Robbie’s Retirement Appreciation Thread

Ruthless is a word that gets thrown around a lot in combat sports. As the years go by we’ve seen so many men have moments in the octagon that make you think of the word but only one will be forever remembered as Ruthless, Robbie Lawler.

I remember back in 2002 being one of maybe seven people in my entire high school to watch MMA, we were outcasts in that sense. It was a time I look back fondly on as it felt like we were part of a secret club. The years went by and the sport grew and grew, fighters evolved, once icons of the sport faded into nothingness as the sport threw them to the side. Seeing Robbie fight back in those days was a treat, just a scrappy kid willing to throw down with anyone but clearly lacking discipline.

I remember vividly when it was announced Robbie was making a long awaited return to the UFC in 2013 after an almost decade long stint away. An up and down stretch across Strike force, Elite XC, among others where I truly became a hardcore fan, we finally saw Robbie return to the octagon. Being 2-4 in his last 6, he really didn’t have much hype besides the hardcore fans. The hype quickly gathered though as he began tearing through the welterweight division with a clear new sense of direction, discipline and controlled aggression.

After a close split decision loss in his first UFC title fight, Robbie clawed his way back to a rematch with Johnny Hendricks. Unbelievable thinking back now but back in 2014 I thought, this might be it, this might be Lawlers last chance at the title. Maybe I was crazy but the wars he had been in (I hadn’t seen anything yet), I went into that second title fight with a do or die attitude for one of my favorite fighters of all time. How many times have you watched your favorite fighter just coast the last 30 seconds of a fight while you screamed at your tv? Well play the damn Rocky music because just as all of us screamed “GET OFF THE DAMN MAT ROB!” Robbie went full throttle and tried with every ounce of his being to end the fight. To this day, probably the loudest I’ve ever screamed at the tv, I thought my neighbors were going to call in a domestic violence complaint. The bell rang and I slumped back in my chair, I honestly scored it for Hendricks ( I scored the first fight for Robbie), just to leap out of my seat again when the decision was made. There he was, from a wild swinging kid in 2002 to a UFC champion, what a fucking journey it was to watch, nevermind live.

I won’t even get into too much detail about his world renowned title defenses against Condit and McDonald. Those fights are fights that you show people to get them into MMA. Robbie’s welterweight title run, to this day, was the funnest reign in the division’s history and I’m a die hard GSP fan.

2002…..2002 I started watching this man and here we are in 2023 about to watch his last fight. If only I could meet the man, I’d love to say thanks. Thanks for the loss of my voice on multiple occasions, the spilt beer and stubbed toes from jumping up too fast, beating the fuck out of Koshchek, and most importantly thank you for the wild entertainment over the years. I’ll be sitting back, honestly a little emotional tonight, watching this last one with very fond memories of the past dating back to being a teenager and hopes for a great future for Robbie. Cheers to everyone who’s a fan, let’s hope we get one last vintage performance!