Meet the forgotten superstar in mixed martial arts
Let’s start with a simple question: How is Robbie Lawler not the biggest star in mixed martial arts?
The answer is not quite as simple as the question, but a lot of it has to do with the fact that performance in the cage and delivering entertaining fights isn’t the be-all and end-all when it comes to defining stardom.
Look at Lawler’s career since he rejoined the UFC in 2013.
He went 3-0 with a Knockout of the Night win over Josh Koscheck, a devastating KO of Bobby Voelker and an impressive and entertaining decision victory over Rory MacDonald.
In 2014, his loss to Johny Hendricks for the UFC welterweight title was voted the Fight of the Year by many outlets.
In 2015, his stoppage of MacDonald in the first defense of his title was a consensus Fight of the Year and, in many minds, is the greatest UFC fight ever.
To this point in 2016, Lawler’s win over Carlos Condit in January is a Fight of the Year contender, perhaps the leading contender. He defends his crown on Saturday in the main event of UFC 201 in Atlanta when he takes on Tyron Woodley in a bout that has all the promise of at least a Fight of the Night battle, if not more.
But when you roll out a list of the UFC’s most popular fighters, it will take a while to get to Lawler’s name. He is, in many ways, the sport’s forgotten superstar.
He doesn’t talk trash, as featherweight champion Conor McGregor does so expertly (though it should be noted that McGregor regularly backs up his talk).
“Aw, man, I don’t care about that stuff,” Lawler said. “I just care about going out and knocking someone’s head off.”
He’s not sorting through movie offers like former women’s bantamweight champion Ronda Rousey.
“Who really wants to see me act, anyway?” Lawler asked rhetorically.
He passes his drug tests, he shows up on time for his media appearances, he makes weight and he fights like a demon when the bell rings.
He has an endorsement deal with adidas and another with American Ethanol, but his outside-the-cage income is nowhere near the millions that Rousey and McGregor earn. He did say he believes he won’t need a full-time job after he retires from fighting because he’s been smart with his money, but he’s not getting the life-altering kind of deals outside the cage that some others have gotten.
Lawler was once the phenom, the hot young prospect whom everyone predicted would become the sport’s next superstar. That was more than a decade ago, and while he had a good career, he wasn’t anyone’s idea of a superstar until recently.
He’s been a different man since his return to the UFC in 2013. Everything that was predicted for him back in 2004 has come true ever since.
He hasn’t fought since January when he defeated Condit in an unbelievable back-and-forth battle at UFC 195, so he could easily have been added to the mega-card that was UFC 200 on July 9.
It was hailed prior to the bout as the best card in UFC history, but it turned out to be just OK and hardly sensational. Do you think a Lawler fight on that show would have made a difference?
Of course it would have, and it would have also made Lawler a lot more money.
The pay-per-view sales for UFC 200 were guaranteed to dwarf those of UFC 201, and it would have benefited Lawler financially to appear on the bigger card since, as a champion, he gets a slice of the pay-per-view sales.
Ever the good soldier, he took it in stride.
“A show like that, that’s something everyone wants to be involved in, the biggest show of the year,” Lawler said. “It’s a showcase event, and you know there is a lot of money there. But you can’t be on every one of those. I was on that show last year. Everyone wanted to be on UFC 189, and I got to be a part of it. So, yeah, if it had been possible, I would have loved to be on UFC 200, but I have no complaints.
“I’m happy with what I have. I’m not into worrying about all that stuff. I just worry about my fight and what I have to do and I believe when I do that, all of those other things will take care of themselves.”
If you’re looking for clever sound bytes or flashy bling, look elsewhere, because Lawler isn’t your man.
If, however, you watch fights because you’re a fight fan, and you want to see a real professional who delivers excitement every minute of every round, then there is little doubt Lawler is the best choice.
When it comes to delivering excitement, few have ever been better than him.
