Las Vegas, NV — At age 41, former UFC welterweight champion Robbie Lawler will enter the octagon for the final time at UFC 290.
Lawler (29-16, 1NC) is one of the last of his era, and one of the last of a dying breed. “Ruthless” did his talking in the cage, rarely having more than a few sentences to say to mobs of media members dying for a soundbite. He would fight anyone (this Saturday it will be Niko Price), anywhere, first competing for the UFC in 2002, moving on to Strikeforce and Elite XC (where he won a middleweight title) before returning home in 2013.
Doubling up with his retirement is Lawler’s induction into the UFC Hall of Fame this week, in the Fight Wing for his classic title defense against Rory MacDonald in 2015. That’s a whole lot of accolades for a man who actively tried to avoid thinking about such things.
“It’s kind of crazy. I actually try not to focus on it. It’s one of those things where I created this gap between other people giving me accolades and praise, because you can’t go through life trying to seek praise from other people,” Lawler said during Wednesday’s UFC 290 media day. “I’m trying to seek praise from myself, really. So it’s like, being able to accept that people, and me being like ‘thank you, I appreciate that’ is definitely something that I’ve never really allowed myself to get involved with. Because maybe one of the reasons that I’ve been able to do this so long is because I just focus on what I need to focus on.”
Lawler, who turned pro in 2001 and started his first UFC stint a year later, made a roller coaster motion, adding “you’re going to win, you’re going to lose, there’s going to be people around you that are excited. That’s just, you can’t control how other people treat you so I don’t try to rely on that for anything. But it’s nice. I try not to look back at all my career, because I’ve been doing this for so long, because it’s so much, and I’m focused on going forward. That’s how I’ve always been, focused on going forward. When I look back at it, it’s a lot. A lot of people who helped me get where I am today. A lot of good training partners. It’s crazy.”
Moving forward, Lawler admits there’s both fear, and clearly some anticipation, when it comes to retirement.
“I would say there’s fear, because it’s freakin’ unknown. I’ve been training and competing my whole life. Even when I was supposed to be in high school or middle school, I’m concentrating on how to get better at wrestling or football or whatever, fighting, when I should be doing my homework,” explained Lawler. “So that’s where I’ve always been. So one thing I feel I’m going to get out of this is that I’m actually going to be able to just train for fun again. Which is huge. My body feels better when I’m training for fun.”
Robbie Lawler really hasn't thought about the appreciation he gets from other fighters for his legendary career. #UFC290
🎥: @doublegontv
WATCH: https://t.co/U8VwwWy6sn pic.twitter.com/MlHVF5pFjx
— Cageside Press (@Cagesidepress) July 5, 2023
Lawler intends to stay involved in the sport, mind you — serving as a coach at Kill Cliff FC.
As for the Hall of Fame honor and the praise from fellow fighters, Lawler told Cageside Press that “I’m not quite there yet, where I’m still absorbing other people excited about things I’ve accomplished. But as I get older, I’m trying to figure out how to. I’m just out there competing, giving it my all. It’s what I do, and I guess it’s nice but I’m happy with how— it was so long ago too, I’m like on to the next thing, but I just don’t know how to accept it. I didn’t get into this sport for praise and hype and those types of things, I’m just trying to be the best I can be. Maybe I need to figure out a way to let people appreciate me.”
Watch the full UFC 290 media day appearance by Robbie Lawler above.
