“I think Robbie Lawler is the most dangerous fighter in UFC welterweight division. There are a lot of great fighters at welterweight for sure, but I think Lawler is the most dangerous among them all. But the same time I think he would be a relatively easy opponent for me. If you look at Lawler’s skills, you won’t be able to say that he has some extraordinary techniques in any aspect of MMA. He is tough. He has a fighter’s spirit and patience. But his fighting style is simply to move straight at you and attack. So you can definitely work with such an opponent. He can be defeated. As for Gastelum, I can’t say his grappling is of a top tier. Yes, he is a basic grappler, but he is an easy fight for me. Why? He has very short hands. So if our fight with Kelvin Gastelum happens I’ll feel myself very comfortable. I would meet him without any problems.”
That’s the scouting report from streaking welterweight contender Albert Tumenov, who recently debuted in the top 15 on the promotion’s official rankings (read ’em), thanks in part to his win over Lorenz Larkin at UFC 195 last month in Las Vegas, Nevada (more on that here). That’s the same event that saw reigning 170-pound champion Robbie Lawler emerge victorious against Carlos Condit, but he probably would not have been as lucky against Tumenov. That’s because “Einstein” told Bloody Elbow that he believes the “Ruthless” striker is too simplistic in his attack and would be an “easy” opponent to neutralize. Perhaps not nearly as easy as the “basic” Ultimate Fighter (TUF) 17 champ Kelvin Gastelum, who — according to the 24-year-old phenom — has hands like a T-Rex. I guess there’s only one way to find out for sure. Paging Joe Silva!