Robert Lawler was born on March 20, 1982. He has been competing since 2001 as a professional mixed martial artist from the United States. He formerly held the titles of middleweight in EliteXC and the UFC, as well as in Strikeforce, PRIDE, and the IFL.
The first combatant to have earned three straight "Fight of the Year" honors from Sherdog and MMA Fighting for his fights against Johny Hendricks (at UFC 171, in 2014), Rory MacDonald (at UFC 189, in 2015), and Carlos Condit (at UFC 189), Lawler is known for his aggressive fighting style (at UFC 195, in 2016)
| Name | Robert Lawler |
| D.O.B | March 20, 1982 |
| Height | 5 ft 11 in (180 cm) |
| Weight | 77 kg |
| Occupation | Mixed Martial Artist |
| Professional Debut | 2001 |
| Wife | Marcia Lawler |
| Nicknames | Ruthless, The Brawler |
| Table of contents: |
In San Diego, California, Lawler was born. At the age of ten, he relocated to Bettendorf, Iowa, to live with his Marine Corps veteran father. At the age of eight, Lawler started taekwondo training before picking up karate two years later. Lawler attended Bettendorf High School, where he won football and wrestling All-State awards.
When Lawler was 16 years old, Pat Miletich took him under his wing. He started training with Miletich Fighting Systems as soon as he received his diploma in 2000. After making his professional debut in 2001, Lawler went on to win his first four fights by TKO/KO, with his second coming in the IFC.
Robbie Lawler began his initial contract with the UFC by defeating veteran Aaron Riley, then won two more fights before falling to Pete Spratt as a result of a hip injury. He briefly left the UFC to compete in other promotions, but he returned in 2013. In the welterweight class, he fought Josh Koscheck and won by TKO.
Dana White, the president of the UFC, organized a match between Lawler and Johny Hendricks after previous champion Georges St-Pierre announced his indefinite leave, vacating the UFC Welterweight Champion status. Lawler lost the fight, but it did win him his first Fight of the Night prize.
Robbie Lawler successfully defended his belt against Rory McDonald in 2015 after winning the contest and title in a rematch of the same fight in 2014. This contest earned Lawler his second Sherdog Fight of the Year award and was praised by many as one of the finest welterweight battles ever. Tyron Woodley defeated him for the championship in the main event of UFC 201 in 2016.
On July 29, 2017, Cerrone and Lawler squared off at UFC 214. He prevailed by unanimous judgment in the match. On December 16, 2017, Lawler and Rafael Dos Anjos squared off in the main event of UFC on Fox. He sustained an ACL tear and was the victim of a unanimous decision loss in the bout.
On March 2, 2019, at UFC 235, Lawler squared off against Ben Askren, a UFC rookie. Early in the battle, Lawler appeared to have the advantage against Askren, but a bulldog choke ultimately caused him to lose. On August 3, 2019, Lawler and Colby Covington squared off on UFC on ESPN 5. He was defeated by a unanimous decision.
On August 29, 2020, at UFC Fight Night 175 in place of Geoff Neal, Lawler squared off against Neil Magny. He was defeated by a result of unanimous decisions. On September 25, 2021, at UFC 266 a rematch between Lawler and veteran Nick Diaz took place. The middleweight match was a unique five-round fight without a championship or main event.
When the referee told Diaz to get back to his feet during the third round, Lawler knocked him down. Lawler was thus given the victory through TKO. On July 2, 2022, Lawler and Bryan Barberena squared off at UFC 276. He was defeated by TKO in the second round of the back-and-forth fight.
| 46 matches | 29 wins | 16 losses |
| By knockout | 21 | 4 |
| By submission | 1 | 5 |
| By decision | 7 | 7 |
| No contests | 1 | |
