Strikeforce Miami Fight by Fight Coverage: Robbie Lawler Pulls a Victory From the Jaws of Defeat
by Michael Rome on Jan 30, 2010 11:06 PM EST
in MMA News
Email
Print
For a few minutes, it looked like defeat was inevitable for Robbie Lawler. Melvin Manhoef was killing him with leg kicks, body shots, and combinations. Lawler was offering nothing in return; he just kept backing up and covering up.
Eventually, Manhoef got too confident and started unloading big shots. As he swung, he left his left hand well below his waist, and Robbie Lawler took advantage, crumbling Manhoef with an overhand right. It was all over after that right hand, but Lawler followed up with a left on Manhoef's way down that put the lights out.
This was a huge win for Lawler, who just wrote his ticket back into the UFC. After the fight Quadros asked him about Jake Shields, but Lawler was cagey with his response. I believe he wants to go into the UFC, and if that's the case, he just got the KO that will open the door.
58 comments
|
0 recs |
Do you like this story?
Comments
hopefully 0
he earned his way back into the Octagon!
Fan of Tiger 'Makin It Rain' Woods
by B-A-N-A-N-A-S on Jan 30, 2010 11:32 PM EST up reply actions
If by "Getting his ass handed to him"
you mean he knocked Manhoef the fuck out, then yeah, he got his ass handed to him.
Sure, Melvin was layin down a beating on Robbie, but at the end of the day it was Lawler standing with his hand raised, and Manhoef lying on the canvas unconscious. It’s nobody’s fault but Melvin for having poor defense and not respecting Rob’s power.
Supporting all Las Vegas MMA. Xtreme Couture FTMFW.
'09 is the year of the FW's.
by ElliotMatheny on Jan 31, 2010 3:10 PM EST up reply actions
No, by “getting his ass handed to him” I meant he was getting beat in every way and was on his way to not even being able to stand and failed to check a single kick. Not hating on the guy, just stating the obvious… I think Manhoef should have been more Manhoefesque when he had Lawler against the cage. I think he exhibited perhaps too much patience.
I agree
that Manhoef was demolishing him prior to the knockout blow. But honestly, we all knew that- Melvin pretty much does everything Rob does, better- except for defend.
I think it’s telling that the second Manhoef actually did get “Manhoefesque,” and just started to try and unload- he got KTFO. The patient gameplan was working for him, he just got too wild and got dunked because of it. Manhoef has never had a sterling chin, and the only way he’ll ever be at the top in MMA or kickboxing is if he improves his defense and protects that jaw of his.
Props to Robbie for staying tough and being there to take advantage of Melvin’s openings- Success is when opportunity meets preparation.
Supporting all Las Vegas MMA. Xtreme Couture FTMFW.
'09 is the year of the FW's.
by ElliotMatheny on Jan 31, 2010 4:08 PM EST up reply actions
hmmm maybe he gets back to the UFC with this… but i was not impressed.
www.tapology.com | twitter @tapology
Nah man
Supporting all Las Vegas MMA. Xtreme Couture FTMFW.
'09 is the year of the FW's.
by ElliotMatheny on Jan 31, 2010 4:11 PM EST up reply actions
I love it
When all the BE “experts” today basically say “If Lawler stands Melvin is gonna KO him”. And all pick Manhoef by KO.
At least Lawler got the last laugh and had something that none of them give him credit for. Its the little ingredient called battle “heart”!
Lawler clearly didn’t belong in the same cage as Melvin in terms of stand-up. He landed a huge shot and should get credit but the BE expert analysis wasn’t off.
Giving Shogun his props. I had the fight 48-47 Machida but Shogun put up a monumental performance and I am honored to have seen it in person.
Yeah...
he got battered standing. He landed a shocker of a punch. If they fought again in a month I’d predict exactly what I predicted today. Just like were Cung Le and Scott Smith to fight tomorrow I’d pick Le to win the stand-up.
Editor - BloodyElbow.com - SBNation's mixed martial arts headquarters.
MMA Editor - SBNation.com
by Brent Brookhouse on Jan 31, 2010 12:57 AM EST up reply actions
Luck has nothing to do with it
When you open up offensively you leave yourself open for a counter. It happens all the time. But the fighter has to have the determination and heart to hang in there.
And my bank account says YEAH!
No one mentioned luck. He landed a great shot and he deserved the win but if they fought again would you honestly bet on Lawler? Glad you won some cash though.
Giving Shogun his props. I had the fight 48-47 Machida but Shogun put up a monumental performance and I am honored to have seen it in person.
Yeah, Robbie got lucky
And so did Fedor vs Arlovski
Evens vs Liddel
Lesnar vs Couture
And my bet was lucky also
Except for the fact that Lawler has knocked out many people with one punch. And I made over 12K betting on underdogs just last year. In your Myopia thats luck. In my world its experience.
by SimplePsych on Jan 31, 2010 12:42 PM EST up reply actions
he got battered standing.
This was his strategy in the Ninja fight too. Cover-up and let him wear himself out while learning his timing. Then clock away.
The leg kicks were brutal though.
Not to mention...
Lawler was looking at the ground when he threw that punch. LOL @ him saying he was timing Manhoef.
by William Wilson on Jan 31, 2010 12:57 AM EST up reply actions
Yeah, people pretending Lawler was actually looking at Melvin when he threw that punch is getting old real quick.
That was some hail-mary, full-court, desperation shit. Melvin deserves the blame for leaving himself open to such a wild shot. But let’s just all stop pretending that it was part of some master plan. Lawler was thoroughly outclassed until that punch.
I specializes in grammar fail.
by a tommy point on Jan 31, 2010 3:28 AM EST up reply actions
Exactly
I read some guy on a forum who said Lawler “clearly” had his eyes on Melvin and threw the punch perfectly because he knew exactly when to throw it. Uh, sure.
by William Wilson on Jan 31, 2010 11:33 AM EST up reply actions
He definitely did time that counter
It’s just that some guys have little technical flaws like that (looking at the ground). Page had his eyes completely shut when he dunked Wand with the counter left hook, are you gonna say that Page didn’t time it?
Supporting all Las Vegas MMA. Xtreme Couture FTMFW.
'09 is the year of the FW's.
by ElliotMatheny on Jan 31, 2010 4:17 PM EST up reply actions
Welcome back to the UFC!!!
I’d love to see him back at 185. He was gettin beat up but I knew he wouldn’t go out like that. Great fight!!!
The place went nuts when lawler kod him. Lawler was limping around after the ko and limped out if the cage. His leg was jacked up.
"I will do nothing lightly. When I walk, I will walk heavily. When I fight, I will fight with conviction. When I speak, I will speak strongly. When I love, I will love with everything"
by dedstrk316 on Jan 31, 2010 1:26 AM EST via mobile reply actions
Very happy not just for the fact that Robbie won but the fact that he derailed the vast overhype that was becoming Melvin Manhoef. The idea that a guy with the track record and KO list of Lawler’s that he had no shot standing with Melvin was laughable.
Simply put all the flashy kicks means nothing if you keep your chin up when you go for the kill. Robbie obviously saw the weakness in his game and lured him into coming for the kill, and just like many times in the past proved that hurting or rocking him don’t mean shit if you let him land he’ll put you the fuck out another overated foreign fighter bites the dust.
Dude, you’re seriously reaching. That wasn’t a skillful display of being coy and landing a perfectly timed punch, that was someone getting the shit beat out of them and swinging for the fences and landing… get real.
by bleve_ on Jan 31, 2010 3:15 AM EST up reply actions 1 recs
How many Robbie Lawler fights have you watched?, because if you think that was a lucky punch you’re sadly mistaken. Watch the fight again, you’ll see Lawler earlier in the fight fake like he got caught with a punch trying to lure in Melvin. Robbie had him scouted the entire time and ate some shots to land one and that’s all he needed don’t let the hype fool you this was nothing new. Lawler has been hurt worse in fights and ended up knocking his opponents head into the 5’th row afterwards this was just another example of why you should never jump on him unless you know he’s really hurt.
by Raker on Jan 31, 2010 4:32 AM EST up reply actions 1 recs
Who hurt Lawler worse than this that he ended up knocking out? Frank Trigg or something?
I gotta say, if that was really Lawler’s strategy the whole time, it was kinda dumb. He’s got to be way better on the ground, but instead he opted to engage Manhoef in his strongest area, get beat up a lot, and stake everything on one power punch? Sure, it worked, but why not take the path of least resistance instead?
I thought you were going to watch UFC 107 instead?
by John Nash on Jan 31, 2010 3:56 AM EST via mobile up reply actions
Melvin is the man either way
that dude puts on a shitshow every time he gets in the ring/cage. When he goes down its always an awesome chicken-dance KO. Kyotaro made him do the wobble wobble, and props to Robbie for landing 100% of the punches he threw.
by SilverNBlackZach! on Jan 31, 2010 1:56 AM EST reply actions
strikeforce contract
robbie signed a new 4 fight contract before he fought jake shields he said so in a interview they will probably put him in with de souza before his contract runs out
If he fights Jacare he’s going out with a loss.
by John Nash on Jan 31, 2010 3:57 AM EST via mobile up reply actions
wow
Lawler looked like absolute shit. He was getting destroyed and must have been seconds from a loss when he pulled that lucky punch out of his ass. He could not even walk afterwards… I was very impressed with Melvins leg kicks.
I'm not a fan of saying "Lucky Punch"
But that was a “Lucky Punch” if I ever saw one. With Lawler using the Rope-A-Dope game plan, Manhoef would beat him 9/10.
Walking the line between intelligence and ignorance since 1985
@deowade
I blog about stuff too.
Lucky punch or not you know what you call a guy who is behind in a fight and then knocks his opponent out cold? The winner. This wasn’t some kind of odd fluke or crappy decision, Robbie Lawler flat out knocked the guy out cold and left him laying in the cage.
As for the idea that Manhoef would win 9/10 rematches, do you honestly think that they would fight a rematch in the exact same manner or with the same game plans? There is no way to tell what would happen in a future fight.
Yes he won, does that bar people from discussing his shitty performance up to the point where he landed?
Ok....
Then if we use everyone’s lucky punch theory(when talking about professional athletes trained to do this). I know most of you wanted Manhoef to win or thought he would and were impressed by his 1st half of the round display. Myopic bias. But just answer these questions then.
Fedor vs Arlovski, Fedor was getting pasted and looked hurt when he threw a hail mary. Lucky Punch?
Liddell vs Rashad. Rashad running around like a chicken and getting tagged for 2 rounds and then he throws a desperation right. Lucky fighter again?
Lesnar vs Couture. Remember how everyone was saying couture was outhustling Lesnar?. Tagging him, cutting him, taking him down, stopping the takedowns, landing punches, putting him against the fence. Lesnar landed that “Lucky” punch, didn’t he?.
Listen people, it was an exciting and entertaining fight which had an abrupt and shocking ending. Don’t let the emotions of a great moment cloud your brain with issues that make no difference. Because MMA is filled with quick endings that come out of nowhere. The come from behind stories are what make greatness, its a part of life.
Give Lawler the credit for his great moment. He had the heart and the skills do pull it off and the result is etched in history.
None of the fights you mentioned are really analogous. Lawler was limping from leg kicks and clearly getting hurt. Fedor/Arlovski featured basically zero clean blows before the finish, Liddell never had Rashad in trouble, and Lesnar/Couture was competitive.
I don’t think it was a “lucky punch,” exactly, but criticism of Lawler for fighting Manhoef in the most counterintuitive way and almost paying for it seems perfectly reasonable to me.
I agree that Lawler seemed to have a real poor strategy going in but the whole idea of “it was just a lucky shot” is something entirely different. He wasn’t just swinging wildly and the guy walked into it, Robbie didn’t hardly throw throw the whole fight and when he finally did it was a clean shot right on the money. Just because Lawler was hurting doesn’t mean that he hadn’t scouted that weakness or wasn’t timing the guy and waiting for his shot. Might not of been the best strategy but he did win the fight in a very definite fashion.
Sure thats reasonable.... I would not have told him to use thats strategy either
But do you know anything about boxing history?. Great fighters have many fights exactly like this on their resume. Shall I parade out the list?
Feel free, but I’m not sure how those would be relevant to a sport where you don’t have to box your opponent.
I guess people can't listen
Lawler said what he was doing after the fight, he knew Manhoef gets wild and drops his hands when he tries to finish and Lawler baited him untill he saw the hole and then landed an easy KO. He was covered up for most of the shots (besides the leg kicks).
He had a plan, he executed it, he knocked Manhoef as cold as it gets without being dead. Don’t see how he could have done any better with the tools that he has.
he threw blind...
he just threw that punch with his head down.
I guess he knew it would land because manhoff had his hands down.
Anyway, he won’t get lucky like that too many times in the UFC.
After spending the first three minutes covering up and not throwing anything, Robbie Lawler KO’d Manhoeff with his first punch of the fight.
That ain’t luck.
That is a plan.
Exactly
Not sure how anyone could call a text book counter luck, he ducked under a left while still covered and followed with an on the button overhand right that looped in just over Melvin’s shoulder.
by The Engineer on Feb 1, 2010 11:34 AM EST up reply actions
So the only question is:
Has Robbie improved drastically since he washed out of the UFC, or is this just another data point that the level of competition outside the UFC is much, much lower?
I know which one I’m picking.
I hope the UFC realizes the same thing….
Don't believe a word I say, I don't train BJJ.
I blog at TangleBones - you should follow me on Twitter here.
Comments For This Post Are Closed
Secondary Sidebar
User Tools
Related FanPosts on Bloody Elbow
Related FanShots on Bloody Elbow
FanPosts
Community blog posts and discussion.
Recommended FanPosts
Recent FanPosts
MMA Rankings
Certain photos copyright © 2012 by Associated Press or Getty Images. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of Associated Press and Getty Images is strictly prohibited.
