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UFC 181: Hendricks vs. Lawler II is an upcoming mixed martial arts event to be held on December 6, 2014 at Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Official fight card
Fight card
Welterweight Johny Hendricks (c) vs. Robbie Lawler For the UFC Welterweight Championship.
Lightweight Anthony Pettis (c) vs. Gilbert Melendez For the UFC Lightweight Championship.
Heavyweight Travis Browne vs. Brendan Schaub
Heavyweight Todd Duffee vs. Anthony Hamilton
Lightweight Tony Ferguson vs. Abel Trujillo
Preliminary card (Fox Sports 1)
Bantamweight Urijah Faber vs. Francisco Rivera
Middleweight Eddie Gordon vs. Josh Samman
Light Heavyweight Corey Anderson vs. Justin Jones
Women's Bantamweight Raquel Pennington vs. Ashlee Evans-Smith
Preliminary card (UFC Fight Pass)
Bantamweight Sergio Pettis vs. Matt Hobar
Featherweight Alex White vs. Clay Collard
Background
UFC 181 will be the organization's 300th event and was expected to be headlined by a Middleweight Championship bout between the current champion Chris Weidman and top contender Vitor Belfort. 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. The new main event will now be a Welterweight championship rematch between champion Johny Hendricks and number one contender Robbie Lawler. Their first fight at UFC 171 ended in a unanimous decision victory in favor of the reigning champion.
Co-featured on the card will be a Lightweight Championship bout, which also serves as the coaches bout for The Ultimate Fighter Season 20, as current champion Anthony Pettis is expected to make his first title defense against Gilbert Melendez.
Gian Villante 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 would take his place.
Touted newcomer, Holly Holm was expected to face Raquel Pennington 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 and the fight is now on the undercard.
Nov 11 - Updated fight card & background
Nov 20 - Updated fight card & background
Dec 4 - Updated fight card & background