Tag: Robbie Lawler

Top 5 rematches in MMA history, ranked

From UFC classics to a PRIDE FC gem, these rematches provided some of the most memorable action in the history of the sport.

When it comes to rematches in mixed martial arts, there seems to be little room for mediocrity whether we’re talking about the expectation or the result.

If the first fight captured our imaginations, then we as human beings tend to let expectations run wild when going into the second meeting. But as far as results go, MMA sequels seem to either continue to pile on the action atop the intrigue of the horror a la “Aliens,” or they just end up leaving us with that feeling we had when we walked out of “The Matrix Reloaded.”

That said, this sport has given us plenty of “Godfather 2” candidates over the years that are worth acknowledging.

So, with that in mind, I thought it would be fun to revisit some of the most memorable sequels in MMA by listing my top five rematches of all time.

As usual, these lists reflect my personal tastes and are not meant to serve as some ultimate authority. That said, I feel very strongly about not only my list but also my honorable mentions at the end – which are more than strong enough to serve as their own top five.

So, without further ado …

Top 5 welterweight wars in MMA history, ranked

That UFC 189 war between Robbie Lawler and Rory MacDonald was something else, wasn’t it?

Although the welterweight class in MMA is decently heavier than its contemporaries in other combat sports, it keeps in the tradition of offering a rich history of memorable battles.

Japanese organizations like Shooto have typically referred to fighters between 156-171 lbs. as “middleweights,” while the UFC’s 170-pound division dates back to the late 90s when the organization anointed its first welterweight champion, [autotag]Pat Militech[/autotag], at UFC 17.5 in Brazil.

Since then, the division has produced a slew of great fights and Hall of Fame fighters alike.

It’s impossible to properly pay homage to all the best bouts that have gone down at 170 pounds, so I’ll instead widdle down my list to my favorite welterweight wars.

Whether we’re talking about back-and-forth battles or brutally bloody affairs, I thought it would be fun to revisit some of my favorite fights from the weight class.

As usual, these lists reflect my personal tastes and biases and are not meant to serve as some ultimate authority. That said, I feel very strongly about not only my list but also my honorable mentions at the end – which are more than strong enough to serve as their own top five.

So, without further ado …

2023 MMA retirement tracker: A list of former UFC champions, legends and more who hung up the gloves

The MMA world already has said goodbye to many retiring fighters in 2023, from former UFC champions to icons of the sport.

MMA is a constantly evolving sport with a revolving door of athletes entering and exiting. Currently, fighters from the era who helped make the sport so popular are beginning to trickle away from competition and hang up their gloves in order to move on to the next chapter in life.

If there’s one thing that’s well known about combat sports retirements, though, it’s that they often don’t last long. The urge to compete, and perhaps more importantly get a payday, will continue to drive fighters back even well beyond their expiration dates.

2023 has seen an uptick in notable fighters announcing they are done with the sport, and we have a list of those who have opted to walk away this year (the list will update as new retirements are announced).

Manager Brian Butler details New York protestor bus attack involving Jamahal Hill, Robbie Lawler, Cory Sandhagen

SuckerPunch’s Brian Butler shares his perspecitve on what occurred Friday evening when their bus was attacked by protestors in New York.

NEW YORK – A van carrying UFC fighters and others was surrounded and attacked by protestors Friday evening, but luckily everyone was able to get out of the situation unscathed, according to manager Brian Butler of SuckerPunch Entertainment.

During the incident on Friday, former UFC light heavyweight champion [autotag]Jamahal Hill[/autotag] shared a live video on Instagram from inside the van, which became surrounded by pro-Palestinian protestors when they approached the intersection of W 41st St. and 7th Ave. Along with Hill and his manager Butler in the van, were UFC Hall of Famer [autotag]Robbie Lawler[/autotag], former bantamweight title challenger [autotag]Cory Sandhagen[/autotag], and UFC staff and security.

Butler says the group was leaving a UFC fan event at a nearby nightclub when they approached the intersection, and things escalated to a near-ugly situation.

“We saw the parade of people coming and we saw all these flags, then we were like, ‘Oh, man. We’re about to get stuck in this,'” Butler told MMA Junkie. “People were saying, ‘Go, step on the gas. Step on the gas.’ People started trickling over because we were at the very front. I think they were curious because it was a big Sprinter van, so they started coming up and putting their signs and stuff up on the window. Then they got a look inside and they could see it was UFC security in there, and they were like, ‘Oh, UFC people.’ Then they started saying stuff like, you know, just mob mentality stuff. Nothing other than that sheer energy that was going on. It was like, ‘UFC people are bitches,’ UFC people are this and that.

“Then that kind of infuriated Jamahal. Jamahal started seeing red, so it was an issue trying to get him calmed down. But it started escalating pretty quickly. … It went from zero to having the whole vehicle surrounded and banging on it. The windows started breaking, and then Jamahal said he saw someone pull out a knife and they slashed all our tires. It could have been a very bad situation, but it ended well. I do have to say that the UFC security and staff was on point. The people that were on the bus with us were calling for backup.”

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According to Butler, the UFC security team along with the NYPD were able to clear a path for the van to get across the congested intersection. From there, everyone then had to exit the van and walk because the tires were slashed. Everyone in the van made it out of the situation safely, Butler said.

While the situation was unfolding inside the vehicle, Butler observed a sharp contrast in emotions between Lawler and Hill.

“Robbie had probably one of the most Robbie Lawler moments,” Butler said. “… He was just saying, ‘Conserve your energy. If these doors open, we’re going to need every ounce of it.’ It was very Robbie, because he was just sitting there still. Meanwhile, on the other end of the van, Jamahal is getting very irritated with people. Once Jamahal calmed down, everything was good.”

Butler went on to explain that when Hill went live on Instagram, the worst part of the incident had already occurred. He also stated that they never tried to run anyone over in the van, contrary to what some were saying online. Ultimately, Butler did his best to keep Hill calm throughout the moment in order to prevent things from escalating further.

“It was a very crazy situation. I think it was handled by everybody on the buses as well as could be done.”

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‘Dynamite in his hands’: Robbie Lawler’s 10 greatest knockouts, ranked

He wasn’t called “Ruthless” Robbie Lawler for nothing, as proven by this list of the former UFC champ’s 10 greatest knockouts.

Whenever you hear UFC play-by-play commentator Jon Anik refer to the UFC welterweight division as “ruthless,” you can’t help but assume that he’s paying homage to the weight class’ former ruling warlord, [autotag]Robbie Lawler[/autotag].

A fighter who initially entered the organization with the billing of “the next big thing,” Lawler saw his fair share of ups and downs before returning to the UFC and winning the welterweight title over a decade later at UFC 181.

In between UFC stints, Lawler accrued experience and sharpened his skills by fighting for a plethora of promotions from Strikeforce to PRIDE. Lawler also won titles at 185 pounds in organizations like Icon (formerly Superbrawl) and Elite XC during Hawaii’s heyday of MMA.

With the former UFC champion retiring after besting Niko Price at UFC 290, I thought it would be fun to take a trip down memory lane to rank my favorite Lawler knockouts.

Without further ado …

MMA Junkie’s Knockout of the Month for July: Justin Gaethje floors Dustin Poirier for ‘BMF’ belt

With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie looks at the best knockouts from July 2023.

With another action-packed month of MMA in the books, MMA Junkie looks at the best knockouts from July 2023: Here are the five nominees, listed in chronological order, and winner of MMA Junkie’s Knockout of the Month award for July.

At the bottom of the post, let us know if we got it right by voting for your choice.

Nominees

Video: Looking back at the UFC Hall of Fame career of Robbie Lawler

Our “Spinning Back Clique” discusses the best moments from UFC Hall of Famer Robbie Lawler’s career.

[autotag]Robbie Lawler[/autotag] rode off into the sunset as a UFC Hall of Famer and a winner of his retirement bout.

The former UFC welterweight champion decided to call an end to his legendary career at UFC 290, where he picked up a knockout win over Niko Price to walk away on a high note after his 25th UFC bout, 46th overall. Not to mention Lawler was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame two days prior for his classic all-timer against Rory MacDonald at UFC 189, where he retained the welterweight title.

Memorable fights and Lawler go hand-in-hand. Throughout his career, from his early UFC run in 2002 until the very end, “Ruthless” created highlights. But which fight was your personal favorite?

Was it his Pride appearance in 2006? What about something from his Strikeforce run from 2009-12? Lawler had some wild moments in EliteXC too.

MMA Junkie’s “Spinning Back Clique” panel of Brian “Goze” Garcia, Mike Bohn and Farah Hannoun joined host “Gorgeous” George Garcia to talk about Lawler’s career and their favorite moments.

Check out their discussion in the video above, and don’t miss this week’s complete episode of “Spinning Back Clique” below.

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UFC 290’s stars pay tribute to Hall of Famer Robbie Lawler: ‘A legend of the sport … a BMF’

Robbie Lawler called it quits on a Hall of Fame career this past Saturday, and he went out in just the kind of style he’s known for.

[autotag]Robbie Lawler[/autotag] called it quits on a Hall of Fame career this past Saturday, and he went out in just the kind of style he’s known for.

Lawler (30-16 MMA, 15-10 UFC) knocked out Niko Price (15-7 MMA, 7-7 UFC) just 38 seconds into their fight to close out the preliminary card at UFC 290 in front of a packed T-Mobile Arena crowd in Las Vegas. Lawler’s retirement bout was decided and announced months out, but in a bit of a perfect twist, the quick finish to end the prelims left the UFC with in the neighborhood of 20 minutes to give Lawler time on the microphone and let him make his exit.

UFC 290 was filled with standout fighters, and ahead of the card that anchored International Fight Week, those stars paid tribute to Lawler, a former UFC welterweight champion. Check out what they had to say about “Ruthless” Robbie Lawler in the video above.

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For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 290.

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Spinning Back Clique: Israel Adesanya vs. Dricus Du Plessis faceoff, UFC 290 recap, Jon Jones vs. Stipe Miocic, more

This week’s “Spinning Back Clique” dives into the fallout from an epic UFC 290 event and Jon Jones vs. Stipe Miocic title bout announcement.

Check out this week’s “Spinning Back Clique,” MMA Junkie’s weekly live show that takes a spin through the biggest topics in mixed martial arts. This week’s panel of Farah Hannoun, Brian “Goze” Garcia and Mike Bohn will join host “Gorgeous” George Garcia live at noon ET (9 a.m. PT) to discuss and debate:

  • [autotag]Alexander Volkanovski[/autotag]’s dominant third-round TKO title defense over [autotag]Yair Rodriguez[/autotag] in the UFC 290 main event and whether he should fight [autotag]Ilia Topuria[/autotag] at featherweight or [autotag]Islam Makhachev[/autotag] at lightweight next.
  • [autotag]Alexandre Pantoja[/autotag] claiming the flyweight title from [autotag]Brandon Moreno[/autotag] by split decision in a Fight of the Year contender at UFC 290 and what should be next for the new champ at 125 pounds.
  • [autotag]Dricus Du Plessis[/autotag]’ massive second-round TKO upset of Robert Whittaker in the UFC 290 featured bout and subsequent faceoff with [autotag]Israel Adesanya[/autotag], which got heated and was filled by racial slurs from the current middleweight champion leading into a potential title grudge match at UFC 293 in Sydney on Sept. 9.
  • The UFC 295 main event announcement between heavyweight champion [autotag]Jon Jones[/autotag] and former titleholder [autotag]Stipe Miocic[/autotag] on Nov. 11 at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
  • [autotag]Robbie Lawler[/autotag]’s fairytale career ending at UFC 290, which saw the former welterweight champion knock out Niko Price in just 38 seconds before he retired from MMA.

“Spinning Back Clique” is released each Monday LIVE on MMA Junkie’s YouTube channel. You can watch this week’s episode in the video above.

5 biggest takeaways from UFC 290: Bracing for the build to Israel Adesanya vs. Dricus Du Plessis

Analysis of the biggest storylines coming out of UFC 290, including a possibly uncomfortable build to Israel Adesanya vs. Dricus Du Plessis.

What mattered most at UFC 290 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas? Here are a few post-fight musings …