Saturday, January 7th held significant meaning for the career of Robbie Lawlor: Another loss would certainly push him to the outskirts of the Strikeforce middleweight division.
Lawlor entered the match having lost two consecutive bouts to take on up-and-coming Russian middleweight Adlan Amagov.
Amagov entered having lost the first fight of his MMA career, but he has been flawless since posting 10 consecutive fights without a loss.
The 185-pound showdown took place at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas and aired live on the network of Showtime.
Let’s examine what we took away from this bout.
What We’ll Remember about This Fight
Years from now when we look back and examine Lawlor vs. Amagov, fans will more than likely remember the jam-packed action that took place in a short one minute and 48 second time frame.
When action began, it was Amagov who was deducted a point due to an illegal knee. However, Lawlor wasn’t phased. He remained live and well, finishing the fight just moments later with a knee and series of punches of his own. Despite it’s short length, Lawlor and Amagov delivered what the fans wanted.
What We Learned about Robbie Lawlor
Lawlor entered the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in a do-or-die type of situation: He had lost two straight outings. However, we learned that Lawlor isn’t nearly finished fighting in the sport of MMA: He finished Amagov in memorable fashion.
Despite a recent drop in his ranking, Lawlor proved that he still has what it takes to compete in the middleweight division and is a serious threat to any opponent.
What We Learned about Adlan Amagov
Unfortunately for Amagov, things didn’t go nearly as he had scripted. In fact, even if his bout were to make the judge’s scorecards, he was still deducted a point for an illegal knee—making it extremely difficult to come away with a win.
We learned that despite recent success, Amagov still has a lot of growing and learning to do at just the age of 25. Amagov’s stand-up must improve as he looks to get his career back on track in the upcoming months.
What’s Next for Lawlor
Depending on how Strikeforce views Lawlor’s knockout victory, there’s a chance he could be pushing towards title “talks”.
Lawlor still has a lot to improve on—he is still prone to several weaknesses such as submission defense and conditioning. With the middleweight division short and thin, it’s possible Lawlor could find himself moving closer toward a rematch with Tim Kennedy as he fell to defeat in their previous showdown
However, that would be best case scenario for Lawlor. Derek Brunson could also be an option moving forward.
What’s Next for Amagov
Amagov’s defeat was undoubtedly the worst performance of his career. Not only was he knocked out before the two-minute mark, but he connected on an illegal knee that resulted in a point deduction.
With a Jardine defeat, it’s clear as day that Jardine belongs nowhere near the top of the rankings. It’s likely Amagov could find himself squaring off with Jardine in his next bout. However, Amagov could also take on Danillo Villefort, who is coming off a loss, as is Amagov.
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