Tom Lawlor takes training to Cuba
After two straight losses in the octagon, Tom Lawlor’s well aware that it’s coming down to do-or-die for his UFC…
After two straight losses in the octagon, Tom Lawlor’s well aware that it’s coming down to do-or-die for his UFC career.
“I just need to look at some things I did wrong in those fights and correct them so I don’t make those mistakes again,” Lawlor told MMA Fighting. “Because really I’m on the bubble right now as far as my career in the UFC goes. I can only come up with so many more entrances that keep my job. I’ve got to start winning fights.”
Lawlor’s first move was accepting an invitation to train in a place that has not exactly been a hotbed of MMA: Cuba. Traveling with other fighters from the Miami-based Freestyle Fighting Academy, Lawlor traveled to Cuba earlier this week, where he’ll spend about three weeks.
Though Cuba has generated only a handful of successful MMA fighters (among those is Bellator middleweight champ Hector Lombard), the country has an international reputation for its combat sports, and Lawlor hopes to take advantage of the coaching.
“I’ve had a problem knocking guys out, but I haven’t had a problem rocking them, so hopefully there are a couple tweaks I can make in my boxing that will add something to my game,” he said.
“You can go on vacation somewhere, train somewhere, but not that many people get to go to Cuba,” he continued. “Even if I get there and the training sucks, hey, I’ve been to Cuba. But they’re really well known for their boxing, wrestling and judo, so hopefully I pick up some things there to help me in my next fight.”