Paid Members lambyUK Posted June 2, 2016 Paid Members Share Posted June 2, 2016 Say if as David says it is a major close loss for Lawler (and Thompson wins spectacularly), I wouldn't be opposed to seeing Thompson get the shot and Lawler getting the winner, even without fighting again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guy Bifkin Posted June 2, 2016 Share Posted June 2, 2016 I've got a horrible feeling Woodley is beating Lawler. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keith Houchen Posted June 3, 2016 Share Posted June 3, 2016 Â Â It's a competitive world David. Everything counts in large amounts. Â Â Competitive or not, the point stands that UFC contracts are incredibly one-sided. Hopefully we see Bellator gain some more ground on them as far as fighter pay and talent goes, if not in TV numbers. Something needs to change in that regard. Â Fuck, there's even fighters who are informed of their release on Twitter and through the media. That's shambolic. Â Agreed. The grabbing hands, will grab all they can. Actual belly laugh at this! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimufctna24 Posted June 3, 2016 Share Posted June 3, 2016 I've got a horrible feeling Woodley is beating Lawler. Me too,  It would be a crying shame. Inside the cage, Lawler is the most entertaining UFC Champion there has been in years. Perhaps ever. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Chunk Posted June 3, 2016 Paid Members Share Posted June 3, 2016  I've got a horrible feeling Woodley is beating Lawler. Me too,  It would be a crying shame. Inside the cage, Lawler is the most entertaining UFC Champion there has been in years. Perhaps ever.   No chance. I just think Lawler is on another level, especially over 5 round. Who has Woodley beaten that's close to Lawler?  I also say bullshit to the immediate rematch if Lawler does lose. He's only defended his title twice since winning it. It feels like he's been on top forever, but I don't think he has for long enough to warrant an immediate rematch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members Carbomb Posted June 3, 2016 Paid Members Share Posted June 3, 2016 Also, much as I like Lawler, he hasn't been as dominant a champion as all that. He beat Condit and Hendricks in split decisions, and Rory almost took him the distance in a very competitive match. Â But then, maybe that's what Lawler's supposed to be - not an near-untouchable, long-reigning champion, an elite-of-elites amongst mere elites, like Jones, Aldo or Silva, but a fighting champion who's in a shark tank of guys just like him, and he's got to fight tooth-and-nail to keep the crown. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members lambyUK Posted June 3, 2016 Paid Members Share Posted June 3, 2016 What's so frustrating watching Lawler currently is why does he wait so long to go into beast mode? Maybe it's a case of him only being able to channel the killer instinct when he's near death? But against Condit, Hendricks and Mcdonald he's waited till his face was smashed up before going into kill mode. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members ColinBollocks Posted June 3, 2016 Paid Members Share Posted June 3, 2016 Lawler is my favourite fighter and that, but eventually his crazy fighting style is going to catch up with him. It's not like GSP or a Silva, where they take calculated risks. Near the end, Lawler is usually behind and has to go full on Ted Bundy and it works out, but you fancy someone will get past that final barrage of crazy hard work. Â It's what makes Lawler the most exciting champion in MMA, so I wouldn't have it any other way. Part of the thrill is seeing him make the pro wrestling-like Hulk up comeback. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members wandshogun09 Posted June 3, 2016 Author Paid Members Share Posted June 3, 2016 Yeah, as great as Lawler is to watch, I dread to think of the damage he's doing to himself long term with all these crazy fights. I mean, look at a boxer like James Toney. Toney was known in his prime for his great defence and technique. He wasn't typically in wars because he'd basically mastered the art of hitting and not being hit. Yet he's a mush mouthed mess these days. Then you look at Robbie Lawler, who's been in gruelling battle after gruelling battle and taken a fuckload of damage and head trauma just over his last five fights, let alone the rest of his long career. It's a scary thought because it will catch up to him eventually. It's not a question of if but when. Â It's one of the things I've always been torn on with combat sports. I've always, always loved watching fights. My earliest childhood memories all revolve around it. From watching wrestling to playing with action figures to watching Enter The Dragon, Bloodsport and the Rocky films on a loop for years, then getting into boxing in the Benn/Eubank era...I've been watching people kick other peoples' arses in some form or another pretty much my entire life. But there's always that thing in the back of my head when I watch a particularly brutal fight like Shogun vs Hendo 1, Hunt vs Bigfoot 1, Lawler vs MacDonald 2, Ali vs Frazier 3, Gatti vs Ward 1, Aerts vs LeBanner etc where as much of an adrenaline rush experience as it is watching those fights, you just know it's doing irreversible damage to some degree. Â Combat sports will always be a weird guilty pleasure in that way. Everyone loves a knockout. Let's face it, as incredible as a really slick submission is to watch, when you watch a fight you naturally want to see a knockout. I think we're all at the point now where you kind of become desensitised to knockouts because we've seen so many. For me now it's those proper brutal wars (like the ones mentioned above) that usually have me watching through my fingers and alternating between 'Fucking hell this is awesome' and 'Jesus, stop the fight'. Â And while people rightly bring up Lawler's battles with Rory, Condit and Hendricks...the fact is it goes way further back than that. He's been doing it for fucking years on end. From the Chris Lytle fight all the way back in 2003, to Nick Diaz fight, to the two wild brawls with Scott Smith in EliteXC, to the Melvin Manhoef fight in Strikeforce. The man's a lunatic. There might be no-one in MMA history who's been more consistently exciting fight in-fight out while I've been an MMA fan. He's up there with, or maybe he's surpassed, the likes of Mark Hunt, Shogun, Wanderlei Silva and Big Nog now in the all-time most entertaining fighter in MMA leagues. But on the one hand you applaud him for it, on the other you fear he's going to be a cabbage when it's all said and done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guy Bifkin Posted June 3, 2016 Share Posted June 3, 2016 Lawler is UFC's Mr PPV for me. I will be furious if he loses to Woodley. Â In terms of long term brain damage, one thing that might go in Lawler's favour is the ridiculous size of his head. It's fucking massive. He doesn't seem the brightest so one can only assume there is a shit tonne of skull protecting a tiny brain. Â Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimufctna24 Posted June 3, 2016 Share Posted June 3, 2016    No chance. I just think Lawler is on another level, especially over 5 round. Who has Woodley beaten that's close to Lawler?   While Condit sustained a leg injury, Woodley was doing pretty well up until then. On paper, Lawler should win. He's beaten a prime Hendricks, who was probably better in every department than Woodley.  However, I just have a bad feeling that time is going to catch up with Lawler. Perhaps Woodley will play spoiler for 5 rounds, and grind out Lawler on points. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members wandshogun09 Posted June 3, 2016 Author Paid Members Share Posted June 3, 2016 He's got a head like a fucking bowling ball, hasn't he? Â As for Lawler vs Woodley, I'd favour Lawler but you never know. Woodley's dangerous as fuck. I think given Lawler's habit of starting slow, and Woodley being so explosive, chances are we see Woodley start strong. If Lawler can weather the initial storm, he'll probably have to fight a points defecit again, but I reckon he'll outlast Woodley and I fancy him to stop him in the championship rounds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paid Members BigJag Posted June 18, 2016 Paid Members Share Posted June 18, 2016 This is tonight right? Is it on BT Sport? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philjax Posted June 18, 2016 Share Posted June 18, 2016 Gotta be Thompson for me. I'm a big proponent of once you take a beating like Lawler gave Rory you don't recover, much like Jessica Penne, who is finished in my books. Â As soon as I saw Tamdan McCrory's name on the sheet I thought win aswell so I might be up for cheeky double here..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimufctna24 Posted June 19, 2016 Share Posted June 19, 2016 Just woke up to find out that Thompson won. Â I'm happy with that. Edges us closer to Lawler vs Thompson. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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