UFC 196: Tom Lawlor talks concussions, motivation, retirement, being underestimated

In a recent interview with the Three Amigos Podcast, Tom Lawlor discusses being the perennial underdog, how he feels his body is holding up after 13 years in the sport and what keeps him motivated.

Tom Lawlor has been the perennial underdog for the majority of his career, at least the UFC portion of it, and he’s done so without much complaint. After nearly 13 years in the sport, toiling away, putting his body through a small form of torture for a very unforgiving sport, he’s developed a chip in that entertaining underdog armor, and it sits squarely on his shoulder. In a recent interview with the Three Amigos Podcast, he points to those in the community that don’t see him as a viable threat to top light-heavyweight competition, and says they’ve got it all wrong,

“It’s not something I’m thinking about in the back of my head as I get in there, but every day that goes by in training, I kind of go into the gym with a little bit of a chip on my shoulder. I think there’s still people in the mixed martial arts community that don’t see me as a serious threat when it comes to a lot of fights, and that’s just the wrong way for them to think. If I could prove those naysayers wrong, it makes me happy.”

This sport has a tendency to use up the physical assets an athlete possesses with rigorous training camps, sparring and grappling injuries, weight cuts and constant mental pressure. The vast majority will continue pressing on in their career, well after the pint of competitiveness, and we’ve seen this time and again, from the top promotions down to the regional circuits. However, that’s not an avenue Lawlor wants to explore. When asked how he feels his body has held up and where he sees himself in five years, he was ready with his exit strategy.

“Well, I think the time off I had due to my injury I had, may have extended my career a little bit and helped keep me from burning out. I’ve gone through quite a few changes over the past few years. Physically, I feel like I’m actually starting to improve a little bit, as far as walking around in daily pain and that sort of thing. I don’t feel like my body is running down. I think it’s going to be more the mental aspect of constantly being in training camp, and as my reflexes start to get a little bit slower, and recovery becomes harder, I’ve made my goal to try to be done by the time I’m 35, and definitely by the time I’m 36. That’s three-plus years away, but I can do a lot in three years.”

He goes on to detail what motivates him to keep putting his body through the physical turmoil to keep himself competitive after being in the fight game for so long.

As time goes forward, it [concussions/head trauma] is something that bothers me. I have a new son, a 5-month-old son, and every time I look at him, I’m thinking, ‘In 10-15 years, I want to be able to have a conversation with him. I want to be able to hang out with him and talk to him like a normal person.’ –Tom Lawlor

“I would be training, regardless. Maybe not as hard, maybe not as intense, but grappling and jiu-jitsu are something that I’ve really grown to love over the last several years, and that’s something that you can continue on later in life.

Concussions and head trauma has been in the media a lot more recently due to various factors; the NFL, the movie Concussion and even instances in pro-wrestling where people are having to retire early due to repeated concussions. As time goes forward, it is something that bothers me. I have a new son, a 5-month-old son, and every time I look at him, I’m thinking, ‘In 10-15 years, I want to be able to have a conversation with him. I want to be able to hang out with him and talk to him like a normal person.’

I know that in the past, the way I trained before, and other people that were around 5-7 years ago are training a lot differently than the way they are now. We were putting a lot more miles on our bodies. I’ve kind of moved away from that.

Realistically, I need money for my family, and that keeps me going back every day, but I’d be in the gym, regardless, no matter what I was doing.”

There were many more topics discussed during the course of this excellent interview, and you can check those out here (Tom’s interview starts at the 48:25 mark of the audio), or via the embedded player below. Remember, if you’re looking for us on SoundCloud or iTunes, we’re under the MMA Nation name. Follow our Twitter accounts: Stephie Haynes, Three Amigos Podcast, Iain Kidd and Mookie Alexander or our Facebook fan page, Three Amigos Podcast.

Catch Tom Lawlor vs. Corey Anderson on the main card portion of UFC 196 tomorrow night via your PPV provider.

In a recent interview with the Three Amigos Podcast, Tom Lawlor discusses being the perennial underdog, how he feels his body is holding up after 13 years in the sport and what keeps him motivated.

Tom Lawlor has been the perennial underdog for the majority of his career, at least the UFC portion of it, and he’s done so without much complaint. After nearly 13 years in the sport, toiling away, putting his body through a small form of torture for a very unforgiving sport, he’s developed a chip in that entertaining underdog armor, and it sits squarely on his shoulder. In a recent interview with the Three Amigos Podcast, he points to those in the community that don’t see him as a viable threat to top light-heavyweight competition, and says they’ve got it all wrong,

“It’s not something I’m thinking about in the back of my head as I get in there, but every day that goes by in training, I kind of go into the gym with a little bit of a chip on my shoulder. I think there’s still people in the mixed martial arts community that don’t see me as a serious threat when it comes to a lot of fights, and that’s just the wrong way for them to think. If I could prove those naysayers wrong, it makes me happy.”

This sport has a tendency to use up the physical assets an athlete possesses with rigorous training camps, sparring and grappling injuries, weight cuts and constant mental pressure. The vast majority will continue pressing on in their career, well after the pint of competitiveness, and we’ve seen this time and again, from the top promotions down to the regional circuits. However, that’s not an avenue Lawlor wants to explore. When asked how he feels his body has held up and where he sees himself in five years, he was ready with his exit strategy.

“Well, I think the time off I had due to my injury I had, may have extended my career a little bit and helped keep me from burning out. I’ve gone through quite a few changes over the past few years. Physically, I feel like I’m actually starting to improve a little bit, as far as walking around in daily pain and that sort of thing. I don’t feel like my body is running down. I think it’s going to be more the mental aspect of constantly being in training camp, and as my reflexes start to get a little bit slower, and recovery becomes harder, I’ve made my goal to try to be done by the time I’m 35, and definitely by the time I’m 36. That’s three-plus years away, but I can do a lot in three years.”

He goes on to detail what motivates him to keep putting his body through the physical turmoil to keep himself competitive after being in the fight game for so long.

As time goes forward, it [concussions/head trauma] is something that bothers me. I have a new son, a 5-month-old son, and every time I look at him, I’m thinking, ‘In 10-15 years, I want to be able to have a conversation with him. I want to be able to hang out with him and talk to him like a normal person.’ –Tom Lawlor

“I would be training, regardless. Maybe not as hard, maybe not as intense, but grappling and jiu-jitsu are something that I’ve really grown to love over the last several years, and that’s something that you can continue on later in life.

Concussions and head trauma has been in the media a lot more recently due to various factors; the NFL, the movie Concussion and even instances in pro-wrestling where people are having to retire early due to repeated concussions. As time goes forward, it is something that bothers me. I have a new son, a 5-month-old son, and every time I look at him, I’m thinking, ‘In 10-15 years, I want to be able to have a conversation with him. I want to be able to hang out with him and talk to him like a normal person.’

I know that in the past, the way I trained before, and other people that were around 5-7 years ago are training a lot differently than the way they are now. We were putting a lot more miles on our bodies. I’ve kind of moved away from that.

Realistically, I need money for my family, and that keeps me going back every day, but I’d be in the gym, regardless, no matter what I was doing.”

There were many more topics discussed during the course of this excellent interview, and you can check those out here (Tom’s interview starts at the 48:25 mark of the audio), or via the embedded player below. Remember, if you’re looking for us on SoundCloud or iTunes, we’re under the MMA Nation name. Follow our Twitter accounts: Stephie Haynes, Three Amigos Podcast, Iain Kidd and Mookie Alexander or our Facebook fan page, Three Amigos Podcast.

Catch Tom Lawlor vs. Corey Anderson on the main card portion of UFC 196 tomorrow night via your PPV provider.