Rafael Dos Anjos Picks Apart Robbie Lawler To Set Himself Up For A UFC Welterweight Title Shot

https://streamable.com/6e3us

The upper half of the UFC welterweight division is up in the air. Champion Tyron Woodley is out indefinitely after having shoulder surgery, Georges St-Pierre has vacated his middleweight title and may be considering a move back down to 170 if he doesn’t retire, and now we have former welterweight champ Robbie Lawler fighting former lightweight champ Rafael dos Anjos in a matchup that could determine a number one contender. It’s also a fight that pretty much-guaranteed fireworks, and delivered.

Rafael dos Anjos and Robbie Lawler showed a lot of respect to each other in the opening minutes as RDA chipped away at Lawler’s leg as Robbie moved forward in a stalking fashion. As is customary, Lawler took quite a bit of damage as he eventually found his range, and midway through the second round, we saw 23 straight seconds of RDA pounding on Lawler who was able to block the majority of the impressive flurry then SMILED after it was all finished.

https://twitter.com/ufc/status/942227533755424769
Round 3 saw RDA working Lawler’s leg more and going for multiple takedowns before he dropped Lawler with a short inside elbow. As round 3 ended, The Bob was getting crushed by RDA from the top. Round 4 is more of the same as Lawler’s leg seems like it may buckle at any moment. The way RDA is piecing up a guy like Lawler makes Tony Ferguson even more impressive after Ferg beat up RDA last year. Clinches continue to wear down Robbie Lawler as RDA hits him with jabs, elbows, kicks and hooks to the body. A flying knee and elbow bounce off Robbie’s skull as the bell sounds to end round 4.

The opening of round 5 sees Lawler stumble once again. He’s clearly fighting on one leg, but in true Lawler fashion, still moves forward and swings heavy. Another takedown brings the action to a halt. The clock runs out, and RDA is 3-0 in the welterweight division, looking at a title shot.