforce, but in beating MacDonald, you can hardly deny that he deserves it. The list of title contenders is arguably fairly small, with Matt Brown out with a herniated disc, we’re pretty much just left with Carlos Condit and maybe Dong Hyung Kim and Tyron Woodley.
The bout is scheduled to take place on UFC 171 in Dallas, TX as the co-main event to the Jon Jones vs Glover Teixeira headliner. I hope this fight is like that Manhoef fight but with more battle beard. Could it be the hairiest title fight in UFC history?
Update: Jones/Teixeira has been move to the main event of UFC 172.
