What’s the story?
The former Welterweight champion, Robbie Lawler has parted ways with his gym since 2012, American Top Team, after coming up as a fighter at the legendary Miletich Fighting Systems in Bettendorf, Iowa.
ENT Imports was the first to report Lawler's exit, following which sources close to ATT confirmed with MMAFighting’s Ariel Helwani that Lawler has departed from the ATT setup.
In case you didn’t know...
Robbie Lawler has not returned to the Octagon since August of 2016, as he suffered a devasting first round Championship loss to Tyron Woodley at UFC 201. Although “Ruthless” was set to fight “Cowboy” Donald Cerrone at UFC 205, he withdrew from the fight claiming he hadn’t fully recovered from his loss to former training partner Tyron Woodley.
Lawler has been the most prolific fighter to fight out of ATT, as he became the first fighter from the gym to become a world champion.
Heart of the matter
Over the course of his long career, Lawler had never switched gyms before he made his decision to depart from Miletich Fighting Systems in Bettendorf, Iowa to South Florida in 2012 to join ATT.
However, with multiple sources confirming Lawler’s departure, the former Champion begins his hunt for a new gym and possibly a new home, since he arrived in Florida five years ago to be closer to the ATT gym.
What’s next?
It is unclear whether the former Champion will remain in Florida or move to another facility in another state, as neither Lawler nor his representatives have made themselves available to the press to take questions.
With Thompson set to take on Woodley in a rematch of UFC 205's co-main event, Lawler will need to settle the whereabouts of his training gym before he steps back into the cage and chooses his next opponent.
Sportskeeda’s take
Lawler’s decision to leave ATT comes as a bit of a shock, although many in the world of MMA believe “Ruthless” will be back to reclaim the Welterweight belt he once held, before falling to a lethal Tyron Woodley.
As Demain Maia is out screaming for his shot at the champion, the loser of the Thompson-Woodley rematch, could be Lawler's next opponent, considering the fact that the former champion needs to find a new gym to train in.
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