Robbie Lawler officially joined the UFC Hall of Fame in July, featuring one of the most renowned resumes in the sport’s history filled with brutal knockouts, championship wins and the best fights ever.
In 2014, Lawler competed in a first-choice contestant matchup with Matt Brown in the five-round main event at Fox, with the winner moving on to a fight against welterweight champion Johnny Hendrix. It was a carryover war, but Roller ultimately came to the top with a unanimous decision victory, but despite the lack of results, Brown is actually thinking about his favorite fight for the entire career.
“He was definitely my favorite fight I had,” Brown said of Roller. Fighter vs. Writer. “I think the Battle of Eric Silva is what most people talk about as my most exciting battle, but for me, Robbie Roller was my favorite battle. That’s Robbie Roller and you can go there and have a great fight with him, I’ve learned more from that battle than I have from the other battles of my life.
“We did a media tour, where we liked two or three days, we had lunch together, and we did all these different interviews sitting next to each other, and he was the coolest guy. He was just relaxed and comfortable. After the fight, we were cool. We talked, I looked at him a few times and we talked about things. Just a ridiculous person.”
It’s not often that fighters point to victory and defeat as their favorite moments, but Brown praised Roller after spending 25 minutes together in the cage.
He may not have raised his hand that night, but Brown knows he left the better fighter.
“Again, I’m one of the most intelligent and strategic fighters I’ve talked about this before. When you think about Robbie Roller, you don’t think about it,” Brown said. “When I went to that fight, I thought he was just going to fight. He’d be unexpected, but he actually carried me in many ways, so I wasn’t expecting it.
“You said it perfectly, he’s a very deserved Hall of Fame. He’s been in the sport since 2004. I started training in 2004 and I was already there. He’s just a great guy, and a great fighter will support him.”
Another aspect of Brown’s singled fight was that Roller separated from many of his past opponents, and he actually throws the former UFC welterweight champion into a category reserved for a very small number of MMAs.
“One of the big things I learned in that battle was what a warrior was,” Brown explained. “We are all fighters. We can fight for things, but warriors maintain their strategy, stay intellectually and shaking throughout the fight, and continue their strategy under pressure while under pressure.
“I learned the difference between fighters and warriors. It’s the night. Robbie is a true warrior in every sense. He can’t give Robbie Roller enough props. He is a pioneer in the sport and, as long as I can remember, he is at the top of the sport.”
The retired veteran has placed Roller in another category for his long list of admiration, as he is tied up second in the same category across the UFC roster due to all the browns achieved in his career, including the record of the most knockouts (13) in UFC welterweight history.
While debuting in 2001 and fighting all the way through 2023, Brown couldn’t imagine a better candidate to be recognized in the UFC Hall of Fame.
“People always call me legendary. I’m like, ‘That’s bullshit.’ Robbie Lawler is a legendary legend,” Brown said. “We all have to love him. We are by no means a big trash speaker. We’ve been faithful to ourselves forever. He’s one of those people who forgot he was there until he was there, and you’re yeah, f*cking robbie. Just a savage guy.
“I’m sure he’s got thousands of athletes over the years. He was the first to inspire me. He was one of my favourites at first. I was honored to share the cage with him and share so much of the love and respect for the Robbie. I hope that’s the best for him in the future.”