MMA: Hendricks claims UFC welterweight title

Four months after many thought Johny Hendricks was robbed of the title, he is now the UFC welterweight champion.

Hendricks and Robbie Lawler went toe-to-toe for five rounds in a thrilling slugfest for the vacant belt on Saturday night (Sunday, PHL time) in the main event of UFC 171 at American Airlines Arena in Dallas.

And the NEW!! #UFC171 https://t.co/aSN9RJjVBC

— UFC (@ufc) March 16, 2014

With the fight hanging in the balance during the final round, Hendricks, a former NCAA wrestling champion, went back to his wrestling roots to secure the final round and the decision.

The judges' scores were 48-47 across the board in Hendricks' adopted hometown.

"Robbie was so freaking tough. I feel very blessed," Hendricks (16-2) said. "He caught me; in that fifth round I had to win it."

Hendricks was on the wrong end of a highly controversial split-decision loss to then-champion Georges St-Pierre at UFC 167 in Las Vegas in November. St-Pierre, who had been champion since 2008, vacated the title in the aftermath and took a sabbatical from the sport.

For his part, Lawler (22-10), of Bettendorf, Iowa, had no complaint about the decision.

"He's one hell of a fighter," Lawler said. "I was trying to roll and come back. He was taking it to me. He got a couple takedowns. He fought one hell of a fight. Hat's off to him."

In the co-feature bout, Tyron Woodley of St. Louis made his case for the next shot at the welterweight bout with a second-round TKO of decorated former champion Carlos Condit of New Mexico.

Woodley got the nod in a back-and-forth first round, using his powerful right hand to keep Condit honest and then his takedowns when Condit tried to close the distance.

In the second round, the bout came to an abrupt conclusion. Woodley used a right leg kick that landed behind Condit's left knee and caused the knee to visibly dislocate. The referee called the bout at the two-minute mark of the round.

"I heard him say something when I took him down," Woodley said. "He was complaining about the knee. When he got back up, I targeted it."

In a lightweight fight, undefeated Myles Jury of San Diego posted the biggest win of his career with a unanimous decision over popular veteran Diego Sanchez (29-7).

Sanchez, an Albuquerque, N.M., native, tried to goad Jury (12-0) into the sort of fiery brawl that has made him such a fan favorite through the years. But Jury was having none of it. He patiently waited out Sanchez's attempted flurries and answered with smart and strong counterstrikes.

While Jury never came close to finishing Sanchez, the latter was never able to get his offense untracked. Judges' scores were 30-27, 30-27, and 29-28.

"I know I can beat anyone, but with each win over better and better guys I start to believe in myself more and more," Jury said.

In another welterweight bout of note, Hector Lombard got the best of Jake Shields, winning via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28).

Lombard, a former Cuban Olympic judoka who lives in south Florida, took it Shields from the get-go in round one, landing a ferocious head kick and nearly finishing the fight. Shields is a noted jiu-jitsu player and prefers to work on the ground, so Lombard had to be careful working from the top position.

Still, Lombard (34-4-1, one no-contest) managed to stay in control throughout the fight, save for a late choke attempt by Shields (29-7-1, 1 NC) in the final seconds.

"A win is a win no matter what, but I just fought too safe," Lombard said. "I blew him up with some big punches early and I felt dominant throughout. I could've given more in the third round."

In the main-card light-heavyweight opener, Ovince St. Preux (15-5) of Nashville, Tenn., wasted little time finishing off overmatched Ukrainian Nikita Krylov (16-4). St. Preux used a choke to win at just 1:29 of the first round.

St. Preux took Krylov to the mat fast. Krylov attempted a guillotine choke, but St. Pruex responded with a choke of his own that was stronger and tighter, putting a swift halt to the bout.

"I trapped his arm, and before the ref stepped in, I actually started to let go because I felt him go out," said St. Pruex, the winner of four straight and 12 of 13. "I'm very happy with my performance." - Reuters