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Challengers lining up for shots at UFC 181 champions Lawler, Pettis

Lightweight champion wants to fight as often as possible in 2015

UFC 181

L.E. Baskow

Welterweight title belt holder Johny Hendricks takes a kick from opponent Robbie Lawler late in their UFC 181 fight at the Mandalay Bay Events Center on Saturday, Dec. 6, 2014.

UFC 181

New welterweight title belt holder Robbie Lawler celebrates with fans after his UFC 181 fight win at the Mandalay Bay Events Center on Saturday, Dec. 6, 2014. 
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Khabib Nurmagomedov barged into the UFC 181 press conference with the might of an Anthony Pettis guillotine choke.

Pettis, who defended his lightweight title for the first time by submitting Gilbert Melendez on Saturday, was in the middle of discussing a fight with the division’s new top contender when Nurmagomedov began clapping loudly.

“My doctor said I can fight April, May, June — anytime, anywhere,” Nurmagomedov interjected. “Brazil. Milwaukee. Vegas. No problem. Let’s go, why not?”

Somewhere nearby in the bowels of the Mandalay Bay Events Center, welterweight Rory MacDonald stated his case less abrasively. MacDonald released a statement through the UFC extolling Robbie Lawler for capturing the welterweight championship with a split-decision win (49-46, 48-47, 47-48) over Johny Hendricks — and calling next.

“I scored it Robbie three rounds to two,” MacDonald said. “I’m very excited to fight him next. I’ll be very focused and I’ll be ready.”

The two champions who emerged out of UFC 181 can relate in having a wealth of future challengers. They’re at the top of arguably the two most fertile divisions in the UFC at the moment.

The deviation may come in how they handle the situations.

After sitting out with an injury since winning the belt last August, Pettis is antsy to stay occupied. Frustrated with Nurmagomedov’s post-fight insolence, Pettis seethed he was ready to fight again “now.”

“If they want him next, give him the shot,” Pettis said. “I’m injury free. You saw what I did to Gilbert Melendez.”

Pettis took some shots from the former Strikeforce champion and even lost the first round. But he was never in serious danger and capitalized on Melendez’s first mistake.

In a scramble, Pettis wrapped his arms around Melendez’s neck and cranked a guillotine. Melendez tapped out after a few seconds, giving Pettis his fourth consecutive stoppage victory.

The latest one had extra significance to Pettis, who was driven by hearing critics label him as injury-prone and vulnerable after nursing a serious knee injury.

“I had to let them talk,” Pettis said. “And tonight, I got to prove them wrong.”

In 2015, the 27-year-old Pettis wants to make up for lost time by fighting as much as possible. Lawler, 32, wasn’t ready to commit to the same agenda.

The veteran, who debuted in the octagon at UFC 37 in 2002, just finished one of the most demanding years in promotional history. Lawler fought four times in the past nine months, including a loss to Hendricks at UFC 171 and Saturday’s win in the rematch.

“I’ve been on the grind, camp to camp, just striving to be champion and get to this moment,” Lawler explained. “I’d like to take some time off … and just get home to be a family man for a while.”

Lawler’s seventh fight since returning to the UFC in February 2013 was a grueling final chapter. He took control at the start, winning the first round on all three judges’ scorecards but faded a bit from there.

Lawler fought more tentatively and prompted his coaches to continually scream, “Let your hands go,” in the next two rounds as Hendricks pressured with his wrestling. Lawler fell into some of the same tendencies early in the fourth and fifth rounds, but he overcame the tentativeness in both frames by stuffing takedowns and unleashing flurries of punches in the final seconds.

Lawler said he knew he had won the decision immediately after the fight. That made him the only one, as the rest of the arena waited nervously to hear the scores in the closely contested bout.

“When you have two guys who are tough as hell and go in there and are stingy, sometimes you get fights like that,” Lawler said. “That’s not how I thought the fight was going to go. Maybe we’ll do it again sometime.”

Sign Hendricks up. The now former champion wasn’t as vocal about disagreeing with the decision, as he was when he lost to Georges St. Pierre. He was also far more critical of his own performance.

But he still believed he won the fight. Hendricks also saw the merits of a trilogy with the series now tied at one.

“He’s a guy you’ve got to put away,” Hendricks said. “I wasn’t able to do that tonight. What else can I do but come back like he did, pick myself up and get that belt back?”

The UFC gave no official word on whether Lawler’s first defense would come against Hendricks, MacDonald or perhaps St. Pierre. Ditto for Pettis.

It won’t take long, though. Neither Lawler nor Pettis is hurting for competition.

“There was a lot of pressure on me in this fight,” Pettis said. “I just feel like I locked in on training and fell in love with the sport again.”

Case Keefer can be reached at 948-2790 or [email protected]. Follow Case on Twitter at twitter.com/casekeefer.

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