UFC Welterweight Robbie Lawler Previews Saturday's Main Event
DALLAS, Texas (105.3 THE FAN) - The last time Robbie Lawler was in Dallas he was holding court at The American Airlines Center, giving UFC welterweight champion Johny Hendricks the fight of his life.
Lawler lost a very close unanimous decision on that March 2014 night, but a technical knock out over Jake Ellenberger two months later has kept him in the #1 contender's spot for the 170 pound belt.
With Hendricks on the shelf due to injury, the wide open frontier that has become The UFC's welterweight division in the wake of the retirement of champion Georges St. Pierre is not short of potential top contenders' match ups.
There is no such match up more anticipated than the main event pairing of Robbie Lawler (#1 UFC) and Matt Brown (#5 UFC) on Saturday night's UFC card in San Jose that will air free on network television (FOX, 7:00 pm central).
Listen to Richard Hunter talk to Robbie Lawler about his title contender's fight Saturday with Matt Brown:
Richard Hunter with UFC's Robbie Lawler
Robbie Lawler is on fire. Since returning to The UFC Octagon in February 2013 after years away from the promotion, he has gone 4-1, fighting five times in just 17 months. Three of those wins have come by way of knock out, and as a result Lawler is currently one of the most powerful pound for pound strikers across all of The UFC's weight divisions.
Matt Brown last lost in 2011, and since then he has knocked out six of seven opponents. He has the most knockouts in UFC welterweight history as well as the division's historically highest striking accuracy. He also has the third most submission attempts at 170 pounds, making him a threat on the ground.
Because Saturday's fight is a main event it will be scheduled for five rounds. Between the two fighters, only Lawler has been past three rounds, with that lone occasion being his five round decision loss to Hendricks.
Lawler is about a 3 1/2-1 favorite in the eyes of Las Vegas odds makers, and few think that this fight will go the distance based on the collective finishing history of both fighters. Many analysts have this fight earmarked as a likely fight of the year candidate, and you can count me among them.
I will be covering the fight live from cage side in San Jose Saturday night, and you can follow me on Twitter for live updates from the venue at @RichardHunter on Twitter
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