DALLAS – Robbie Lawler defended most of Johny Hendricks’ bread and butter for 24 of 25 minutes.

But that last minute, Hendricks did what he does best. He took Lawler to the canvas to seal up the fifth round – and the UFC’s welterweight title. Hendricks took a unanimous decision with a trio of 48-47 scores.

The welterweight title bout was the main event of today’s UFC 171 event at American Airlines Center in Dallas. It aired on pay-per-view following prelims on FOX Sports 2 and UFC Fight Pass.

With the win, Hendricks supplanted Georges St-Pierre as the UFC’s 170-pound champion after GSP vacated the title this past December.

It was a tale of two halves of the fight. The first two rounds were Hendricks, and the third and fourth were Lawler coming back. But a takedown in the final minute of the fight, in the fifth round, seemed to seal the deal for Hendricks. Lawler knew it. On his behind, looking at the clock with Hendricks holding him down, Lawler seemed to shake his head.

“Robbie’s f—ing tough,” Hendricks said. “I feel very blessed. The fifth round, I knew I had to win it. I hope my right arm starts working. Robbie’s a tough dude. I’m not going to take anything away from him. This guy’s a stud, and I promise I’m going to be facing him again. When I do, I hope I put on a better performance.”

Hendricks kicked early, then a second time. But Lawler swarmed him and landed some punches in close before backing out. Hendricks tried to land his signature left hand, but it was off the mark. Lawler landed a left hand as Hendricks moved in to tie him up. After a minute on the cage, Lawler broke off, then defended a Hendricks shot.

Back in the center, Hendricks mixed up his strikes with kicks and punches while Lawler tried to pepper his jab. With 45 seconds left, Hendricks tried to put together a combination and finish with a takedown, but Lawler kept the fight on the feet.

The second round was more of the same, with Hendricks looking on point with his striking, mixing it up – but Lawler covering up for many of the punches and trying to walk through the leg kicks.

Lawler came out swinging in the third, and threw a pair of kicks to the legs. But Hendricks continued to fire off a wide array of strikes that Lawler was forced to walk through. Lawler did his best to cover up and block Hendricks’ best punches. And soon after, Lawler had Hendricks hurt in a big way. He bombed Hendricks with punches and and began to take control of the fight.

With three minutes left, Lawler started to go for the kill. Hendricks was forced to shoot for a takedown with two minutes left, but Lalwer stayed upright. A two-puonch combination had Hendricks backing up, but apparently recovered.

Lawler looked confident in the fourth and stalked Hendricks before landing some big punches and a knee. Lawlwer went to the body, then peppered his jab. Hendricks began to bleed from his nose, and again Lawler unleashed with jabs and a left. Hendricks pushed forward, but then ate a left hand that cut him open.

Lawler tied Hendricks up with two minutes to go and wanted a knee, but couldn’t land it. A big uppercut was on point for Lawler seconds later, though, and he continue to push forward and fire away. With Hendricks a bloody mess, Lawler fired off more jabs and looked for a big left. But with 12 seconds left, Hendricks landed his first takedown of the fight.

Thirty seconds into the fifth, Lawler landed a solid left hand, then continued to wisely back away from a potential Hendricks shot. That takedown attempt came 20 seconds later, but Lawler defended it. Hendricks seemed to hurt Lawler with more leg kicks, but Lawler kept throwing midway through – and landed.

A pair of right hooks had Hendricks wobbled, but Lawler was wobbled with return of fire from Hendricks. Lawler stood right in front of Hendricks as he rallied with punches. With 80 seconds left, Hendricks landed punches and kicks, and then dropped down for a takedown with a minute left to seal up the fight.

Hendricks (16-2 MMA, 11-2 UFC) is back in the win column after his title-fight loss to St-Pierre this past November. Lawler (22-10 MMA, 7-4 UFC) had a three-fight winning streak snapped.

Up-to-the-minute UFC 171 results include:

• Johny Hendricks def. Robbie Lawler via unanimous decision (48-47, 48-47, 48-47)
• Tyron Woodley def. Carlos Condit via TKO (injury) – Round 2, 2:00
• Myles Jury def. Diego Sanchez via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 29-28)
• Ovince St. Preux def. Nikita Krylov via submission (Von Flue choke) – Round 1, 1:29
• Kelvin Gastelum def. Rick Story via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 30-27)
• Jessica Andrade def. Raquel Pennington via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
• Dennis Bermudez def. Jimy Hettes via TKO (knee) – Round 3, 2:57
• Alex Garcia def. Sean Spencer via split decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
• Frank Trevino def. Renee Forte via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
• Justin Scoggins def. Will Campuzano via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
• Sean Strickland def. Robert McDaniel via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 4:33
• Robert Whiteford def. Daniel Pineda via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)

For complete coverage of UFC 171, stay tuned to the UFC Events section of the site.

John Morgan and Steven Marrocco contributed to this report on-site in Dallas.

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