Robbie Lawler formally joins the UFC Corridor of Fame in July with one of the vital storied resumes within the historical past of the game full of brutal knockouts, championship wins and all-time nice fights.
Again in 2014, Lawler competed in a No. 1 contender’s matchup towards Matt Brown in a five-round essential occasion on FOX with the winner transferring on to battle welterweight champion Johny Hendricks. Whereas it was a back-and-forth warfare, Lawler ultimately got here out on high with unanimous resolution win however regardless of the consequence not going his approach, Brown really considers that his favourite struggle for his total profession.
“He was positively my favourite struggle that I had,” Brown mentioned about Lawler on The Fighter vs. The Author. “I believe the Erick Silva struggle is the one which most individuals discuss as my most fun struggle however for me, Robbie Lawler was my favourite struggle. Not solely as a result of it’s Robbie Lawler and also you get to go in there and have an important battle with him, however I discovered extra from that struggle than I’ve from some other struggle in my life.
“We did a media tour the place we did like two or three days the place we’d eat lunch collectively and do all these totally different interviews sitting subsequent to one another and he was simply the good man. Simply relaxed and cozy. After the struggle, we had been cool. We talked, I’ve seen him a few instances and we chat about issues. Only a large individual.”
It’s not typically {that a} fighter factors to a loss over a win as a favourite second however Brown heaped reward on Lawler after spending 25 minutes within the cage collectively.
He might not have gotten his hand raised that evening however Brown is aware of he walked away a greater fighter and that’s largely because of what Lawler taught him that evening.
“One of the crucial clever, strategic fighters on the market that once more, I’ve talked about this earlier than, you don’t consider that once you consider Robbie Lawler,” Brown mentioned. “Going into that struggle, I assumed he’s simply going to brawl, he’s going to be sudden however he really outsmarted me in loads of methods and I didn’t count on that.
“You mentioned it excellent, he’s a really effectively deserved Corridor of Famer. He’s been on this sport since 2004. I began coaching in 2004 and he was already in there. Only a nice individual and an important fighter, props to him.”
One other facet to the struggle that Brown singled out was what separated Lawler from so lots of his previous opponents that he really slotted the previous UFC welterweight champion right into a class reserved for only a few in MMA.
“One of many massive issues I discovered in that struggle was what a warrior is,” Brown defined. “We’re all fighters. We will struggle for issues however a warrior stays strategic and stays clever by way of the battle and continues to strategize whereas beneath strain, whereas taking pictures, whereas even being rocked.
“I discovered the distinction between what a fighter is and a warrior is that evening. Robbie is a real warrior in each sense of the phrase. You’ll be able to’t give sufficient props to Robbie Lawler. He’s been a pioneer of this sport and been on the high of this sport for so long as I can keep in mind.”
For all that Brown completed in his profession together with the file for essentially the most knockouts in UFC welterweight historical past (13) and sitting tied for second in that very same class for all the UFC roster, the retired veteran nonetheless places Lawler in a unique class for his lengthy checklist of accolades.
From debuting again in 2001 and combating right through 2023 whereas placing collectively a profession that basically does make him one among one, Brown couldn’t think about a greater candidate to get acknowledged for the UFC Corridor of Fame.
“Individuals name me a legend on a regular basis and I’m like ‘that’s bullshit.’ Robbie Lawler is a f*cking legend,” Brown mentioned. “We’ve all bought to like him. By no means an enormous trash talker. Stayed true to himself the entire time. He’s a type of guys that you just type of neglect that he’s there till he’s there and also you’re like oh yeah, f*cking Robbie. Only a savage.
“I’m positive he’s impressed 1000’s of athletes developing for a few years. He impressed me firstly. He was one among my favorites firstly. It was an honor to share the cage with him and far love and respect to Robbie. Hope the very best for him sooner or later.”
