Robbie Lawler Expected To Be Out One Month, Eyes UFC 195 Return

When a recent thumb injury forced welterweight champion Robbie Lawler out of his awaited UFC 193 title fight against Carlos Condit, the upcoming Ronda Rousey vs. Holly Holm title bout stepped in to replace it at the massive show from Etihad Stadium in Melbourne, Australia.

What remained unknown was Lawler’s return date and whom he would be fighting, but Ariel Helwani confirmed on this evening’s UFC Tonight that ‘Ruthless’ won’t be out for too much longer.

Apparently Lawler will be out of action for around a month, and would like to return to the octagon at January 2, 2016’s UFC 195 from Las Vegas according to his manager:

Robbie Lawler injury update: He’ll be out for a month and would like to return at UFC 195 on Jan. 2 (Per @ArielHelwani)

— UFC Tonight (@UFCTonight) September 3, 2015

Helwani then speculated that Condit would remain his opponent, with the winner between Johny Hendricks and Tyron Woodley at October’s UFC 192 presumably made to fight one more opponent before getting a title shot. That’s all up in the air, of course, as it’s clear that the rest of the stacked 170-pound division is chasing the dominant ‘Ruthless,’ who’s strung together seven wins in his last eight UFC fights.

Was it correct to keep Condit, who’s won just one bout versus Thiago Alves since a serious knee injury suffered against Woodley in early 2014, or did the winner of “Bigg Rigg” vs. “The Chosen One” deserve the shot more?