ATLANTA — Tyron Woodley of Ferguson, Missouri, scored a first-round knockout over welterweight champion Robbie Lawler of Coconut Creek, Florida, on Saturday night in the main event of UFC 201, needing just 2:12 to win at Atlanta’s Philips Arena.
With the victory, Woodley (16-3) became the seventh new UFC champion in as many months.
A big overhand right did the job, as Woodley closed the distance and got Lawler to fall for a feint, which left him wide open for the follow-up.
“We knew Robbie would be well-prepared for a takedown,” Lawler said. “So I used a little speed and a blitz and I closed the distance. Something told me the right hand would be there.”
Lawler, who had held the welterweight title since December 2104, didn’t make any excuses for the defeat.
“It is what it is,” said Lawler (27-11, one NC). “He feinted me, my hand was down and he came over the top and caught me.”
In the co-feature bout, Karolina Kowalkiewicz (10-0) of Poland stated her case for a shot at the strawweight title with a convincing win over Rose Namajunas (5-3) of Milwaukee. Kowalkiewicz overcame a slow start in the first round, then brutalized Namajunas in the clinch during the final 10 minutes to claim the win via split decision.
Kowalkiewicz received two of three 29-28 scores and appears next in line to fight her countrywoman, champion Joanna Jedrzejczyk.
“I know Joanna, I respect her very much,” she said. “She is the best in the world. I will fight her and I will beat her.”
Veteran welterweight Jake Ellenberger (31-11) of Orange County, California, got exactly the performance he needed when he blitzed Matt Brown (20-15) of Columbus in 1:46. Ellenberger, who entered the fight the loser in five of his past six, dropped Brown at the outset with a wicked right hand. Brown survived, but a liver kick soon thereafter ended the bout, which was waved off at 1:46 of the first round.
“Matt is a hell of a fighter,” Ellenberger said. “For me, I had to refocus. I was trying to finish, but Matt has shown in the past he’s extremely durable. I just have to stop being so damn nice.”
In a bantamweight matchup, Erik Perez (16-6) put on an impressive show in a unanimous-decision victory over Francisco Rivera (11-7) of Buena Park, California, Perez, a Nuevo Leon, Mexico, native who recently moved his base to Alliance MMA in San Diego, refused to be goaded into a brawl with a slugger and instead shut Rivera down for the bulk of their bout.
Perez was awarded a unanimous decision with two 30-26s and a 29-28 from the judges for his third win in his past four fights.
“I’ve learned to fight with my mind and my heart,” Perez (16-6) said through an interpreter. “Being Mexican, I want to fight with my heart, but I’ve learned to fight with my mind as well.”
Ryan Benoit (13-4) of Dallas took a split decision in an oddly paced fight against Fredy Serrano (3-1) of Colombia.
Serrano, a former Olympic wrestler, thoroughly outwrestled Benoit, who took the fight on 10 days’ notice. But Serrano clearly hasn’t put all the pieces together, as Benoit managed to outwork Serrano in the standup. That enabled him to pull out a decision, getting two of three 29-28 scores for the victory.
“Ten days’ notice is never a good thing, but if I’m going to do it, Fredy is the type of opponent I want,” Benoit said after his second win in his past three fights. “I fought an Olympian and I won. I’m really proud of myself.”
In the featured preliminary bout, Ukrainian sensation Nikita Krylov continued his march up the light heavyweight division. Krylov (21-4), who has never gone the distance in a fight, finished veteran Ed Herman (23-12) of Oregon with a wicked left foot to the head at 40 seconds of the second round for his fifth consecutive victory.
“This was the most experience of any opponent I ever fought,” Krylov said through an interpreter. “It was a very good moment for me. Big respect for him.”