Adopted Australian Hector Lombard (pictured) put on an dominant performance to take out his opponent Jake Shields at UFC 171 earlier today.
The event was held at the American Airlines Arena in Dallas, Texas, USA and shown in Australia on Mainevent Pay-Per-View.
In typical Lombard fashion, the 36 year-old started the fight aggressively and the former Judoka Olympian landed a hip-throw to get the fight to the ground. Lombard pounded away with big shots from top before Shields managed to work his way back to his feet. Lombard opened up a cut on Shields who then looked to take the fight to the ground. Lombard though sprawled and returned fire with quick punches.
From the second-round Lombard slowed his pace but still was able to dominate the contest. A former welterweight contender, Shields struggled to find an offense as Lombard dominated the striking and defended the takedown attempts. Shields though did come close with a guillotine attempt in the final seconds only for the buzzer to go to end the fight.
The decision came back 30-27, 30-27, and 29-28 all to Lombard who wins his second consecutive welterweight fight after knocking out former title challenger Nate Marquardt in October 2013. Lombard’s record moved to 34-4-1, while Jake Shields drops to 29-7-1. Both fighters also have a no-contest each on their records.
The event was headlined by Johny Hendricks who returned for another shot at the UFC welterweight title and this time was able to squeeze by veteran fighter Robbie Lawler to take the championship belt home.
Hendricks won the opening two rounds, only for Lawler to come back and win the next two round to even the contest. With even going into the last round, both fighters knew they had to give it all and Hendricks would be the one who would take the round by securing a late takedown to take the round.
All three judges awarded him the contest 48-47. Hendricks takes home the UFC welterweight bout after former champ George St Pierre vacated it for personal reasons and in the process moves his record to 16-2. Lawler drops his professional record to 22-10.
Main Card (Mainevent PPV):
- Johny Hendricks def Robbie Lawler via Decision (Unanimous)
- Tyron Woodley def Carlos Condit via TKO (Leg Kick), Rd 2, 2:00
- Myles Jury def Diego Sanchez via Decision (Unanimous)
- Hector Lombard def Jake Shields via Decision (Unanimous)
- Ovince St. Preux def Nikita Krylov via Technical Submission (Shoulder Choke), Rd 1, 1:29
Preliminary Card (Fuel TV Australia):
- Kelvin Gastelum def Rick Story via Decision (Split)
- Jessica Andrade def Raquel Pennington via Decision (Split)
- Dennis Bermudez def Jim Hettes via TKO (Punches & Knee), Rd 3, 2:57
- Alex Garcia def Sean Spencer via Decision (Split)
Preliminary Card (UFC Fightpass):
- Francisco Trevino def Renee Forte via Decision (Unanimous)
- Justin Scoggins def Will Campuzano via Decision (Unanimous)
- Sean Strickland def Bubba McDaniel via Submission (Rear-Naked Choke), Rd 1, 4:33
- Robert Whiteford def Daniel Pineda via Decision (Unanimous)
