Chris Weidman’s planned title defence against Vitor Belfort has been postponed until February after it was revealed that the middleweight champ had a lingering hand injury from the Machida fight. As it turned out, Weidman fought Machida with a fractured hand thinking it was ligament damage.
As a result UFC 181 on December 6th was left without a main event. Many felt that the Gilbert Melendez vs. Anthony Pettis title fight would have been a sufficient headliner given that it is coming off the backend of TUF 20, where the two are serving as coaches. But the UFC brass saw differently and last night announced that Hendricks vs. Lawler II will be the new main event.
Johny Hendricks won the welterweight title back in March with a close decision win over fellow heavy-hitter Robbie Lawler. Since then fans have been clamouring for a rematch. Hendricks hasn’t fought since then due to a bicep injury while Lawler has been much more active racking up wins over Matt Brown and Jake Ellenberger.
UFC 181 takes places December 6th from Las Vegas, Nevada.
