Lawler dismisses talk that loss due to recent fight damage
Lawler: I didn’t lose from wars damage
Former UFC middleweight champion Robbie Lawler is only 34. But he has been fighting professionally since 2001. He won the title shot with a tough, fight of the night winning, five round win over Matt Brown. Then he defeated then champion Johny Hendricks in a five round split decision. Then he defended it against Rory MacDonald in a brutal five round fight of the night, or the ever. And then he defended it against Carlos Condit in yet another five round fight of the night.
The conventional thinking is that the human body only has so many fights like Robbie Lawler titanic heart has driven him through. The conventional thinking is that those brutal fights left Lawler diminished.
The conventional thinking is that that it showed vs. Tyron Woodley.
There is a competing theory for the loss however. Tyron Woodley is a notoriously fast starter, and Robbie Lawler started his last two fight slowly. This, rather than damage, is what Lawler pointed to at the post fight press conference.
I think it’s just a guy who took advantage of a big punch and rocked me and jumped on me and finished the job,” he began, as transcribed by Tristen Critchfield for Sherdog. “I’m not gonna speculate on that. I felt great going into the fight. So no excuses.
I feel alright. I mean obviously he caught me with the ol’ T-Wood bomb. I was just sitting back a little too much and he took advantage of it. It was his night.
I think right at the end he feinted and I reached with my hands and he threw a punch over the top. He took an advantage of an opportunity.”
Lawler also said it was pressure from fighting a fellow member of ATT.
I’m a mean individual and this is what I do for a living, so I would’ve had no problem doing the same to him.”
Obviously I think if I went back in there I’d get a win. Deserve and actually getting are two different things, but yeah I feel like I deserve something. But we’ll see if I get it.
While Woodley has asked for a fight with GSP or Nick Diaz, in all likelihood, his first defense will be against Stephen ‘Wonderboy’ Thompson.