Former Strikeforce fighter, ‘Ruthless’ Robbie Lawler (19-9) drops to welterweight for his Octagon debut this coming February versus former welterweight contender Josh Koscheck (17-6) at UFC 157.
The news was first reported by the Orange County Register late Wednesday night, confirming that both fighters would meet in a welterweight bout.
UFC 157: Rousey vs. Carmouche is expected to take place on February 23, 2013 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California. The event features the first women’s bout as bantamweight champ Ronda Rousey defends her title against opponent Liz ‘Girl-Rilla’ Carmouche.
The welterweight division is not something new to Lawler who had compete at 170-lbs early in his career. The former Strikeforce middleweight contender will be looking for a win as his recent record puts him at 1-3. His most recent match was a decision loss to Lorenz Larkin last July in Oregon. ‘Ruthless’ earned his last win in January of this year by stopping Adlan Amagov via flying knee (TKO) in Vegas.
Koscheck also enters this fight on a loss having dropped a split decision to Johny Hendricks at UFC on FOX 3 this past May. The former No. 1 contender had earned two straight wins previously, defeating Mike Pierce via split decision at UFC 143 and a knockout victory over Matt Hughes at UFC 135. The win over the now UFC Hall of Famer, erased a loss to champ Georges St-Pierre at UFC 124.