The UFC's new welterweight champion, Robbie Lawler, is already looking forward to a trilogy fight with former champ Johny Hendricks.
The two squared off in the main event of Saturday's UFC 181 pay-per-view event, which resulted in a victory for Lawler in a controversial split decision, according to Bloody Elbow. While the winner of the fight was originally expected to defend their championship against Rory McDonald next, a rubber match between Lawler and Hendricks now appears to be top priority.
UFC Hall of Famer Matt Hughes, who trained Lawler at Miletich Fighting System, is among those who believe the promotion should be focusing on a third bout.
"You've got a guy that Robbie's already beat pretty decisively, and now you've got a great rematch where the first fight was close, the second fight was maybe even closer, and now the makings for a third fight," Hughes told Ariel Helwani on "The MMA Hour." "If I were Hendricks, I would want a direct rematch. And I would say that they're going for that, and I don't blame them."
Lawler believes it was his performance at the end of round five that won the judges' favor in his fight with Hendricks, MMA Fighting reported.
"I was confident. I felt like I did a lot of damage, ducked a lot of shots, landed a lot of knees and kicks," the champion said, adding that while Hendricks is good at winning rounds, he believed he did the most damage.
The first fight between Lawler and McDonald ended with a split decision victory for Lawler in November of 2013 at UFC 167. While a rematch with McDonald is also on the table, Lawler doesn't plan on fighting again until between later May and July.
"If the bosses think that makes sense and that's the fight everyone wants to see I'm sure they will make it happen, but I'm just relaxing right now," Lawler said. "I'm not even thinking about that. I'm sure Dana, Lorenzo [Fertitta], Joe [Silva], and Sean [Shelby] will put their heads together and we will see what happens."
