Georges St-Pierre retained the UFC welterweight title on Saturday night in the main event of UFC 167 with a controversial split decision victory over Johny Hendricks.
In the build up of this fight, St-Pierre said this would be the toughest fight of his career and it would end up being the toughest battle he has ever had in the UFC.
Hendricks was able to score earlier and often in the first round. He opened up a cut on the face of St-Pierre in the opening round by landing a short elbow.
He would continue to have success in the second round and hurt St-Pierre with a left hand. St-Pierre was able to recover from the strike, but Hendricks continued to land his strikes. As the round came to a conclusion, St-Pierre landed a takedown and the tide started to turn for the reigning champion.
St-Pierre’s best round may have been the third round as it appeared that Hendricks was beginning to slow down. He landed his jab on multiple occasions and Hendricks did not appear to have much on his punches. However, Hendricks was able to gain back control in the fight in the fourth round as he capitalized on a slip by St-Pierre. He went to the ground with St-Pierre and landed several short strikes. He ended up letting St-Pierre up and the fight moved into the final round.
In the final round, St-Pierre was able to get the fight to the ground in the first two minutes of the round and landed several strikes on the ground. Hendricks would be able to get up and the fight ended with the fighters exchanging strikes.
Two of the three judges scored the fight for St-Pierre and he retains the UFC welterweight title. The round that ended up deciding the fight was the first round, with that being the only rounds that the judges did not agree on. In his post fight interview, St-Pierre told Joe Rogan that he needs to walk away but did not say the words that he is retiring.
Evans wins second straight with TKO victory over Sonnen
The co-main event was a light heavyweight bout as Rashad Evans won his 14th fight in the UFC as he defeated Chael Sonnen by TKO in the first round.
They quickly went into the clinch at the start of the fight with Evans putting Sonnen against the fence. He would get the fight to the ground and began to work his ground strikes. He would end up getting on the back of Sonnen and flattened him out. After flattening him out, he began to throw a flurry of punches and referee Herb Dean came in to call the fight.
Evans (19-3-1) is now tied with Jon Jones and Chuck Liddell for the most wins in UFC light heavyweight history and proves he is still a contender in the 205 pound division.
Lawler wins third straight with split decision over MacDonald
Robbie Lawler and Rory MacDonald battled for three rounds and Lawler walked away with a split decision victory.
Lawler opened the fight by landing several leg kicks and MacDonald was not checking any of the kicks. He would continue to land his strikes throughout the first round and MacDonald became the aggressor in the second round. He would get the fight to the ground in the second, but referee Mario Yamasaki would stand them up. The remainder of the second would be on the feet and the fight was close heading into the final round.
As the final round opened, Lawler landed a right hand that dropped MacDonald and went for the finish on the ground. MacDonald was able to survive and get back to his feet. In the final thirty seconds of the fight, MacDonald secured a takedown and landed several significant strikes before the final bell sounded.
Two of the three judges had the fight 29-28 for Lawler (22-9, 1NC) and he has won three in a row since coming back to the UFC. This is the first time that Lawler has won a fight by decision since 2003 and he could be right in line for a title shot in the UFC welterweight division.
Woodley stops Koscheck in first round by knockout
Tyron Woodley and Josh Koscheck had a slug fest in their welterweight bout and Woodley scored his second victory in the UFC by knockout with a first round victory.
As the fight started, Woodley landed a right hand that hurt Koscheck. After taking the strike, Koscheck grappled to recover from the punch. After a lack of action, referee Herb Dean separated the fighters and Koscheck landed his best punch of the fight as he connected with a counter right hand.
Woodley started to get on his heels after feeling the power of Koscheck. They continued to exchange strikes and Woodley would connect with a right hand as Koscheck was throwing a punch at the same time. Koscheck would fall to the ground and Woodley landed one more strike before Dean came in to call the fight.
Woodley (12-2) has won two of his three fights in the UFC and both of his victories have come in the first round.
Bagautinov wins 10th straight with decision over Elliott
The opening fight of the UFC 167 pay-per-view was a flyweight bout as Ali Bagautinov improved to 2-0 in the UFC as he defeated Tim Elliott by decision.
A majority of the fight would be on the feet with Elliott pushing the pace for a majority of the fight. Throughout the fight, Elliott had his hands down and head out in attempt to engage Bagautinov into a brawl. While Elliott would land more total strikes, the more significant strikes were landed by Bagautinov.
As the fight came to a conclusion, Elliott landed a slam and followed the slam up with one of the biggest strikes of the fight. However, the strike would be to late in the round and was unable to get a potential finish.
The fight went to the scorecards and all three judges scored the fight for Bagautinov (12-2). He has won ten in a row and two of those wins have come in the UFC.
Main Card: (PPV)
Georges St-Pierre def. Johny Hendricks via split decision (48-47, 47-48, 48-47)
Rashad Evans def. Chael Sonnen via TKO (strikes) – Round 1, 4:05
Robbie Lawler def. Rory MacDonald via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
Tyron Woodley def. Josh Koscheck via KO (strikes) – Round 1, 4:38
Ali Bagautinov def. Tim Elliott via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 30-27)
Preliminary Card: (Fox Sports 1)
Donald Cerrone def. Evan Dunham via submission (triangle choke) – Round 2, 3:49
Thales Leites def. Ed Herman via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Rick Story def. Brian Ebersole via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Erik Perez def. Edwin Figueroa via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Preliminary Card: (Facebook/You Tube)
Jason High def. Anthony Lapsley via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Sergio Pettis def. Will Campuzano via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
Gian Villante def. Cody Donovan via TKO (strikes) – Round 2, 1:22