Robbie Lawler wins at UFC 290, says goodbye

Robbie Lawler said goodbye to his fight career and his fans at UFC 290 on Saturday night in Las Vegas. He did so the only way that Robbie Lawler could, with a resounding 38-second knockout of Niko Price.

Two days earlier, Lawler was enshrined in the UFC Hall of Fame for his second bout with Rory MacDonald. You could not have scripted a more poetic ending to a legendary career.

Lawler debuted as a professional mixed martial artist in 2001 as part of Pat Miletich’s pioneering Miletich Fighting Systems team that included the likes of Jens Pulver, Tim Sylvia, Matt Hughes, Jeremy Horn, and many others. That was 22 years ago.

During those two-plus decades, Lawler became the SuperBrawl, ICON Sport, EliteXC, and UFC champion. He’s a five-time UFC Fight of the Night winner.

At 41 years of age, Robbie Lawler was still knocking out younger fighters to the tune of a final overall record of 30-16 (1 no contest). 22 of his 30 victories came by way of knockout, the final one coming as he dropped his gloves and sauntered off into the sunset.

Check out Robbie Lawler at UFC 290 in his final post-fight press conference as a professional mixed martial artist.