Heavy is the Crown: Johny Hendricks and Robbie Lawler Battle For More Than A Belt At UFC 171

By Raphael Garcia

The word “legacy” carries a lot of weight in competitive sports. No matter what area is being discussed, someone will argue about whether an athlete or team’s legacy is as good or as bad as perceived. This weekend at UFC 171, two fighters will not only start the next chapters of their own legacies, but potentially have the chance to forge one for a division, a promotion, and the sport as a whole.

In the main event of UFC 171, Johny Hendricks and Robbie Lawler will meet in the Octagon for a chance to carry the UFC’s welterweight title. The winner will have the belt strapped around his waist by UFC President Dana White, but the two competitors are fighting for much more; all the responsibilities of being the champion of what is considered by many to be the best division in mixed martial arts will come with it.

Either Hendricks or Lawler will succeed Georges St. Pierre as the 170-pound champion of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. St. Pierre has been considered one of the best since 2004, when he first fought Matt Hughes at UFC 50. While he hit a speed bump that night, his star couldn’t be stopped from rising to the top of the sport. As the two-time welterweight champion, he would emerge as the star that the UFC needed, galvanizing an entire country’s fans to get behind his athletic efforts. The Canadian signed some of the biggest sponsorship deals seen within at the sport at the time, including partnerships with Gatorade, NOS Energy Drink, and Under Armour. His dashing looks and fashion sense would also land him opportunities to be featured in major publications such as GQ Magazine. GSP became the proverbial cash cow that the UFC could bank on whenever he competed.

GSP’s biggest value to the UFC was the fact that he could nearly guarantee 750 to 900,000 pay-per-view buys whenever he would step into the Octagon. That average number has been beyond the reach of nearly every mixed martial arts star in the sport not named Brock Lesnar. Now that “Rush” has stepped aside, the UFC is scrambling to find another person who can feel that void in a division that has been granted a “second life” of fresh contenders.

This is the point where the questions begin to rise. While it was clear that GSP was a PPV draw that attracted fans and their dollars to the UFC, the organization hasn’t been able to recreate that situation with its other stars. There was something about St. Pierre that kept the fans coming back for more, even though he wasn’t a major character outside of the cage, nor did he use the most “exciting” style. However, that is where both Lawler and Hendricks differ, and the UFC hopes it can capitalize on it.

One of the biggest attractions to mainstream MMA fans is the highlight reel knockout. Both Lawler and Hendricks are masters at the act, as they have a catalog of highlights where they have put opponents to sleep. further, their combat styles lend themselves very well to creating captivating fights that will make fans want to watch them every time the two men compete. Just look at the way Hendricks dispatched Jon Fitch and Martin Kampmann for examples. Lawler did the same thing to Josh Koscheck in the UFC, and no hardcore fan can forget the way he brutalized Frank Trigg and Matt Lindland outside of it. If fight fans are salivating for a champion who finishes fights in a fashion that gets them to their feet, both Hendricks and Lawler can fill that hole.

Another difference between these two and St. Pierre is that they are not afraid to speak their minds when the microphone is put in front of their faces. Lawler had a classic meltdown when he and Trigg went back and forth before their 2007 fight. Hendricks is also outspoken, as he showed after his controversial loss to GSP last year at UFC 167. The sports world always likes athletes who are willing to raise eyebrows by saying what is exactly on their minds. Both of these fighters are willing to do so, and we’ve seen what that action, with the combination of today’s Internet news outlets, can do for fighters who are willing to not only “sell” a fight, but promote themselves into stars.

Johny Hendricks and Robbie Lawler are fighting for the UFC Welterweight Championship on Saturday night. But along with that amalgamation of metal and leather comes a “crown” that the UFC is looking for a new star to wear successfully. The promotion needs a big star to emerge from Dallas, Texas this weekend, and this headliner gives the UFC its best chance to create a new “king” at 170 pounds, at a time when the organization needs it the most.