Robbie Lawler: It’s Not About Calling Your Fights, It’s About Proving You’re The Best

After a meteoric rise last year that saw him become the UFC’s No. 1-ranked welterweight contender, longtime MMA veteran “Ruthless” Robbie Lawler still feels the sting of his close decision loss to new champion Johny Hendricks at UFC 171 on March 15.

The fight was an entertaining back and-forth affair that saw Hendricks take the first two rounds, “Ruthless” turn it on in the third and fourth rounds to nearly finish “Bigg Rigg,” and then finally a deal-sealing takedown from the champion in the fifth. It looked like Lawler was staring at the clock as Hendricks rode out the remaining time, but he told Wade Eck of MMA H.E.A.T. that he was actually looking at the ref in an attempt to get a restart on the feet:

“Yeah I didn’t look up at the clock, I looked up at the ref and I was like, ‘Ah man, he’s just laying on me.’ Cause there wasn’t a Jumbotron there; it was up above, so I couldn’t really see the time or anything. I wasn’t looking at the clock. It was frustration.”

That fight is now in the history books, and Lawler will move on to face No. 5-ranked Jake “The Juggernaut” Ellenberger at May 24’s UFC 173 in Las Vegas. Lawler weighed in on the quick turnaround, noting that he was ready to go. Adhering to an old-school fighting mentality, he also said it was never about calling anyone out:

“It was by choice. I was ready to go. I feel like it’s time to get back in the gym; time to work on my skills and build off my last fight and keep the momentum going.

I didn’t ask for anybody. I said ‘Hey, if you need me, I’ll fight.’ And then they gave me a name and I said, ‘Let’s do this.’ It’s not about calling your fights; it’s about going out and fighting who they want you to fight and proving that you’re one of the best in the world, if not the best.”

Lawler has a good chance to potentially earn another title shot against Hendricks when “Bigg Rigg” returns from torn biceps surgery sometime later this fall. Lawler knows how pivotal his bout with Ellenberger is. He ended the interview by focusing on the task at hand:

“May 24 is going to be my next biggest moment, and then I’ll just keep building from there. It’s always planning for the future, trying to get better, and that’s what my plan is.”