Paid Members wandshogun09 Posted December 27, 2015 Author Paid Members Share Posted December 27, 2015 Nah I think the long Embedded specials will be reserved for the really big fights only. Like Primetime used to be. So far they've only done them for Rousey vs Holm and Aldo vs McGregor. Shows like this will just get the usual Countdown, I'm guessing. The Countdown to 195 is on BT Sport this week. Â We'll still get the usual short Embedded video blog thingy's on YouTube for this though. Â I wish they'd call the long Embeddeds something else. Â Edit - shamelessly stealing HarmonicGenerator's idea with the WWF/E PPVs, I'm going to try to watch a Robbie Lawler fight a day leading into next Saturday's PPV. I'll post my findings in here. Â I'm also going to post a 'Robbie Lawler gif of the day'. Just because there's been so many great moments in Lawler fights over the years. Â So here's today's Lawler gif of the day... Â Â From the first Hendricks fight at UFC 171 back in March 2014. Yes that is Robbie Lawler laughing as Johny Hendricks throws punches at him. It might well be the happiest I've ever seen Lawler look. Imagine what Hendricks was thinking? It's got to be disheartening, right? I don't care who you are, being locked in a cage and having Robbie Lawler maniacally giggling away at your attempts to hurt him must be a scary as fuck position to be in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seanz25 Posted December 27, 2015 Share Posted December 27, 2015 Don't care what anyone says, Lawlers great fun to watch. If he was rising through the ranks now and you could stick him on the Connor McGregor cards and bring him to a huge differing audience, I'm sure he'd be worth even more money than he currently is! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members BigJag Posted December 27, 2015 Paid Members Share Posted December 27, 2015 Nah I think the long Embedded specials will be reserved for the really big fights only. Like Primetime used to be. So far they've only done them for Rousey vs Holm and Aldo vs McGregor. Shows like this will just get the usual Countdown, I'm guessing. The Countdown to 195 is on BT Sport this week. Â We'll still get the usual short Embedded video blog thingy's on YouTube for this though. Â Of course.There is still a week to go. The short Embedded videos will be appearing soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Egg Shen Posted December 27, 2015 Paid Members Share Posted December 27, 2015 i don't think Robbie Lawler has ever been a fighter who's been seen as having legendary status, but he's rightfully should. What a career he's had. When he came back into the UFC i don't think anyone saw him as being anything other than a middle of the pack kind of fighter who'd pick up the odd PPV slot due to his name value (he was 1-3 in his last 4 Strikeforce fights), but fuck me, what a turnaround, Lawler could easily have turned into an unmotivated journeyman at that point. He's in the form of his career after 30 fight, many at top level, it shouldn't really work that way in MMA. It's crazier to think that Lawler was a middleweight for 8 years. Not many fighters drop weight and have success late into their career. The guy's ripping up the rulebook. Â As for highlights, he may have the best in the histoy of MMA. The KO's of Lindland, Koscheck, Trigg, Manheof, Villasenor, Voelker etc. Â Then pick out legendary fights he's had, win or lose he's been in some of the best fights in the history of the sport. Present day going right back to his war with Aaron Riley at UFC 37. It's insane. Â What a fucking guy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members wandshogun09 Posted December 27, 2015 Author Paid Members Share Posted December 27, 2015 Don't care what anyone says, Lawlers great fun to watch. Who's saying otherwise? Point them out, I'll bite their fucking ankles. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marshmallo Posted December 27, 2015 Share Posted December 27, 2015 I wonder how a 30 fight veteran who trains with Hector Lombard could possibly become a significantly better fighter seemingly at random.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimufctna24 Posted December 27, 2015 Share Posted December 27, 2015 Despite loving his fight with Manhoef in Strikeforce, and enjoying some of his earlier UFC performances, I was always quite lukewarm towards Lawler. However, I have warmed to him in recent times. Partially due to my dislike of Hendricks, but mostly because he has made the Welterweight division exciting again. I love GSP, he is the best MMA fighter ever in my opinion, but his fights were often uneventful. You could be in awe of GSP's ability and how used it, but he was rarely involved in wars, especially post-2007.  Lawler's last 3 fights have all been barnburners. Yes, the Hendricks rematch was not quite as good as the their first fight, but the last round of it was engrossing with Lawler finishing strong. His fight with Rory was probably the best Welterweight fight I have ever seen (beating out Penn vs GSP 1, and Hughes vs Trigg 2).  Given how Condit fights, I can't see Lawler vs Condit being an exception. It might not be a classic like Lawler's last fight, but it should be well worth watching. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members wandshogun09 Posted December 27, 2015 Author Paid Members Share Posted December 27, 2015 I wonder how a 30 fight veteran who trains with Hector Lombard could possibly become a significantly better fighter seemingly at random.... Here we go. So now he's guilty by association? Cole Miller trains with Dirty Hector as well. Why is he still just a balding beanpole journeyman? If we're doing the guilt by association thing then we might as well point the finger at Nate Diaz. Trains with Jake Shields who has cheated before. And Nate looked more ripped against Michael Johnson. What about Mighty Mouse? He trains with Matt Hume at AMC. Josh Barnett trains there. Hmmmmm. Â I know MMA has been riddled with PED controversy the last couple of years but I'm so tired of this 'let's accuse every fighter who's having success of cheating' thing that's going on now. It always kind of went on but lately it's getting fucking ridiculous. People looking for physical differences that aren't there like with the Jose Aldo thing recently. I don't care what anyone says, I didn't see what Rogan saw there with the 'he looks smoother' shit. Then the silly side-by-side pictures of Dos Anjos, clearly at completely different stages of his training camps. This recent bumming of the word 'deflated' as well. That's got to have been the most overused word in MMA the last month or so. I think it started when Rockhold said Weidman had built his name off beating 'deflated' Brazilians. Next thing you know, everyone's throwing that word around. Â Robbie Lawler has looked pretty much the same physique-wise his entire career. And it's been a long career. There's never been a hint of any issue with his drug tests ever. Like I always say about any fighter these days, if he were to piss dirty after his next fight, it wouldn't shock me. I always leave myself that little loophole. In MMA you can't fully trust that anyone is clean. I made peace with that the day Royce fucking Gracie got popped years back. But can we at least wait until a guy/girl does the crime first? Jesus. Â Not even necessarily aimed at you, Mr Marshmallo. It's just something that's been bugging me lately. Every show now it seems like someone on the card has to get tarred with the steroid brush, evidence or not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimufctna24 Posted December 27, 2015 Share Posted December 27, 2015 In regards to Lawler's improvement: It was said for years that he had the talent, but didn't put it altogether. Â People say he didn't used to spar. Perhaps he has started doing so, and improved his game in the process. Also, he moved between 170lbs and 185lbs a few times trying to find his niche. Perhaps he has finally found the formula that brings out the best in him (I.E - Camp/Diet). Â Really who knows? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members wandshogun09 Posted December 27, 2015 Author Paid Members Share Posted December 27, 2015 The sparring thing is supposed to be true. Mike Ciesnolevicz, who briefly fought in the UFC around 2009ish, confirmed that when he trained with Lawler at Miletich Fighting Systems he saw Lawler almost every day for a few years and only saw him spar a couple of times. That's crazy. Â I think his recent success is a combination of things. Â - Joining ATT seemed to refresh his training and gave him a bunch of beasts like Lombard, Woodley, Alves etc to train with. Â - I'm guessing he's started sparring more since joining ATT. Â - Dropping back to 170 after years at 185 seemed to light a fire under him again. Obviously he has to train harder to get down to 170. Which probably means a longer training camp, it definitely means smarter and healthier dieting. Â - And maybe just returning to the UFC gave him added motivation as well. He's in his 30s at that point. He's coming off a loss to Lorenz Larkin in Strikeforce and at a crossroads where he's either going down as a journeyman or he's going to make something happen. Â All that happened at pretty much the same time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Egg Shen Posted December 27, 2015 Paid Members Share Posted December 27, 2015 Didn't Lawler say that he doesn't spar now? wasn't the Miletich camp infamous for it's insane gym wars? They always says that if you wern't tough you wouldn't last long there. I think Lawler attribute his longevity to not sparring in recent years. Pretty sure he addressed it on the joint podcast he did on The Fighter & The Kid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimufctna24 Posted December 27, 2015 Share Posted December 27, 2015 Until now, it's never crossed my mind that Lawler's resurgence could be a result of PED use. I am not ruling it out. While I doubt it would be the only reason, as he has seemingly changed a lot in his approach, it could have heavily influence his recent success. I tend to think he is innocent, but in combat sport you can never really tell.  These days, I am hesitant to accuse anyone of PED use, or even theorise about the possibility unless prompted. The recent accusations have been built on flawed logic. The comparison pictures being a perfect example of this. It turns discussions into a witch hunt based on false indications. Given how fickle some MMA fans are, it's a dangerous procedure, as fighter's reputations can be ruined by such accusations. Twitter becomes rife with photos and rumours quite quickly these days.  About the word "deflated". I have used that word a few times recently, but not in regards to PED accusations. I have used it to describe fighters at weigh-ins. I wasn't aware that it has been used to accuse fighters of juicing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Egg Shen Posted December 27, 2015 Paid Members Share Posted December 27, 2015 How about Robbie Lawler's resurgence being down to the simple fact that he's now a father? If there's ever reason to re-motivate someone it's that. How about Robbie Lawler's resurgence being down to the simple fact that he's now a father? If there's ever reason to re-motivate someone it's that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members wandshogun09 Posted December 27, 2015 Author Paid Members Share Posted December 27, 2015 Didn't Lawler say that he doesn't spar now? wasn't the Miletich camp infamous for it's insane gym wars? They always says that if you wern't tough you wouldn't last long there. I think Lawler attribute his longevity to not sparring in recent years. Pretty sure he addressed it on the joint podcast he did on The Fighter & The Kid. That's weird. It was definitely the other way around that I heard. Rogan was saying he'd heard Lawler never used to spar and Ciesnolevicz confirmed it was true that Lawler barely ever sparred at Miletich. I'll have to watch that podcast, it's the one where both Lawler and Condit are on there together, right? Â How about Robbie Lawler's resurgence being down to the simple fact that he's now a father? If there's ever reason to re-motivate someone it's that. Add it to the list. Basically, there's plenty of logical reasons for why Lawler might've peaked in form when he has. A combination of renewed motivation (becoming a dad, getting another shot in the UFC), smart career choices (dropping back to 170) and freshening up his training (moving to ATT). It's like the perfect storm at the right time. Â PEDs could always be a factor. But I just find it uneasy the way people throw casual accusations around. With Lawler it's based on literally nothing. Just because he's fighting better he must be dirty? Nah. Innocent until proven otherwise for me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimufctna24 Posted December 27, 2015 Share Posted December 27, 2015 How about Robbie Lawler's resurgence being down to the simple fact that he's now a father? If there's ever reason to re-motivate someone it's that? Funnily enough, that has been used as a reason to excuse poor performances in other sports.  I am airing towards "who knows" in this debate, with a slight preference towards a change in approach/scenery Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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