Robbie Lawler Moving On From Ben Askren Rematch
Robbie Lawler is moving on from a rematch with Ben Askren after the controversial finish to their bout at UFC 235 last month.
Lawler is now matched up with former rival Tyron Woodley in the main event of UFC on ESPN 4 this June. Woodley defeated Lawler via first-round knockout in July 2016 to capture the welterweight championship. Now, they’ll run it back in the main event of the June 29 card from the Target Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Speaking at the UFC Seasonal Press Conference last week, Lawler confirmed he has moved on from a rematch with Askren and is fully focused on the task ahead – beating former welterweight champ Woodley (via Sherdog):
“I’m not too worried about what happened in the past,” Lawler said. “It’s all about getting better, working on my skills. This is a big fight, main event. I’m excited to try to whoop somebody’s butt.”
Lawler welcomed Askren to the UFC at UFC 235. Although Askren is an extremely decorated wrestler, Lawler stuffed a takedown attempt from “Funky” before dropping Askren right on his head. He swarmed him with some vicious ground and pound, which nearly stopped the fight.
However, Askren was able to establish a dominant position and lock in a bulldog choke on “Ruthless.” Lawler’s arm looked to have gone limp during the choke, but as soon as referee Herb Dean stopped the fight, Lawler shot to his feet and protested the stoppage. It was an all-around weird ending to a great match-up, in which we’ll likely never know what truly happened.
UFC President Dana White and Lawler have called for the immediate rematch in the time since. Askren will move on to another opponent in Jorge Masvidal at July’s UFC 239.
