MMAjunkie's 'Fight of the Month' for March 2014

With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMAjunkie takes a look at the best fights from March 1-31. Here are the five nominees, listed in chronological order, and winner of MMAjunkie’s “Fight of the Month” award for March 2014

At the bottom of the post, let us know if we got it right by voting on your choice for “Fight of the Month.”

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THE NOMINEES

Paul Redmond vs. Damian Brown at Cage Warriors 65
For the first time in his career, Paul Redmond (9-4 MMA) was forced to go past the second round and to the final bell when he defeated a game Damian Brown (10-6 MMA) by decision at Cage Warriors 65. It was a high-paced, back-and-forth affair that would test the endurance of even the most well-trained fighter. Redmond proved he’s able to not only go the distance, but he can do it while going full-throttle for the entire fight.

Yui Chul Nam vs. Kazuki Tokudome at TUF China Finale
If it was a one-round fight, Yui Chul Nam (18-4-1 MMA, 1-0 UFC) would have won in a landslide. Unfortunately for him, Kazuki Tokudome (12-5-1 MMA, 1-2 UFC) survived the first five minutes and made him really work for it at the TUF China Finale. After a dominant first round for “The Korean Bulldozer,” he was largely in survival mode in the second and third on his way to a split-decision win.

Brad Pickett vs. Neil Seery at UFC Fight Night 37
Brad Pickett(24-8 MMA, 4-3 UFC) was expected to notch an easy win over UFC newcomer Neil Seery (13-10 MMA, 0-1 UFC) in his flyweight debut at UFC Fight Night 37. While “One-Punch” still walked away with the victory, it didn’t come easy as Seery pushed Pickett to the limit. It wasn’t the most technical or dramatic fight, but the unexpected competitiveness of the 125-pound affair is what made it such a captivating contest.

Pat Curran vs. Daniel Straus at Bellator 112
High drama filled the The Venue at Horseshoe Casino in Hammond, Ind., when Pat Curran (20-5 MMA, 10-2 BMMA) locked in a submission with just seconds remaining in the fifth round to take the Bellator MMA featherweight title from Daniel Straus (22-5 MMA, 8-2 BMMA) at Bellator 112. It was a back-and-forth battle for nearly 25 full minutes until Curran pulled off the unthinkable. He capped off a spectacular fight by forcing Straus to tap-out with just 14 seconds remaining to begin his second title reign with the promotion.

Johny Hendricks vs. Robbie Lawler at UFC 171
Short of a knockout, Johny Hendricks (16-2 MMA, 11-2 UFC) and Robbie Lawler (22-10 MMA, 7-4 UFC) gave spectators everything they could hope for and more when they squared off for the vacant UFC welterweight championship at UFC 171. After five rounds of toe-to-toe action in which both men set a UFC title-fight record for significant strikes landed, Hendricks walked away with the narrowest of decision victories in the memorable UFC championship contest.

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THE WINNER

The UFC 171 main event will go down as a UFC title fight classic for years to come after Johny Hendricks and Robbie Lawler slugged it out for five rounds of thrilling action.

Hendricks somehow fought, and won, with a torn bicep while Lawler exceeded the expectations of many by staying upright for the majority of 25 minutes and going blow-for-blow for essentially every tick of the clock.

While both men have been in some memorable fights throughout their careers, both Hendricks and Lawler have very different outlooks on where it stacks up with their best performances.

“My performance ranks very high up there, probably one of my best,” Hendricks told MMAjunkie. “The reason why is knowing what I’m knowing now. That’s what makes it such a great fight for me.”

“I don’t really rate my fights,” Lawler said. “It was a huge fight, it was a huge stage and it was a huge opportunity. I gave it my all that night and I came up a little short and the judges just didn’t have it my way. I need to do more and develop my game.”

For Hendricks, he was forced to fight through a torn bicep, which he claims to have injured just over a week prior to the fight. With that injury in mind, Hendricks had to adapt a strategy that took away his biggest strength: wrestling.

“Bigg Rigg” only completed two takedowns in the fight, which in his opinion, makes his showing all the more impressive.

“If I just decided not to do takedowns on the guy then that’s just stupid on my part,” Hendricks said. “Then it’s not such a great fight for me. But to know I could go in there and fight someone like Robbie Lawler and be able to pull out a win with that injury – it means a lot to me.

“We always say it’s not if you are 100 percent, it’s how close you can get to 100 percent. You know you’re going to be injured, you just don’t know how bad.”

The second takedown from Hendricks in the fight, though, may have been the deciding factor in who won, as it gave him the fifth round and the fight on two of the three judges scorecards.

Hendricks realizes the importance of that takedown, especially when factoring in the competitiveness of the fight and the severe damage to his arm.

“I was in a situation not very long ago against GSP where if I got a takedown, that would have secured the fight for me,” Hendricks said. “So those things are running through my mind. That was one of the things that popped in my head. I was freakin’ hurt like a son-of-a-gun, but I knew I had to take him down and it was something that was going to jump me ahead in the scorecards.”

Lawler, on the other hand, says that moment doesn’t eat away at him, even though his chance of winning the fight would have greatly improved without that takedown.

“It doesn’t bug me very much because he got a takedown, but he didn’t do anything with it,” Lawler said. “He won the fight, the judges saw it in his favor and congratulations to him.”

While a majority of fighters who lose a close decision are quick to argue why they deserved to win, Lawler is not one to take that approach. He has accepted the outcome of the riveting contest and only blames himself for the outcome.

“My job is to make those judges think that I won if I don’t finish him,” Lawler said. “Obviously I didn’t do enough, left it in the judges hands and they said I didn’t do enough. That’s my fault – I should have done more.”

After being robbed of what he feels was a victory over Georges St-Pierre this past year, Hendricks is sulking in the glory of his first-ever world championship and feels he’s rightfully taken his place as the world’s best welterweight.

“My life has changed, it has,” Hendricks said. “I’ve told myself what I want and what I’m planning to do. I’ve prepared myself the best I could for this.”