| UFC 181: Hendricks vs. Lawler II | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 The poster for UFC 181: Hendricks vs. Lawler II | ||||
| Promotion | Ultimate Fighting Championship | |||
| Date | December 6, 2014 (2014-12-06) | |||
| Venue | Mandalay Bay Events Center | |||
| City | Las Vegas,Nevada | |||
| Attendance | 11,617[1] | |||
| Total gate | $2.488 million[1] | |||
| Buyrate | 400,000[2] | |||
| Event chronology | ||||
| ||||
UFC 181: Hendricks vs. Lawler II was amixed martial arts event held on December 6, 2014, atMandalay Bay Events Center inLas Vegas,Nevada.[3]
UFC 181 was the organization's 300th event and was expected to be headlined by aMiddleweight Championship bout between the current championChris Weidman and top contenderVitor Belfort.[3] However, on September 22, it was announced that Weidman had suffered a broken hand and the bout was again rescheduled to take place atUFC 184. The new main event was a Welterweight championship rematch between championJohny Hendricks and number one contenderRobbie Lawler.[4] Their first fight atUFC 171 ended in a unanimous decision victory in favor of the reigning champion.
Co-featured on the card was aLightweight Championship bout, which also served as the coaches bout forThe Ultimate Fighter Season 20, as current championAnthony Pettis made his first title defense againstGilbert Melendez.[5]
Gian Villante was expected to faceCorey Anderson at the event. However, Villante pulled out of the fight citing an injury[6] and was replaced byJonathan Wilson.[7] A few days later, it was announced that Wilson was forced out of the fight and undefeated newcomer Justin Jones took his place.[8]
Touted newcomer,Holly Holm was expected to faceRaquel Pennington at this event. However, Holm pulled out of the fight in mid-November, citing a neck injury.[9] Holm was replaced by UFC newcomerAshlee Evans-Smith.[10]
The unique poster and keyart for the event featured a comicbook style fight scene, drawn by noted DC Comics artist Howard Porter.
During the PPV broadcast, it was announced that former professional wrestler andWWE ChampionCM Punk had signed a multi-fight deal and was expected to debut in 2015, but after an injury ultimately debuted in September 2016.[11]
A month subsequent to the event, on January 7, 2015, it was revealed that Ashlee Evans-Smith had failed her post-fight drug test, testing positive for a diuretic.[12] On February 17, theNevada State Athletic Commission ultimately decided to issue a nine-month suspension and fined her 30 percent of her purse ($2,400). She also was required to pass an additional drug test at the conclusion of her suspension before getting clearance to fight.[13]
| Main Card | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weight class | Method | Round | Time | Notes | |||
| Welterweight | Robbie Lawler | def. | Johny Hendricks (c) | Decision (split) (48–47, 47–48, 49–46) | 5 | 5:00 | [a] |
| Lightweight | Anthony Pettis (c) | def. | Gilbert Melendez | Submission (guillotine choke) | 2 | 1:53 | [b] |
| Heavyweight | Travis Browne | def. | Brendan Schaub | TKO (punches) | 1 | 4:50 | |
| Heavyweight | Todd Duffee | def. | Anthony Hamilton | KO (punch) | 1 | 0:33 | |
| Lightweight | Tony Ferguson | def. | Abel Trujillo | Submission (rear-naked choke) | 2 | 4:19 | |
| Preliminary Card (Fox Sports 1) | |||||||
| Bantamweight | Urijah Faber | def. | Francisco Rivera | Submission (bulldog choke) | 2 | 1:34 | |
| Middleweight | Josh Samman | def. | Eddie Gordon | KO (head kick) | 2 | 3:08 | |
| Light Heavyweight | Corey Anderson | def. | Justin Jones | Decision (unanimous) (30–27, 30–27, 30–26) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Women's Bantamweight | Raquel Pennington | def. | Ashlee Evans-Smith | Technical Submission (bulldog choke) | 1 | 4:59 | [c] |
| Preliminary Card (UFC Fight Pass) | |||||||
| Bantamweight | Sergio Pettis | def. | Matt Hobar | Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–28, 30–27) | 3 | 5:00 | |
| Featherweight | Clay Collard | def. | Alex White | Decision (unanimous) (29–28, 29–28, 29–28) | 3 | 5:00 | |
The following fighters were awarded $50,000 bonuses:[15]
The following is the reported payout to the fighters as reported to theNevada State Athletic Commission. It does not include sponsor money and also does not include the UFC's traditional "fight night" bonuses.[16]
