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Robbie Lawler made his last walk to the octagon tonight, taking on Niko Price in the featured prelims bout at UFC 290. 'Ruthless' took his time on his way to the octagon as the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas erupted with thunderous applause.
While he is known as one of the most violent fighters around, Lawler went in as a substantial underdog, having not beaten anyone barring Nick Diaz since 2017. In a fairytale-ending retirement storyline, 'Ruthless' starched Price with a vicious combo in just over 30 seconds to pull off a massive upset.
Lawler kneeled on one knee after his victory, hand on his head, soaking the final seconds of a stellar career. The 41-year-old, whose UFC 189 clash with Rory MacDonald was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame this year, walks away with a 30-16-0 (1 NC) record.
UFC fans and fighters unanimously paid tribute to Robbie Lawler's legendary career, also crediting the promotion for a brilliant send-off. TSN's Aaron Bronsteter wrote:
"That was the most Robbie Lawler way to end his career. Violence, sportsmanship and a stoic interview to cap it off."
Luke Thomas of CBS Sports wrote:
"UFC has gotten a lot of fair criticism it didn't say goodbye to legends well. Anderson Silva's retirement comes to mind. But this went really, really well. Lawler did his job, sure, but so did UFC. That was awesome."
Check out more comments below:
Robbie Lawler discusses post-retirement plans
With a career spanning over two decades, most of which was in the UFC, Robbie Lawler admittedly didn't dread retirement going into his last professional fight against Niko Price. 'Ruthless' now rather looks forward to sharing his knowledge with coming breeds of fighters after his retirement from the sport.
Asked about his post-retirement plans, Lawler said in a recent interview with ESPN:
"Now, it’s like oh shoot, I’m not doing that anymore. It’s just the unknown that can be scary, but it’s a blessing. I’ve done this for so long, and because of the things I’ve accomplished, I’m going to be able to make an impact on these different fighters. They’re going to be like ‘Oh, he’s been there, he’s done that, I should probably listen to this’."
Catch Lawler's comments below:
