Initially, UFC 195 was to headline a title fight between MMA superstar Ronda Rousey and Holly Holm, however, that was recently moved up to the main event of UFC 193 on Nov. 15 in Australia. Afterwards, it left many MMA fans wondering about the main of UFC 195. Well folks, I’m happy to say there’s no longer a mystery around the main event of UFC 195 anymore. So keep on reading for the latest update surrounding the New Year’s Eve weekend fight card.

On Thursday night via FOX Sports 1, the UFC officially announced a welterweight title fight between champion Robbie Lawler and Carlos Condit has been rebooked for the main event of UFC 195 on Jan. 2 in Las Vegas. That’s right! “Ruthless” will be defending the title for the second consecutive time against the man who gave former welterweight champion Georges St-Pierre one of his toughest fights in his career. Those expecting to see another violent fight with Lawler following the bloodbath with Canadian Rory MacDonald in July won’t want to miss this one.

Condit, 31, returned inside the Octagon in May after a long lay off to repair a torn ACL. The American mixed martial artist was successful in taking out UFC veteran Thiago Alves by TKO after the cage-side doctor ended the contest between the second and third round due to the amount of damage Alves had taken.

As for the rest of the UFC 195 fight card, no other bouts have been announced yet, but expect new updates to rollout over the next few weeks.

On Episode 1 of UFC 189 Embedded, Aldo breaks the news that he’ll be unable to fight at UFC 189. After Aldo’s announcement, Mendes charges head-first into training for the just-announced title fight. In addition, you get to see the sport’s biggest UFC stars converge in New York City for a photo shoot for the massive Reebok fighter kit launch, which took place on Tuesday. Lastly, you also get a behind-the-scenes look at McGregor quickly shift gears for his new opponent.

Watch the video and make sure to catch the following episodes over the next few days.

The highly-anticipated rematch between Johny Hendricks and Robbie Lawler took place on Saturday night at UFC 181. As all of you MMA fans should know by now, Lawler managed to seize the welterweight strap from the former champion after securing the fifth and final round via a split-decision victory. A narrow win for Lawler, which gave him the opportunity to pocket $220,000 for his victory. Making him the highest paid fighter of the night. Although, Hendricks lost the title defense, he still took home $150,000 for his effort to try and retain the gold. However, if he won that night, Hendricks would have pocketed an additional $200,000 win bonus.

In the co-main event of UFC 181, lightweight champion Anthony Pettis secured the belt after stopping Gilbert Melendez with a guillotine choke in the second round, which earned the 155-pound king a six-figure payday. Pettis banked in $200,000 for his victory and Melendez ended up earning the same amount for his effort.

For the full list of UFC 181 salaries, see the list right below.

Main Card (Pay-per-view)

Robbie Lawler ($110,000 + $110,000 = $220,000) def. Johny Hendricks ($150,000)
Anthony Pettis ($100,000 + $100,000 = $200,000) def. Gilbert Melendez ($200,000)
Travis Browne ($50,000 + $50,000 = $100,000) def. Brendan Schaub ($32,000)
Todd Duffee ($10,000 + $10,000 = $20,000) def. Anthony Hamilton ($10,000)
Tony Ferguson ($24,000 + $24,000 = $48,000) def. Abel Trujillo ($14,000)

Preliminary Card (FOX Sports 1)

Urijah Faber ($70,000 + $70,000 = $140,000) def. Francisco Rivera ($20,000)
Josh Samman ($8,000 + $8,000 = $16,000) def. $Eddie Gordon ($15,000)
Corey Anderson ($15,000 + $15,000 = $30,000) def. Justin Jones ($8,000)
Raquel Pennington ($10,000 + $10,000 = $20,000) def. Ashlee Evans-Smith ($8,000)

Preliminary Card (UFC Fight Pass)

Sergio Pettis ($15,000 + $15,000 = $30,000) def. Matt Hobar ($10,000)
Clay Collard ($8,000 + $8,000 = $16,000) def. Alex White ($10,000)

Will it be another close match like the first one that goes to judge’s decision? Hopefully it won’t since it looks like both fighters have tweaked their technique and game plan for the fight. In the video clip above, you get a glimpse into their training world and hear about new changes ahead of the title bout at UFC 181.

Check it out!

UFC 181 PPV Main Event:

170 lbs.: UFC Welterweight Champion Johny Hendricks vs. Robbie Lawler

UFC 181 PPV Co-Main Event:
155 lbs.: UFC Lightweight Champion Anthony Pettis vs. Gilbert Melendez

UFC 181 PPV Main Card (10 p.m. ET):
265 lbs.: Travis Browne vs. Brendan Schaub
265 lbs.: Todd Duffee vs. Anthony Hamilton
155 lbs.: Tony Ferguson vs. Abel Trujillo

UFC 181 FOX Sports 1 Prelims (8 p.m. ET):
135 lbs.: Urijah Faber vs. Francisco Rivera
185 lbs.: Eddie Gordon vs. Josh Samman
205 lbs.: Corey Anderson vs. Justin Jones
135 lbs.: Raquel Pennington vs. Ashlee Evans-Smith

UFC 181 Fight Pass Prelims (7 p.m. ET):
135 lbs.: Sergio Pettis vs. Matt Hobar
145 lbs.: Clay Collard vs. Alex White

All 24 fighters scheduled to step inside the Octagon this Saturday night for UFC on FOX: Lawler vs. Brown must first tip the scale today for the official UFC weigh-ins.

For the main event, No.1 UFC welterweight contender Robbie Lawler and Matt Brown will have to make a limit of 170 pounds. The co-main event features a light heavyweight bout between Anthony Johnson and Antonio Rogerio Nogueira, both will have to make a limit of 205 pounds.

The weigh-ins for UFC on FOX 12 starts at 7:00 p.m. sharp. Make sure to bookmark this page and watch the live stream right here on Yell! Magazine.

Main card (FOX at 8 p.m. ET)

Robbie Lawler vs. Matt Brown
Anthony Johnson vs. Antonio Rogerio Nogueira
Clay Guida vs. Dennis Bermudez
Josh Thomson vs. Bobby Green

Undercard (FOX at 6 p.m. ET)

Jorge Masvidal vs. Daron Cruickshank
Kyle Kingsbury vs. Patrick Cummins
Hernani Perpetuo vs. Tim Means
Michael De La Torre vs. Brian Ortega

Undercard (UFC Fight Pass at 4 p.m. ET)

Akbarh Arreola vs. Tiago dos Santos
Steven Siler vs. Noad Lahat
Andreas Stahl vs. Gilbert Burns
Juliana Lima vs. Joanna Jedrzejczyk

Tonight, UFC 171 started off weak with many decision wins, but thanks to the main event, things finally got a bit more interesting. Johny Hendricks vs. Robbie Lawler was, without a doubt, a bloody damn exciting bout from the very first round. No surprise here since both are power punchers, so it ended up being-a-back forth war for the UFC welterweight title.

After five rounds, Hendricks picked up the win in the judges eyes and is now officially the champion in the division that Georges St-Pierre dominated since 2008. In the first two rounds, Hendricks had the upper hand with leg kicks and overall landed more strikes than Lawler, who had one hell of a great takedown defense against Hendricks tonight. Lawler had his first dominant round in the third, out striking Hendricks this time and nearly dazing him with vicious hooks and overhand lefts. This continued for Lawler in the forth, however, Hendricks came back in the final seconds of the round, scoring his first takedown after five attempts. The fifth round was obviously the determining round, and both fighters took it to each other with lots of jabs, and hooks. Hendricks wobbled Lawler near the end of the round and hit a takedown with 60 seconds left, winning the welterweight strap by decision.

Like I said earlier, it was a very exciting fight and it sounds like Tyron Woodley may be next in line for a title shot. For more UFC 171 results and bonuses, continue reading right below.

Main Card (PPV)

Johny Hendricks (c) def. Robbie Lawler Decision (unanimous)
Tyron Woodley def. Carlos Condit TKO (leg injury)
Myles Jury def. Diego Sanchez Decision (unanimous)
Hector Lombard def. Jake Shields Decision (unanimous)
Ovince St. Preux def. Nikita Krylov Technical Submission (Von Flue choke)

Preliminary card (Fox Sports 2)

Kelvin Gastelum def. Rick Story Decision (split)
Jessica Andrade def. Raquel Pennington Decision (split)
Dennis Bermudez def. Jimy Hettes TKO (strikes)
Alex Garcia def. Sean Spencer Decision (split)

Preliminary card (UFC Fight Pass)

Francisco Trevinodef. Renee Forte Decision (unanimous)
Justin Scoggins def. Will Campuzano Decision (unanimous)
Sean Strickland def. Robert McDaniel Submission (rear-naked choke)
Robert Whiteford def. Daniel Pineda Decision (unanimous)

UFC 171 Bonuses

Fight of the Night: Johny Hendricks vs. Robbie Lawler
Performance of the Night: Ovince St. Preux and Dennis Bermudez

But before they settle their business inside the Octagon, both fighters will tip the scale this evening for the official UFC 171 weigh in. They will have to make the welterweight limit of 170 pounds. In addition, the other 24 fighters on the card below will also meet at the weigh in, including Carlos Condit and Tyron Woodley, who throw down in the co-main event.

The UFC 171 weigh in starts at 5:00 p.m. today, so stay tuned for the live stream here on Yell! Magazine.

UFC 171 PPV Main Card (10 p.m. ET):

170 lbs.: Johny Hendricks vs. Robbie Lawler
170 lbs.: Carlos Condit vs. Tyron Woodley
155 lbs.: Myles Jury vs. Diego Sanchez
170 lbs.: Hector Lombard vs. Jake Shields
205 lbs.: Ovince St. Preux vs. Nikita Krylov

UFC 171 FOX Sports 2 Prelims (8 p.m. ET):

170 lbs.: Kelvin Gastelum vs. Rick Story
135 lbs.: Jessica Andrade vs. Raquel Pennington
145 lbs.: Jim Hettes vs. Dennis Bermudez
170 lbs.: Alex Garcia vs. Sean Spencer

UFC 171 Fight Pass Prelims (6 p.m. ET):

155 lbs.: Renee Forte vs. Frank Trevino
125 lbs.: Will Campuzano vs. Justin Scoggins
185 lbs.: Bubba McDaniel vs. Sean Strickland
145 lbs.: Daniel Pineda vs. Robert Whiteford

As you all should know by now, Georges St-Pierre (25–2) has officially vacated the UFC welterweight title and will be taking an indefinite leave of absence from MMA. So, yes, after a 12-fight win streak in the UFC, the Montreal-born fighter is finally hanging up the gloves for “a little bit,” as he announced in a press conference call on Friday with UFC President Dana White.

GSP said:

I’ve been fighting for a very long time at a high level, it’s a lot of pressure … I’ve decided I need to take time off. I know the UFC is a business and they can’t wait. One day, when I feel like it, I might come back. But right now I need a break.

Shortly after giving up the 170-pound title, White also announced that Johny Hendricks (15–2) and Robbie Lawler (22–9-1) will square off in the Octagon for the vacated title at UFC 171. A fight that will definitely go toe-to-toe, and most likely end by knockout. You can place bets on that. Hendricks has had eight outstanding finishes by KO in his entire career. In under a minute he last dropped Martin Kampmann at UFC 154, earning him his third Knockout of the Night bonus in the UFC.

Lawler is no slouch when it comes to knocking fighters out either, he has more experience inside the cage and currently holds 19 knockouts on his pro MMA record. Not long ago, Lawler defeated Bobby Voelker with a head kick and punch in the second round at UFC on Fox: Johnson vs. Moraga.

White said during the presser:

There’s no doubt the Johny Hendricks-Robbie Lawler will be an absolute gunfight.

UFC 171: Hendricks vs. Lawler will be held on March 15, 2014, at the American Airlines Arena in Dallas, Texas.

UFC 171 Fight Card

Dallas’ Sean Spencer vs. Alex Garcia in a welterweight bout.
Hector Lombard vs. Jake Shields in a welterweight bout.
Thiago Silva vs. Ovince St. Preux in a light heavyweight bout.
Bubba McDaniel vs. Tor Troeng in a middleweight bout.
Myles Jury vs. Diego Sanchez in a lightweight bout.

We haven’t touched much on UFC on FOX 8: Johnson vs. Moraga, possibly because it’s one of the least exciting free UFC events so far this year. Even as great of a UFC champion Demetrious Johnson is, I’m just not buying into the flyweight division yet for a number of typical reasons.

First, the division just isn’t stacked with enough well-known fighters. So far, I’m mostly familiar with Joseph Benavidez, John Dodson, Ian McCall, and Louis Gaudinot. Other than those guys, nobody else really rings a bell. Second, there just hasn’t been an exiciting fight since Johnson vs. Dodson in January. I’m well aware that the flyweight division is fairly new to the UFC, it kick started last year, so I’m hoping things will really pick up later in the year, or the next. For now, it’s easy for me to say it’s my least favorite division, and I’m guessing most feel the same way.

However, the fight that really has me interested in UFC on FOX 8 is in the welterweight division between Rory MacDonald and Jake Ellenberger. MacDonald keeps proving with each fight that he has the skill set to be the best, and with Ellenberger trash talking him since the bout was announced, everyone should expect this one to go down as the “Fight of the Night.” “Knockout of the Night” should be in the hands of Robbie Lawler, who faces Bobby “Vicious” Voelker tomorrow night.

All 24 fighters listed below will step on the scale this evening for the UFC on FOX 8 weigh-in starting at 7 ET at the KeyArena in Seattle. Make sure you stay tuned here on Yell! Magazine to watch it LIVE in a few moments.

Main Card

Prelims

5. Two free hours of preliminary goodness over at Showtime Extreme.

Who doesn’t love free prelims? If you don’t love them by now, there’s got to be something wrong with you. The UFC in particular has fantastic prelims, and in the cases of a few PPV let-downs, the preliminary action has been better than the stuff people pay for! STRIKEFORCE’s preliminary fights may not have the star power of UFC preliminary fights, but free fights are free fights and if you’re an MMA fan with time on your hands, you can’t beat free.

4. Tyron Woodley should come into his fight against Jordan Mein with a humongous chip on his shoulder.

At 9-0, coming off of a victory over former UFC fighter and STRIKEFORCE Welterweight Championship contender Paul Daley, Tyron Woodley has more right than anybody else in STRIKEFORCE to demand a title shot in the Welterweight division. Instead he’s facing Jordan Mein, a thirty-fight veteran that is on a six-fight win-streak. This could’ve been a title fight, but because it’s not, expect Tyron Woodley to come out hunting for blood and not stopping until the referee hauls him off of Jordan Mein’s bleeding carcass.

3. Robbie Lawler vs. Adlan Amagov should be one hell of a brawl.

In most Robbie Lawler fights, you either knock him out or he knocks you out. Lawler simply doesn’t like fighting to a decision. He probably won’t against Adlan Amagov, who’s 8-1-1 with a majority of his wins by (T)KO. From the moment the first bell rings, expect both men to throw bombs. This is a “blink and you’ll miss it” fight.

2. Muhammed Lawal vs. Lorenz Larkin is exactly the type of fight STRIKEFORCE’s Light Heavyweight division needs right now.

If I was magically transported into the consciousness of Scott Coker, I’d bite the bullet and make this one for the STRIKEFORCE Light Heavyweight Championship. With Dan Henderson gone and everyone else more or less in limbo, this is the best fight STRIKEFORCE could make right now to determine a champion. Lawal is a dominant wrestler with KO power, and he’s coming off of a huge win. Lorenz Larkin is a skilled fighter in all areas and nobody has managed to beat him yet. This’ll definitely be a good fight.

And the number-one reason to watch “Rockhold vs. Jardine” is…

1. With all outside factors removed, Luke Rockhold vs. Keith Jardine should be a good fight.

Just forget for one second that almost nobody knows who Luke Rockhold is and that everybody knows that Keith Jardine doesn’t belong anywhere close to a title shot. On paper, this is a perfect “veteran vs. prospect” match-up. Jardine is a journeyman who is always down to bang and still has a great chin and a tremendous heart despite all the years he’s spent going to war. Luke Rockhold has a tremendous amount of raw talent but is still a mostly-unproven champion. When all is said and done, the factors leading up to this match will more than likely lose their significance in the face of how much fun this fight ends up being.

So there you have it, fans and friends: five great reasons to tune in and see STRIKEFORCE’s “Rockhold vs. Jardine”.

About the author

Oliver Saenz, also known as PdW2kX, is a freelance journalist, opinion columnist, hardcore MMA fan, and lifelong video game nerd. For more news, views, previews, and reviews on all things Mixed Martial Arts as well as video games, be sure to visit FightGamesBlog.net.