Robbie Lawler: By The Numbers

Brian KnappDec 13, 2017

Fans that revere the warrior spirit and the fighters that embody it in mixed martial arts have rarely been disappointed by “Ruthless” Robbie Lawler.

The former Ultimate Fighting Championship welterweight titleholder finds himself in familiar territory, as he prepares to square off with Rafael dos Anjos in the UFC on Fox 26 headliner this Saturday at Bell MTS Place in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Their five-round battle was stamped as a title eliminator at 170 pounds and puts Lawler on the doorstep to a shot a championship he once held for 602 days. He enters the cage having won six of his past seven bouts -- a run of sustained success that includes his unanimous decision over Donald Cerrone at UFC 214 on July 29. Lawler, who has never competed outside of the United States, sports 21 finishes among his 28 professional victories.

As Lawler barrels toward his critical showdown with dos Anjos in the Great White North, here are some of the numbers that have come to define him:

1: Win via submission. Lawler recorded his only submission victory on Sept. 17, 2005, when he tapped Jeremy Brown with an armbar at a King of the Cage event in Indianapolis.

2: Losses by knockout. Tyron Woodley and Nick Diaz were the perpetrators.

5: Post-fight bonuses earned as a member of the UFC roster. Lawler has been awarded four “Fight of the Night” bonuses and one “Knockout of the Night” bonus worth a total of $250,000.

8: Men other than Lawler who have held the UFC welterweight championship. They are Pat Miletich, Carlos Newton, Matt Hughes, B.J. Penn, Georges St. Pierre, Matt Serra, Johny Hendricks and Woodley.

9: Knockdowns landed in Ultimate Fighting Championship competition, according to FightMetric. That number ties Lawler with Woodley, Matt Brown and Stephen Thompson for third on the UFC’s all-time list for welterweights. Only Thiago Alves (13) and Jake Ellenberger (11) have more.

11: Organizations in which Lawler has competed as a professional mixed martial artist. They are the UFC, Strikeforce, EliteXC, Icon Sport, the International Fight League, Pride Fighting Championships, King of the Cage, SuperBrawl, Shogun, Extreme Challenge and the International Fighting Championship.

12: First-round finishes on his resume. Lawler’s list of quick-strike victims includes Josh Koscheck, Matt Lindland, Melvin Manhoef and Joey Villasenor.

20: Victories by knockout or technical knockout. They account for 71 percent of Lawler’s career win total.

35: Years of age. When Lawler was born in San Diego on March 20, 1982, the top five movies at the domestic box office were “Porky’s,” “Richard Pryor: Live on the Sunset Strip,” “On Golden Pond,” “Deathtrap” and “Missing.”

276: Wins between the 11 men who have beaten Lawler. They are Woodley (18), Hendricks (18), Diaz (26), Lorenz Larkin (18), Tim Kennedy (18), Ronaldo Souza (24), Renato Sobral (37), Jake Shields (32), Jason Miller (28), Evan Tanner (32) and Pete Spratt (25).