Welterweight champion Robbie Lawler makes a thoughtful response during a UFC 195 press conference at the MGM Grand for tickets going on sale to UFC’s annual New Year’s Eve weekend card in Las Vegas having him facing challenger Carlos Condit on Wednesday, October 21, 2015.
Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2015 | 2 a.m.
Robbie Lawler spits blood from a split lip during his welterweight title fight against Rory Macdonald at UFC 189 Saturday, July 11, 2015 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Lawler won by TKO in the fifth round.
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The hardest part of a career-defining performance is often following it up.
Welterweight champion Robbie Lawler’s last fight, a fifth-round TKO victory over Rory MacDonald at UFC 189 in July, went down as one of the greatest in UFC history. Many anticipate his forthcoming title defense against Carlos Condit in the main event of UFC 195 on Jan. 2 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena playing out just as memorably, but not Lawler.
“I hope I never have to go through another fight like that,” Lawler said. “It was a great performance by both fighters, but I don’t want to have to do that again.”
Lawler wore a small, fresh scar above the right side of his mouth from the MacDonald fight as he promoted UFC 195 tickets going on sale at the MGM last week. Treatment on the split lip brought him to the same hospital as MacDonald, who was recovering from a badly broken nose, immediately after the fight and led to the two rivals posing for their now-famous Instagram photo.
Lawler reported his body wasn’t too beaten up after the 21 minutes of reckless combat with MacDonald, but couldn’t hide that his face was a bloody and bruised mess. And he was far better off than MacDonald, who collapsed in pain to end the fight.
“Blood doesn’t bother me at all, and that was a lot of blood,” Condit said. “That was a little bit too much blood for me even. I was like, ‘Wow, that’s pretty gnarly.’”
Condit's fights are best skipped by the faint of heart. Known for constant offensive pressure, the 31-year-old nicknamed “The Natural Born Killer” has finishes in 28 of his 30 career victories.
But even Condit, the former interim champion, would rather avoid ever getting into a tussle that resembled Lawler’s win over MacDonald.
“Fights like that can change you,” he said. “It’s an ordeal.”
The 26-year-old MacDonald later called the bout the best moment of his life. Lawler, 33, had a different perspective.
“I knew what I was getting into a long time ago, this is a rough sport,” he said. “To sit back and act like this isn’t a rough sport and you don’t know what’s happening is just foolish but I definitely don’t want to get in those kind of wars. The training camps definitely aren’t like, ‘Let’s train really hard so this can go back and forth.’ That’s never an issue. That’s just heart and determination, and you rely on it if you have to.”
He’s training diligently at American Top Team in Coconut Creek, Fla., to ensure there’s not a repeat against Condit. The goal at UFC 195 will be a quick finish despite a matchup that looks conducive to action.
Both Lawler and Condit are primarily stand-up fighters. They’re also evenly matched judging by the betting line, which like Lawler vs. MacDonald is installed as a near pick’em.
The fans might be right — another all-time battle might ensue.
“I’m willing to do it,” Lawler said. “I’ll do it as long as I have to. I just don’t really concentrate on those things. It’s all about being sharp, and not taking too much damage. That’s always the game plan.”
Case Keefer can be reached at 702-948-2790 or [email protected]. Follow Case on Twitter at twitter.com/casekeefer.
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