The second time was the charm for Robbie Lawler (25-10 MMA, 10-4 UFC) as he defeated Johny Hendricks (16-3 MMA, 11-3 UFC) by split decision to earn the UFC welterweight championship in the UFC 181 headliner. Despite suffering an extremely narrow decision loss to Hendricks earlier this year in his first title opportunity, Lawler always stayed positive as he strived toward another title shot. He earned that shot at Las Vegas’ Mandalay Bay Events, but this time he was the one to come out on the winning end, as he took the belt by split decision in another close fight. The idea of Lawler being a UFC champion in 2014 would have been unfathomable two years ago when he was in a 3-5 slump. He’s completely turned his career around, though, and now has a belt to prove he’s the top 170-pound fighter on the planet
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