UFC 181
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''UFC 181: Hendricks vs. Lawler II'' was a
mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts (MMA) is a full-contact fighting combat sport, sport based on strike (attack), striking and grappling; incorporating techniques from various combat sports from around the world. In the early 20th century, various inter-s ...
event held on December 6, 2014, at
Mandalay Bay Events Center The Michelob Ultra Arena, formerly the Mandalay Bay Events Center, is a 12,000-seat multi-purpose indoor arena at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino, located on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. It is owned and operated by MGM Resorts Int ...
in
Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...
,
Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a landlocked state in the Western United States. It borders Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the seventh-most extensive, th ...
.


Background

UFC 181 was the organization's 300th event and was expected to be headlined by a Middleweight Championship bout between the current champion
Chris Weidman Christopher James Weidman (born June 17, 1984) is an American professional mixed martial artist. He competed in the Middleweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he is a former UFC Middleweight Champion. An accomplis ...
and top contender
Vitor Belfort VĂ­tor Vieira Belfort (; born 1 April 1977) is a Brazilian professional boxer and retired mixed martial artist who competed for the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he fought in the Heavyweight, Light Heavyweight, and Middleweight d ...
. However, on September 22, it was announced that Weidman had suffered a broken hand and the bout was again rescheduled to take place at
UFC 184 ''UFC 184: Rousey vs. Zingano'' was a mixed martial arts event held on February 28, 2015, at Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. Background A UFC Middleweight Championship bout between Chris Weidman and Vitor Belfort was expected to serve ...
. The new main event was a Welterweight championship rematch between champion
Johny Hendricks Johny Hendricks (born September 12, 1983) is an American former mixed martial artist and collegiate wrestler. He competed in the welterweight and middleweight divisions of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and is a former UFC Welterwei ...
and number one contender
Robbie Lawler Robert Glenn Lawler (born March 20, 1982) is an American former professional mixed martial artist who competed between 2001 and 2023. He is a former UFC Welterweight Champion, former EliteXC Middleweight Champion, and has formerly competed in ...
. Their first fight at
UFC 171 ''UFC 171: Hendricks vs. Lawler'' was a mixed martial arts event that was held on March 15, 2014, at the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas. The event was released on DVD on June 17, 2014. The DVD was distributed by ''Anchor Bay Entertain ...
ended in a unanimous decision victory in favor of the reigning champion. Co-featured on the card was a Lightweight Championship bout, which also served as the coaches bout for The Ultimate Fighter Season 20, as current champion
Anthony Pettis Anthony Paul Pettis (born January 27, 1987) is an American professional mixed martial artist, and professional boxer. Pettis formerly fought in the Welterweight, Lightweight, and Featherweight divisions of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) ...
made his first title defense against
Gilbert Melendez Gilbert Melendez (born April 12, 1982) is an American mixed martial artist who formerly competed in the Lightweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). He is a two-time Strikeforce Lightweight Champion and a former WEC Lightwei ...
.
Gian Villante Gianpiero Villante (born August 18, 1985) is a retired American mixed martial artist who previously fought in the heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. A professional from 2009 to 2021, he also has competed for Strikeforce ...
was expected to face Corey Anderson at the event. However, Villante pulled out of the fight citing an injury and was replaced by Jonathan Wilson. A few days later, it was announced that Wilson was forced out of the fight and undefeated newcomer Justin Jones took his place. Touted newcomer,
Holly Holm Holly Rene Holm (born October 17, 1981) is an American professional boxer and former mixed martial artist. She previously competed in the women's Bantamweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where she is a former Women's ...
was expected to face
Raquel Pennington Raquel Len Pennington (born September 5, 1988) is an American professional mixed martial artist who competes in the women's Bantamweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where she is a former UFC Women's Bantamweight Champi ...
at this event. However, Holm pulled out of the fight in mid-November, citing a neck injury. Holm was replaced by UFC newcomer
Ashlee Evans-Smith Ashlee Evans-Smith (born July 9, 1987) is an American mixed martial artist who competes in the women's flyweight and bantamweight divisions. She competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). She has her own podcast called Sex & Violence w ...
. 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 and
WWE Champion The WWE Championship, also referred to as the Undisputed WWE Championship since April 2024, is a men's professional wrestling world heavyweight championship created and promoted by the American promotion WWE, defended on the SmackDown brand ...
CM Punk Phillip Jack Brooks (born October 26, 1978), better known by his ring name CM Punk, is an American Professional wrestling, professional wrestler and actor. He is signed to WWE, where he performs on the Raw (WWE brand), Raw brand. Regarded as ...
had signed a multi-fight deal and was expected to debut in 2015, but after an injury ultimately debuted in September 2016. 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. On February 17, the
Nevada State Athletic Commission The Nevada State Athletic Commission (also known as the Nevada Athletic Commission or NSAC) regulates all contests and exhibitions of unarmed combat within the state of Nevada, including licensure and supervision of promoters, boxers, kickboxer ...
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.


Results


Bonus awards

The following fighters were awarded $50,000 bonuses: *Fight of the Night: Sergio Pettis vs. Matt Hobar *Performance of the Night: Anthony Pettis and Josh Samman


Reported payout

The following is the reported payout to the fighters as reported to the
Nevada State Athletic Commission The Nevada State Athletic Commission (also known as the Nevada Athletic Commission or NSAC) regulates all contests and exhibitions of unarmed combat within the state of Nevada, including licensure and supervision of promoters, boxers, kickboxer ...
. It does not include sponsor money and also does not include the UFC's traditional "fight night" bonuses. * Robbie Lawler: $220,000 (includes $110,000 win bonus) def. Johny Hendricks: $150,000 * Anthony Pettis: $200,000 (includes $100,000 win bonus) def. Gilbert Melendez: $200,000 * Travis Browne: $100,000 (includes $50,000 win bonus) def. Brendan Schaub: $32,000 * Todd Duffee: $20,000 (includes $10,000 win bonus) def. Anthony Hamilton: $10,000 * Tony Ferguson: $48,000 (includes $24,000 win bonus) def. Abel Trujillo: $14,000 * Urijah Faber: $140,000 (includes $70,000 win bonus) def. Francisco Rivera: $20,000 * Josh Samman: $16,000 (includes $8,000 win bonus) def. Eddie Gordon: $15,000 * Corey Anderson: $30,000 (includes $15,000 win bonus) def. Justin Jones: $8,000 * Raquel Pennington: $20,000 (includes $10,000 win bonus) def. Ashlee Evans-Smith: $8,000 * Sergio Pettis: $30,000 (includes $15,000 win bonus) def. Matt Hobar: $10,000 * Clay Collard: $16,000 (includes $8,000 win bonus) def. Alex White: $8,000


See also

*
List of UFC events List of UFC events is a list of events held and scheduled by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), a mixed martial arts promotion based in the United States. UFC's first event, UFC 1, took place on November 12, 1993. Each UFC event contains ...
*
2014 in UFC The year 2014 was the 22nd year in the history of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), a mixed martial arts promotion based in the United States. 2014 UFC.com awards Debut UFC fighters The following fighters fought their first UFC fig ...


References

{{UFC Events Ultimate Fighting Championship flagship events 2014 in mixed martial arts Ultimate Fighting Championship events at Mandalay Bay Events Center 2014 in sports in Nevada December 2014 sports events in the United States