Tag: robbielawler

Robbie Lawler vs. Tim Kennedy Added to Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Henderson Card

Filed under: StrikeforceA fight pitting recent middleweight title challenger Robbie Lawler against Tim Kennedy has been added to Strikeforce’s July 30 show outside Chicago.

Strikeforce announced the fight via Twitter on Thursday. The fight is expecte…

Filed under:

A fight pitting recent middleweight title challenger Robbie Lawler against Tim Kennedy has been added to Strikeforce’s July 30 show outside Chicago.

Strikeforce announced the fight via Twitter on Thursday. The fight is expected to be part of the main card for Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Henderson, which takes place at the Sears Centre in Hoffman Estates, Ill., a northwest suburb of Chicago.

Lawler (18-7, 1 NC, 2-3 Strikeforce) fights for the first time since a January submission loss to Strikeforce middleweight champion Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza in San Jose, Calif. Lawler got that title shot on the strength of a 50-second knockout of Matt Lindland about two months earlier in St. Louis.

Kennedy (13-3, 4-1 Strikeforce) returns after making quick work of Melvin Manhoef at Strikeforce’s March show in Columbus, Ohio. In that fight, he submitted the Dutch kickboxing specialist in the first round.

Kennedy, too, has a loss to Jacare on his resume. Kennedy, a Bronze Star medal winner in the Army, fought Jacare for Strikeforce’s vacant middleweight title after Jake Shields vacated the belt to sign with the UFC. That loss was his only one in six fights.

Lawler, the former EliteXC middleweight champion, has had an up-and-down stretch since winning that belt in September 2007 against Murilo “Ninja” Rua. After EliteXC folder, Lawler picked up with Strikeforce – but it was almost a year between fights for him. Since his Strikeforce debut, a loss to Shields, he had a pair of 2010’s best knockouts against Melvin Manhoef and Matt Lindland, plus a decision loss to Renato “Babalu” Sobral. Lawler hasn’t had a winning streak since 2007.

Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Henderson features a main event between light heavyweight champion Dan Henderson and former pound-for-pound MMA kingpin Fedor Emelianenko, who is looking to rebound from consecutive losses for the first time in his career.

The card also features a women’s welterweight title fight between champion Marloes Coenen and Miesha Tate, a welterweight bout between Paul Daley and Evangelista Santos and a light heavyweight bout between Muhammed “King Mo” Lawal and Roger Gracie.

The show will be Strikeforce’s second in the Chicago area, and second at the Sears Centre. The promotion’s first trip to the venue featured a heavyweight tilt between Fedor and Brett Rogers, a fight Fedor won by second-round TKO – his last victory. That main card was broadcast live on CBS. The July 30 show’s main card will be televised by Showtime.

 

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

Robbie Lawler Signs New Deal with Strikeforce

Filed under: Strikeforce, NewsAhead of his middleweight title shot next month, middleweight Robbie Lawler has signed a contract extension with Strikeforce.

The promotion announced the news Wednesday, just a day after announcing it had also resigned i…

Filed under: ,

Ahead of his middleweight title shot next month, middleweight Robbie Lawler has signed a contract extension with Strikeforce.

The promotion announced the news Wednesday, just a day after announcing it had also resigned its welterweight champion, Nick Diaz, to a new deal.

Sources close to Lawler’s camp told MMA Fighting on Wednesday night that Lawler’s deal has been in the works for several months, with many of the terms being worked out over the last couple of weeks.

Strikeforce Books Robbie Lawler vs. Jacare Souza for Middleweight Title

Filed under: Strikeforce, NewsWhen Strikeforce attempted to put on a middleweight title tournament in Houston to fill the belt vacated by Jake Shields, Robbie Lawler figured he was only one night and two wins away from having a piece of hardware again….

Filed under: ,

Robbie Lawler knocks out Matt Lindland.When Strikeforce attempted to put on a middleweight title tournament in Houston to fill the belt vacated by Jake Shields, Robbie Lawler figured he was only one night and two wins away from having a piece of hardware again.

But because of commission rules, the one-night tourney couldn’t take place, and instead Strikeforce put the 185-pound strap around the waist of Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza in August when he beat Tim Kennedy.

Though Lawler told MMA Fighting last month before his fight with Matt Lindland that his lack of opportunities with Strikeforce following the collapse of EliteXC, where he was middleweight champion, was frustrating, he said when it comes to the middleweight title picture, he thinks of himself as “just one of the guys.”

He doesn’t have to worry about that distinction anymore. After a 50-second knockout of Matt Lindland in St. Louis earlier this month, sources close to Lawler’s camp confirmed to MMA Fighting that Lawler will get a shot at Souza’s middleweight title. And on Saturday, a source close to Strikeforce confirmed to MMA Fighting’s Ariel Helwani on Saturday that the bout will take place on the promotion’s Jan. 29 card at the HP Pavilion in its home base of San Jose, Calif.

Robbie Lawler Looks to Change Fortunes vs. Matt Lindland

Filed under: Strikeforce, FanHouse ExclusiveHome-cage advantage? If there is such thing, it doesn’t matter much to Robbie Lawler.

The Strikeforce middleweight fights Saturday for the first time since a June loss to Babalu Sobral, and he’ll do so less …

Filed under: ,

Home-cage advantage? If there is such thing, it doesn’t matter much to Robbie Lawler.

The Strikeforce middleweight fights Saturday for the first time since a June loss to Babalu Sobral, and he’ll do so less than 10 miles from his home training base. But Lawler said part of his mental strategy before his fight in St. Louis against Matt Lindland is to forget he’s home.

“I’m going to treat it like I’m on the road, just because that’s how I’ve been fighting my whole career – pretty much traveling,” Lawler told MMA Fighting. “So I’m just going to treat it like any other fight week – stay in a hotel and eat out. Just keep it how it’s been and don’t change anything.”