The Ultimate Fighting Championship returned to MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada tonight for UFC 167: “St. Pierre vs Hendricks.” The event was headlined by a much-discussed UFC Welterweight Championship bout between Georges “Rush” St. Pierre and Johny “Bigg Rigg” Hendricks.

Also on the card, former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion “Suga” Rashad Evans took on Chael Sonnen in the co-feature. Rory “Ares” MacDonald battled veteran striker “Ruthless” Robbie Lawler in a featured welterweight fight. MMARising.com has live play-by-play for tonight’s UFC 167 card.

 

UFC Welterweight Championship

Georges “Rush” St. Pierre vs Johny “Bigg Rigg” Hendricks

Round 1:
St. Pierre ducked under a left hand and took Hendricks down right away. He tried for a guillotine choke and Hendricks scrambled to his feet. The fighters were separated and Hendricks landed an uppercut. St. Pierre latched on to Hendricks’s right leg and Hendricks defended with more left hands and elbows. St. Pierre began to bleed from above the right eye and Hendricks targeted his thighs with knees.

Hendricks took St. Pierre down, but St. Pierre quickly returned to his feet. Hendricks landed a knee and St. Pierre avoided follow-up punches. The fighters exchanged kicks and St. Pierre went high with one, but Hendricks blocked it and fired back with punches. He just missed with a winging left hook before the bell. Good first round. 10-9 Hendricks.

Round 2:
Hendricks rocked St. Pierre with left hooks and uppercuts in the opening minute of round two. He pressured St. Pierre with more punches, but time was called to replace Hendricks’s fallen mouthpiece. After the restart, Hendricks hurt St. Pierre with another combination and he followed with knees to the thigh in the clinch. Hendricks just missed with a knee in close.

St. Pierre began to score with body kicks and stiff jabs. Hendricks connected with a right hook, but St. Pierre tagged him with a counter right. A left hook backed St. Pierre up, but he regained his footing and threw a head kick. Both fighters landed powerful hooks and the round ended with Hendricks landing knees to the thigh in the clinch. 10-9 Hendricks.

Round 3:
St. Pierre opened the action with an inside-leg kick in round three and Hendricks answered with a knee. He began to slow down, but still landed left and right hooks. St. Pierre connected with straight rights and a lead left hook. He put together a quick combination and Hendricks responded with an uppercut. St. Pierre mixed up his strikes to the head and body and ate another uppercut. He stuffed a takedown, but Hendricks got him down on his second try. St. Pierre scrambled up and the round ended in a clinch. 10-9 St. Pierre.

Round 4:
The fourth round began with an exchange of leg kicks and Hendricks took advantage of a slip from St. Pierre by punching from the top on the ground. He bloodied St. Pierre with slashing elbows and allowed him to stand up. Back on the feet, both men landed left hooks. St. Pierre countered a combination with another left hand. Hendricks looked for a takedown and St. Pierre sprawled out in defence. The fighters traded knees until the bell. 10-9 Hendricks.

Round 5:
St. Pierre tried to take Hendricks down in the final round and Hendricks maintained his balance. A hard one-two scored for St. Pierre and he took Hendricks down against the fence. Hendricks battled back to his feet and the fighters were separated soon after. St. Pierre attempted a head kick and Hendricks blocked it. The crowd rallied behind St. Pierre and he pressed forward with another takedown attempt. He got Hendricks down for a split second, but could not hold him there. The fight ended with St. Pierre attempting a standing kimura. 10-9 St. Pierre.

Winner: Georges St. Pierre by Split Decision (48-47, 48-47, 47-48) after five rounds. He improves to 25-2-0 and remains the UFC Welterweight Champion.

 

“Suga” Rashad Evans vs Chael Sonnen

Round 1:
The fighters clinched against the cage early in round one. Evans looked for a takedown and Sonnen countered with a guillotine choke attempt. Hard punches were exchanged in close and Evans dumped Sonnen to the mat. He postured up with punches and elbows and Sonnen struggled to defend. Evans moved to mount and unloaded with punches. Sonnen rolled over and gave up his back, and Evans continued to strike until the fight was waved off.

Winner: Rashad Evans by TKO (Punches) at 4:05 of round one. He improves to 19-3-1.

 

“Ruthless” Robbie Lawler vs Rory “Ares” MacDonald

Round 1:
Both fighters were cautious in the opening minute. Lawler came up short with a left hook and MacDonald countered with a punch-knee combo. Lawler threw leg kicks and MacDonald answered with high kicks. MacDonald jabbed and narrowly evaded a two-punch combo. Lawler pressed forward with more punches, but MacDonald ducked under and circled to the side. Lawler threw a head kick that was caught and he landed a series of uppercuts until MacDonald released his grip on his leg. 10-9 Lawler.

Round 2:
MacDonald tried to take Lawler down in the second round, but Lawler stayed up and he landed another series of left hands. He blocked a head kick and flurried to the body. MacDonald landed two right hands in return and attempted another head kick. Lawler mixed things up with right hooks and kicks. He landed two straight lefts and a chopping leg kick.

MacDonald followed up on a head kick by landing a one-two to the body. He got Lawler down and used a front headlock to prevent Lawler from standing up. Lawler defended well, but MacDonald put him on his back and postured up with elbows. He landed slashing elbows from half-guard until the bell sounded to end the round. 10-9 MacDonald.

Round 3:
Lawler rocked MacDonald with punches right away in the final round, but MacDonald caught a knee and took him down. MacDonald did little on top and the fighters were stood up. Lawler hurt MacDonald with another left hook and swarmed with punches. MacDonald attempted a takedown, but Lawler swept into top position and forced him to stand back up. Lawler landed a one-two and time was called after MacDonald was poked in the eye.

Action resumed and MacDonald tried for a takedown, but Lawler fought free with punches. He floored MacDonald with a combination and landed more shots from the top. MacDonald somehow survived and Lawler moved to side control. He landed elbows from the top and fought off an armbar attempt. The fighters stood and MacDonald took Lawler down. He landed some solid elbows before the end of the fight. 10-9 Lawler, if not a 10-8.

Winner: Robbie Lawler by Split Decision (29-28, 29-28, 28-29) after three rounds. He improves to 22-9-0, 1 NC.

 

Tyron “The Chosen One” Woodley vs Josh Koscheck

Round 1:
Woodley landed big punches right away and he dropped Koscheck to a knee with an overhand right. Koscheck stood and worked for a takedown against the cage. The fighters were separated and Woodley landed another hard right hand. Koscheck fired back with a right of his own and Woodley retreated. A right hook behind the ear dropped Koscheck and Woodley dove in with punches.

Koscheck weathered the storm of punches from Woodley and bought time to recover on the ground. Woodley worked from his guard and pressed Koscheck against the base of the cage. Referee Herb Dean stood the fighters up and Woodley floored Koscheck with another massive right hook. He landed two more punches on the ground before the fight was stopped.

Winner: Tyron Woodley by KO (Punch) at 4:38 of round one. He improves to 12-2-0.

 

Ali “Puncher” Bagautinov vs Tim Elliott

Round 1:
Bagautinov countered kicks from Elliott with right hooks and uppercuts in the opening two minutes. He stunned Elliott with a right hook and a knee, but Elliott stayed on his feet. He threw more leg kicks and Bagautinov remained effective with his counterpunches. He caught a flashy kick from Elliott and took him down against the cage. Elliott stood and the fighters traded strikes. Elliott stuffed a takedown, but Bagautinov hurt him with a three-punch combo and a head kick. 10-9 Bagautinov.

Round 2:
Bagautinov landed more counter rights in the second round, but Elliott jumped into a guillotine choke and pulled guard. Bagautinov pulled his head free and stood, but Elliott took him down. Elliott struck from the top until Bagautinov scrambled up to his feet. Both fighters landed leg kicks and Bagautinov briefly got Elliott down. The fighters stood and exchanged right hands. Close round. 10-9 Elliott.

Round 3:
Elliott was very aggressive with his strikes in the final round, but Bagautinov landed a nice body kick. Right hands were exchanged and Bagautinov scored with an uppercut. He landed two left hands and a knee. Elliott alternated between leg kicks and punches, but Bagautinov countered well with more uppercuts and overhand rights. A big one-two landed for Bagautinov with just over one minute to go. He just missed with a head kick and tried for a takedown. Bagautinov landed two hard punches, but Elliott threw him to the ground and landed a knee on the way up. Another close round. 10-9 Bagautinov.

Winner: Ali Bagautinov by Unanimous Decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28) after three rounds. He improves to 12-2-0.

 

(Undercard results and play-by-play on Page Two.)