Robbie Lawler sits atop the UFC welterweight division. | Photo: D. Mandel/Sherdog.com
5. Robbie Lawler
The current UFC welterweight champion is a poster child for the different ways a strong commitment to aggressiveness can manifest itself over the course of a long and decorated career. Early on, Lawler simply looked to drown his overmatched opponents in a stream of winging overhand lefts and right hooks delivered with enough force to demolish a skyscraper. This unfettered aggression served him well against fighters like Tiki Ghosn and Steve Berger, but the lack of a backup plan cost him against Nick Diaz and Evan Tanner.
When Lawler returned to the UFC following the closing of Strikeforce, however, he suddenly showed an ability to temper his natural tendency toward wild aggressiveness with a more measured, steady approach. This allowed him to put rounds in the bank while still hunting for brutal finishes, and better cardio at 170 pounds allowed him to maintain a strong pace late into the fight.
In his first fight with Johny Hendricks, for example, Lawler worked behind a stiff jab along with his powerful left hand and right hook, probing his way into range with a more subtle approach while still pounding the reigning champion with hard shots at every opportunity. He did the same against Jake Ellenberger, and his matchup with Matt Brown was the culmination of the long transformation: Lawler turned it up in spots and looked for the finish, but he never got so carried away that he was in danger of being overwhelmed by the indomitable Brown. He carried that through to his title victory against Hendricks in their rematch, pasting the champion in the first round and then going into rage mode again in the last 20 seconds of the fight to secure the victory.
Times have changed, and so has Lawler, but the essence of his violent approach remains the same.
Number 4 » He might be the purest example of an aggressive pressure fighter in mixed martial arts today. A monster moving forward, he offers nothing off his back foot, and without his willingness to walk through his opponent’s shots in order to land his own, he would hardly be a noteworthy fighter.