MMA News Forums » MMA Forums » General MMA Forum

[Cat--Smasher]

White praises Robbie Lawler and 'hungry' Strikeforce crew after UFC 157 | News

"The people were booing at the beginning of that fight," White said. "None of us like the up-against-the-fence bulls---. But those dudes were working. If you know wrestling and you know this sport, that was a war. That was a wrestling war between those two. That was fun. I liked that fight, and I liked that fight going into this fight."

Of particular note to the UFC president was how much better Lawler looked as a welterweight. The longtime middleweight made his return to 170 pounds, and after the fight said he felt better than ever.

White seemed to agree.

"He looks good at 170 pounds – way better than he did at 185," White said. "He looked slow and lethargic and out of shape. He looked like he didn't give a s--- at 185. He looked like the old Robbie Lawler at 170 pounds."

The old Robbie Lawler is regarded as one of the most feared strikers in MMA, and the new one at welterweight will be, too.

What Lawler did was not easy. Koscheck's never had a losing streak, but he does now thanks to Lawler's big right hands with him up against the fence. Though arguments could be made that the fight was stopped just a little too soon – and they were made right away on social media – White said he believes Koscheck was out and the stoppage was a good one.

It was a key win for Lawler, not just as a statement in his return to the UFC, but to keep him from a really rough stretch that would've meant four losses in five fights, otherwise.

That may be part of an overall sense of Strikeforce urgency that White continues to see happening since the UFC absorbed most of the fighters after that promotion closed its doors this past month.

Joining Lawler as former Strikeforce fighters in the win column at UFC 157 was Nah-Shon Burrell (9-2 MMA, 1-0 UFC), who picked up a win over Yuri Villefort (6-2 MMA, 0-1 UFC) – yes, another Strikeforce guy.

"Strikeforce had hungry fighters," White said. "These f---ing guys are hungry. Most of them haven't fought in a year. They didn't know what was going on with their career. Couldn't pay their bills. All this s---. Now they're in here and they know what it was like to be (over there). They're hungry, man. I love it.

"The Strikeforce kids, they're going to raise the bar on all these other guys."

[goodtimes]

I was surprised with how good Lawler's wrestling was, but that just goes to show how important size is. I wonder if they cut Koscheck after this, his skid wasn't quite as bad as Fitch's but he's no where near the top anymore and he's getting older.

[IceCold48]

Originally Posted by goodtimes

I was surprised with how good Lawler's wrestling was, but that just goes to show how important size is. I wonder if they cut Koscheck after this, his skid wasn't quite as bad as Fitch's but he's no where near the top anymore and he's getting older.

dont forget he was definetly losing before the knockout though.

[goodtimes]

Originally Posted by IceCold48

dont forget he was definetly losing before the knockout though.

He was losing, but only because he was on the defensive. Kos wasn't really able to put any offense together. And anyways its a moot point, since Lawler stopped it within seconds of getting a dominant position.

[Repenter]

i didn't think he'd be able to take that fight, but his defensive wrestling was fantastic. the stoppage was a little early, but i lawler would have been able to keep the blows coming down.

so is koscheck fired now under dana logic?

[lwbrewer]

I didn't think Robbie could pull it off unless Kos came to strike, and Kos came with his A game wrestling. Matched properly Robbie can put on some exciting matches, but Joe Silva can pick his future.

[Fe1]

I was pleasantly surprised. I was really expecting KOS to lay and pray to a decision. It was awesome to see Lawler to have a successful return to the octagon.

[Fedorlei Gomipierre]

Lawler/Alves!
Lawler/Alves!
Lawler/Alves!
Lawler/Alves!
Lawler/Alves!
Lawler/Alves!
Lawler/Alves!
Lawler/Alves!

[rob_bills]

Originally Posted by Fedorlei Gomipierre

Lawler/Alves!
Lawler/Alves!
Lawler/Alves!
Lawler/Alves!
Lawler/Alves!
Lawler/Alves!
Lawler/Alves!
Lawler/Alves!

I thought the same, or Kampann

[beau420]

Originally Posted by Repenter

i didn't think he'd be able to take that fight, but his defensive wrestling was fantastic. the stoppage was a little early, but i lawler would have been able to keep the blows coming down.

so is koscheck fired now under dana logic?

I can only hope.

Not just because of the type of fighter or the way that Koscheck acts, but Koscheck most likely made $73,000 in his lose last night.

Koscheck hasn't been the same since the GSP fight. He has been rocked in each fight since then.

Going into this fight, I thought that this matchup looked like a gift fight for Kos...like his fight with Matt Hughes (who rocked and cut Kos with a jab) I saw Kos fighting a fighter who was outside the top 25, and in Lawler's case, a fighter who has had great trouble with wrestlers and grapplers in general.

It will be interesting to see who Lawler gets matched up against next and more interesting to see how the fight goes for him, because we didn't get to see anything new or improved out of him.

Not sure if I see the fight as more of a lose to Kos and his ever weakening chin, or a win for Lawler who does what Lawler always does, try and separate and throw. Lawler did show great improvement in the Adlan Amagov fight, but in his other recent performances, he hasn't shown me much change at all.

Either way....good fight...kinda early on the stoppage, but Lawler was in position and had his weight on Kos and was only going to keep reigning blows on Kos....not nice to say, but I wish that Herb would have let Kos get punched another 5 times.