Robbie Lawler Aims For Trilogy Match With Hendricks Over Rematch With MacDonald
Newly minted UFC welterweight champion Robbie Lawler completed an amazing career resurgence with his close decision win over former champion Johny Hendricks (watch highlights here) in the main event of last Saturday night’s (Dec. 6, 2014) UFC 181 pay-per-view (PPV) from Las Vegas.
Back in late 2012 when Lawler sat with an unimpressive 3-5 record in Strikeforce, many thought that his career had started fast and fizzled when he was hardly 30 years old.
But “Ruthless” fought long and hard to prove those doubters wrong. Speaking in an interview with Sherdog Radio, the new champ admitted that while it was difficult to stay positive through the tough times, he never quit or made excuses:
“I always believed in myself and believed I was capable of doing great things and winning world titles, but first you have to get to those positions,” Lawler said. “It was definitely tough during the down times to believe in yourself, but I just kept trying to get better and that’s what I did. I never gave up and never made excuses.”
With the huge victory, Lawler has earned some well-deserved time off after five fights in just over a year. “Ruthless” said he wants to get back in the octagon sometime around late May, June, or July.
When he does, he won’t necessarily be lobbying for a rematch with Rory MacDonald in Canada, something that Dana White said the “Red King” had earned with his impressive knockout of Tarec Saffiedine at October’s UFC Fight Night 54.
Lawler has tons of respect for Hendricks; the tough competitor who many still feel did enough to win at UFC 181. Lawler believes that “Bigg Rigg” has a great strategy in place, but his own attempts to finish the fight with late round strikes made him think he had done enough to win:
“I was confident. I felt like I did a lot of damage, ducked a lot of shots, landed a lot of knees and kicks,” Lawler said. “Obviously, Johny’s a competitor. He does a great job of winning rounds, but I just felt like I was the one doing the most damage out there. It was a close fight.”
Indeed it was. With the series even at one apiece, Lawler praised Hendricks for his toughness and said he wants a rubber match with “Bigg Rigg,” a fight he’s confident he would win:
“I’m very confident in my skills and think, if we fought again, I would win,” Lawler said. “Johny is a hell of a fighter, a hell of a competitor, and I look forward to meeting him again. Now that we have each won one apiece — and they were close fights — I think we need to figure this one out.”
It’s unknown as to whom Lawler will face in his next bout, but White did backtrack on his words (surprise) a bit after UFC 181, stating that he’d love to see Lawler vs. Hendricks III next.
It’s difficult to argue that the trilogy match wouldn’t be an awesome spectacle for MMA fans everywhere. On the other hand, the main negative aspect of it is that only two fighters would only contest the belt for around 15 months.
However, MacDonald has earned his shot, and Lawler said he wouldn’t turn down the fight if that were what the UFC brass decided was best:
“If the bosses think that makes sense and that’s the fight everyone wants to see I’m sure they will make it happen, but I’m just relaxing right now. I’m not even thinking about that.” Lawler said. “I’m sure Dana, Lorenzo [Fertitta], Joe [Silva], and Sean [Shelby] will put their heads together and we will see what happens.”
All of the sudden Lawler is at the top of the MMA world with two absolutely blockbuster rematches on the horizon. Right now, however, he’s going to take a break to enjoy time lost with his family.
Who would you like to see him battle when he comes back?
Photo Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports
