Lawler's activity in the championship rounds helped him clinch the victory, with judges scoring the bout 49-46, 48-47, and 47-48.
"It's been an amazing journey," said Lawler after the match, as quoted by the UFC website. "This wasn't easy."
The fight was a rematch of Hendricks and Lawler's first championship encounter, which saw "Big Rigg" win a split decision. Lawler earned another shot at the title by beating Jake Ellenberger and Matt Brown in back-to-back matches.
Lawler's striking made the difference early in the first round, but Hendricks used his wrestling ability to bring the challenger down in the opening frame. Hendricks used his kicks to score in the second round, and was able to attempt a choke before the round ended.
Hendricks was able to take down Lawler in the third and fourth rounds, but was unable to do much. Instead, it was Lawler who scored with hard strikes once the two combatants got back to their feet.
The two had to be separated twice in the fifth round after Hendricks locked up Lawler against the fence, and this time, Lawler was able to defend the takedown better. The challenger tried to go for a knockout towards the end of the fifth, to the point where he bloodied the champion.
"I thought I needed to get in his face, force him to fight the fight and do what I wanted to do," said Lawler after the fight. "That's how we fight in the UFC, that's how we wanted to fight."
"I wanted to keep fighting as long as I could. I wanted to win this title."
Lawler improved to 25-10 and has now won three consecutive matches since losing to Hendricks in March. Hendricks dropped to 16-3.
In the co-main event, Anthony "Showtime" Pettis made his UFC return in style, submitting number one contender Gilbert Melendez in the second round to defend his lightweight championship.
Pettis had not fought for 15 months due to injury as well as a coaching stint on The Ultimate Fighter 20, but proved his worth in his return as he connected on a right hand in the second round that allowed him to go for a takedown.
Pettis was able to lock in a guillotine choke and Melendez had no choice but to tap at the 1:53 mark of the second round.
"It was rough last year, but I reminded everybody who I am," said Pettis. "I'm the champ for a reason, king of the hardest division in the UFC."
Pettis thus became the first man to submit Melendez, and hiked his record to 18-2. Melendez drops to 22-4 in his career.
source: www.abs-cbnnews.com