Former UFC welterweight champion Robbie Lawler is the latest inductee to the UFC Hall of Fame.
It was revealed during the UFC 313 broadcast that Lawler will enter the Hall of Fame this June during International Fight Week in Las Vegas.
The 42-year-old retired two years ago after competing for over twenty years and fighting for the UFC in two different eras.
He was a product of Miletich Fighting Systems – the premiere fight camp of its time featuring Pat Miletich, Matt Hughes, Tim Sylvia, and Jens Pulver among its stable. Later, he would relocate to various gyms, including American Top Team and Sanford MMA.
Lawler burst onto the scene in 2001 when he was nineteen and won his first four fights by stoppage in the opening round. He was signed by the UFC and first fought for the promotion at UFC 37 in May 2002, during the early days of Zuffa’s ownership.
After besting Aaron Riley, he was showcased on Fox Sports Net for the UFC 37.5 special, where he stopped Steve Berger and rounded out his year with a KO of Tiki Ghosn at UFC 40 in November.
He would lose three of his next four fights, including a KO loss to Nick Diaz in April 2004, and move up to middleweight, where he was submitted by Evan Tanner, which was Lawler’s last fight in the UFC for nine years.
Lawler would compete for various groups, including ICON Sport, PRIDE, and IFL, before entering Elite XC and becoming its first middleweight champion. Lawler knocked out Murilo “Ninja” Rua to win the belt and would compete on CBS in 2008 in back-to-back fights with Scott Smith.
Elite XC dissolved, with many of its fighters shifting to Scott Coker’s Strikeforce group, including Lawler. The Strikeforce era of Lawler’s career was not a high point, with many having doubts regarding Lawler’s future in the sport and generating a 3-5 record in the promotion while fighting at 185 pounds.
It was mixed with several impressive knockouts, including a come-from-behind win against Melvin Manhoef in January 2010 and stopping Olympic silver medalist Matt Lindland in 50 seconds that same year. He challenged Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza for the Strikeforce Middleweight Championship in January 2011 and was submitted in the third round.
After Strikeforce shut down in 2013, Lawler was brought back to the UFC with the caveat that he was cutting down to welterweight, with few expecting the Lawler of old to return. He was considered an underdog against former title challenger Josh Koscheck in his return fight at UFC 157 in February 2013, but Lawler stunned the Anaheim crowd with a first-round stoppage win.
He put together a 2013 campaign of wins against Bobby Voelker and Rory MacDonald, allowing Lawler to challenge Johny Hendricks for the welterweight title the next year. Their first fight at UFC 171 in Dallas literally came down to the final minute, where Hendrick took Lawler down and finished strong to take a narrow decision victory.
Lawler rebounded with wins against Jake Ellenberger and Matt Brown to allow himself a rematch with Hendricks at UFC 181 in December, and this time, Lawler won by split decision to finally win UFC gold.
The next two fights of his career were legacy-defining ones, as he had two of the greatest fights in promotional history. UFC 189 in July 2015 will forever be remembered by Lawler and Rory MacDonald’s war over five rounds in one of the most violent bouts in MMA history. Lawler was able to break the challenger in the final frame and won by TKO in an all-timer, which has been inducted into the Fight Wing of the UFC Hall of Fame.
Months later, he opened 2016 with that year’s best fight against Carlos Condit at UFC 195, which was a razor-close split decision win for Lawler.
Lawler’s improbable run ended at UFC 201 in July when Tyron Woodley unseated Lawler with a KO in the opening round, ending Lawler’s championship run.
Lawler would not fight for a full year, returning in July 2017 to beat Donald Cerrone by decision. It was his last win for the next three years as Lawler went 0-4 against Rafael dos Anjos, Ben Askren (a controversial submission loss that was disputed by Lawler), Colby Covington, and Neil Magny.
Lawler would retire in July 2023 with a walk-off KO of Niko Price at UFC 290 and had an emotional sendoff in front of the audience in Las Vegas.
Lawler ended his career with a record of 30-16 with 1 no contest and considered one of the best all action fighters in MMA history, who was defined by his second run in the UFC where he elevated himself into a championship caliber fighter and won countless ‘Fight of the Year’ awards during that period.
Lawler is joined by producer Craig Piligian and the UFC 236 fight between Israel Adesanya and Kelvin Gastelum in this year’s class.
