Robbie Lawler Looking To Dominate Johny Hendricks
UFC 181 headliner Robbie Lawler will face Johny Hendricks for the second time this Saturday (December 6th, 2014) as he looks to take the belt in a rematch of their UFC 171 classic. Having fought for nearly 14 years now, and competed in Pride and Strikeforce during his hiatus, “Ruthless” looks like a new fighter right now.
After dropping the decision after five rounds against “Bigg Rigg” in March, Lawler starched Jake Ellenberger and put a whooping on Matt Brown to get his second shot at the belt this year. This late on in his career, Lawler appreciates the irony in his success, but also says he predicted it. Check out his recent interview with MMAFighting.com:
“I expected this the whole time. Which is funny, because a lot of people wrote me off a long time ago. I always thought I could be the best and that’s what I’ve been doing all these years. This didn’t happen overnight. This is dedication, this is a lot of hard work and time and that’s what you’re seeing now.”
“I don’t care what anyone said,” Lawler said. “I just think it’s funny looking back at it now. I didn’t care what people thought of me, that I was getting better, pushing myself to get better. Those are the things I concentrate on, I don’t concentrate on what everyone else was saying.”
What we see of Lawler nowadays is a much more measured approach. His level-headed style saw him beat a surging Rory MacDonald back in 2013, and absolutely throttle Josh Koscheck for the first round knockout in his UFC 157 return to the promotion. Is it enough to win him the title this time around though?
“I don’t really worry too much about how much he’s (Hendricks) fought and how much I’ve fought,” Lawler said. “I just feel like that’s to my advantage. I wasn’t sure how it was going to happen. The UFC didn’t tell me I was going to get a rematch, so I just went right back to work as soon as possible and my next fight I took as soon as possible, just working hard and preparing myself to get the belt.”
“I want it to be one-sided,” Lawler said. “I don’t want to take any bumps or bruises, I want to go out and dictate all aspects and go out the way I came in. I’m looking to dominate and dictate.”
How do you think UFC 181’s main event will transpire? Will Johny Hendricks remain the champion, or is the time now for Robbie Lawler?
