TORONTO -- Just 13 weeks after walking away from his title, Georges St-Pierre is not forgotten. But he is devalued. Once ranked among mixed martial arts pound-for-pound elite, the former UFC welterweight champion from Montreal is finding past glory doesnt last long. Fighters have short memories. So do fans. "I cant think backwards," said top 170-pound contender Johny (Bigg Rigg) Hendricks. "Ive got to think forwards. "Look at our division. Its a pretty stacked division. Very talented people in the top 10 and now that Georges has walked away, its time for one of us to make our own mark." Hendricks, who lost a controversial split decision to St-Pierre at UFC 167 last November, gets another shot at the welterweight crown March 15 when he faces veteran (Ruthless) Robbie Lawler at UFC 171 to decide St-Pierres successor. The 32-year-old St-Pierre vacated the title in December, saying he needed time away from the sport. St-Pierre (25-2) left a 12-fight winning streak and a string of UFC records behind him. But his last seven victories came by decision. And in a sport that celebrates sudden, violent finishes to fights, going the distance is not a plus. While some saw only St-Pierres ability to blunt his opponents strengths, others criticized the champion for not taking risks. Facing St-Pierre was death by a thousand cuts. Fighters like Hendricks and Lawler offer one-blow blunt force trauma. In MMA, youre only as good as your last fight. And St-Pierres last offering was gritty but unconvincing. Hendricks (15-2) told a media conference call Thursday that he sees Lawler (22-9 with one no contest) as a more dangerous opponent that St-Pierre. "Georges, you knew that he was going to throw a jab, a high kick, a low kick and try to take you down," he said. "Thats his game plan. "Robbie, if you make a mistake, weve seen it time and time again that he can knock you out. So you really have to make sure that you stay focused, cross all your Ts and dot all your Is, and make sure that you stay solid. And thats a lot more dangerous fight. "With guys who can knock people out, youre one punch away from losing. But those are also the more fun fights for me. You dont know whats going to happen. All you know is youre going to step into an Octagon and hopefully you get your hand raised." Carlos (The Natural Born Killer) Condit, one of the more thoughtful fighters in the UFC, said GSP leaves "some big shoes to fill in one respect." Then Condit (29-7), who lost a decision to St-Pierre at UFC 154, agreed with Hendricks on GSP. "I think people have wanted to see a little bit of excitement," said Condit, who dragged St-Pierre into rare deep waters with a head kick when they fought. "And I think Georges, from time to time, later in his career he had some spurts of excitement. But for the most part people kind of knew what was going to happen. "And now the division has been infused with some energy. Theres a lot of buzz -- you know, whats going to happen? Theres a lot of really really tough guys bottlenecking at the top spots of welterweight. "I think its an exciting time. We all get the opportunity to get in there and try to put that welterweight belt around our waists. Its just a perfect storm. The fans ultimately are going to be the ones that benefit with some really really exciting fights." The 30-year-old Hendricks is the top-ranked contender in the 170-pound division while Lawler is No. 3. No. 2 Condit, who lost to Hendricks at UFC 158, takes on No. 11 Tyron Woodley (12-2) in the UFC 171 co-main event. Condit says he has been told a win will earn him another title shot. Hendricks, a former two-time NCAA champion wrestler, is currently No. 10 in the UFCs pound-for-pound rankings. Lawler does not figure in the top 15. St-Pierre seems to deserve better. The decision over Hendricks was a record 19th win in the UFC for the Canadian, moving him past former welterweight champion Matt Hughes at 18. The Hendricks victory also moved GSP past former middleweight champion Anderson Silva for most wins in UFC title bouts at 12. St-Pierre holds the record for career fight time in the UFC at five hours 28 minutes 12 seconds. And he owns the UFC mark for most championship rounds fought (52). UFC 167 was St-Pierres 14th championship fight, one behind Randy (The Natural) Couture. St-Pierre also leads the UFC records in total strikes landed (2,523), significant strikes landed (1,254), takedowns landed (87) and takedown accuracy rate (73.7 per cent), according to FightMetric. Hydro Flask Saldi . The 41-year-old Northern Irishman has proved a perfect fit at Liverpool since taking over from Kenny Dalglish in the summer of 2012 and steered the team to an unexpected title challenge in the Premier League last season. Hydro Flask Italia . Top-seeded Djokovic, who is making only his second appearance this year after reaching the quarterfinals of the Australian Open, was a 6-3, 6-3 winner over 54th-ranked Istomin of Uzbekistan. "It wasnt as easy as the scoreline indicates," said Djokovic, who has won in Dubai on four occasions. http://www.italiahydroflask.it/. The right-hander said he threw about 30 pitches in a routine bullpen session Sunday at Yankee Stadium, his final hurdle before starting Tuesday night at Tampa Bay. Swell Scontate . They actually finished with a better record in ‘07 than they did in ‘06 but only marginally, going from 61 victories to 66. Borraccia Hydro Flask Italia . LOUIS -- The Atlanta Braves used a two-run rally in the ninth to end their road trip with a win.SASSUOLO, Italy -- Juventus all but clinched its third successive Serie A title by coming from behind to win 3-1 Monday at relegation-threatened Sassuolo in heavy rain. Antonio Contes side moved eight points ahead of Roma with three rounds remaining. The two sides face each other in the penultimate match of the season, but Juventus is expected to seal the title next week when it plays Atalanta at home, where it has won all 17 of its league matches this season. Juventus also remained on course to become the first Serie A club to reach the 100-point barrier. "We have taken a very important step toward a historic third title," Conte said. "We are having a super season. I hear talk about an out of this world Roma side but we are eight points ahead of them and in the Europa League semifinals. So find adjectives for us." Juventus hosts Benfica on Thursday looking to overturn a 2-1 first leg defeat in their Europa League semifinal. Simone Zaza -- who is co-owned by Juventus -- gave Sassuolo a surprise lead in ninth-minute when he finished off an electric counterattack. Nicola Sansone raced downfield before setting up Zaza, whose efforrt took a slight deflection off Angelo Ogbonna to beat Gianluigi Buffon at the near post.dddddddddddd Juventus levelled in the 35th when Carlos Tevez collected the ball from Claudio Marchisio just outside the area and unleashed a fierce shot, which took a decisive deflection off Alessandro Longhi. It was Tevezs 19th of the season and leaves him two behind Torinos Ciro Immobile, the top scorer in Serie A. Claudio Marchisio fired Juventus ahead in front shortly before the hour mark after a chipped pass from Andrea Pirlo over the Sassuolo defence. And Fernando Llorente sealed the result when he finished off Stephan Lichtsteiners cross with a delightful backheel from close range 14 minutes from time. Contes jubilation after that goal and the whole teams reaction after the match expressed how close they are to the crown. "It wasnt a title celebration at the end because there is still a chance for our pursuers," Conte said. "We have to seal it in the next match, I dont like anticipating things but we took a huge step forward." Sassuolo is only above the relegation zone thanks to its head-to-head record with Bologna. ' ' '