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UFC 201 Fight Card: PPV Schedule, Odds and Predictions for Lawler vs. Woodley

Robbie Lawler’s third welterweight title defense headlines the card for UFC 201 at Atlanta’s Philips Arena on Saturday night. The champion has endured some gruelling recent bouts and faces a skilled challenger who has had to wait for his big chance: Ty…

Robbie Lawler‘s third welterweight title defense headlines the card for UFC 201 at Atlanta’s Philips Arena on Saturday night. The champion has endured some gruelling recent bouts and faces a skilled challenger who has had to wait for his big chance: Tyron Woodley.

The Lawler and Woodley tussle isn’t the only notable bout on the main card, though. Rose Namajunas‘ meeting with fellow contender Karolina Kowalkiewicz deservedly has co-main event billing.

Here are the schedule details for the pay-per-view event:

Date: Saturday, June 30

Time: Main Card (10 p.m. ET/3 a.m. BST). Early Prelims (7 p.m. ET/12 a.m. BST). FS2 Prelims (8 p.m. ET/1 a.m. BST).

Here’s the full fight card information, along with odds:

Predictions

Choosing a winner between Lawler and Woodley is no easy task, but at least two experts agree about how the headline fight will play out. ESPN’s Brett Okamoto is going for a fourth-round TKO for the defending champion, while Jonathan Bradley of Fox Sports also fancies a Lawler knockout in the fourth.

A common theme for each writer is punching power, both in terms of each fighter’s chops as strikers, along with their ability to absorb shots.

The latter is a consideration Okamoto is unable to ignore. He’s cited telling statistics that suggest Lawler will be under pressure if Woodley can land consistently up top: “According to FightMetric, Lawler has absorbed 642 strikes since the start of 2014. He’s gone five hellacious rounds, back-to-back-to-back. When do these wars catch up? Lawler is 34 in human years—and probably something like 112 in fighter years.”

In order for Woodley to exploit those concerns, though, he’ll need to connect with significant strikes. It’s an area in which he’s inferior to the champion, however, according to Bradley: “Lawler and Woodley have virtually identical striking statistics, with both fighters landing over three strikes per minute at a 46-percent clip. Where they differ, however, is in significant strikes, as Lawler lands 3.51 significant strikes per minute compared to 2.56 for Woodley.”

Assessing Woodley‘s punching power is a common theme ahead of this fight. UFC Europe also asked whether the 34-year-old challenger can pack enough into his fists to put Lawler down decisively:

Counting on Woodley to land a knockout blow is a risky bet, since he’s more at home as a grappler. Unfortunately for the challenger, that’s an area where Lawler is rarely troubled.

So count on Lawler making good on these predictions and using his own skill as a striker to wear down and eventually knock Woodley out.

When Namajunas meets Kowalkiewicz, she’ll have to be mindful of the latter’s ferocity as a hitter. FightMetric detailed how Kowalkiewicz lands 6.17 significant strikes per minute.

Countering those fast and tough hands will demand keeping things on the mat. Fortunately for Namajunas, her 3.49 takedowns average, along with 66 percent takedowns accuracy, per FightMetric, means she’s well-equipped to take her opponent out of her comfort zone.

If Namajunas can break down Kowalkiewicz‘s underrated defense and keep her grounded, she’s more likely to lock on the submission hold that can end this intriguing fight.

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UFC 201 Is Another Night in the Lost Reign of Robbie Lawler

If a Robbie Lawler opponent falls but no one is watching, does he make a sound?
If you’re one of the ones who has been watching the past few years, you’d probably say so. They tend to grunt or groan as they’re wailed on, produce unnat…

If a Robbie Lawler opponent falls but no one is watching, does he make a sound?

If you’re one of the ones who has been watching the past few years, you’d probably say so. They tend to grunt or groan as they’re wailed on, produce unnatural thuds and smacks from their body cavities as various shots land or maybe offer a weird smush as their nose gives way to be replaced by a gaping crater.

Once more on Saturday night, the UFC will seek to answer the question as it pits it meanest, most savage champion against Tyron Woodley, a challenger most people know as much for briefly being silent muscle in Straight Outta Compton as they do for his road to a title shot.

As a result, UFC 201 enters the promotion’s busy summer schedule with all the pomp and circumstance of a church mouse, even if the champion on its poster is likely going to produce something incredibly GIF-worthy while nobody is watching.

In as much as those remarkable happenings have become a hallmark of Lawler as a resurgent UFC talent and indefatigable champion—his 600-plus-day reign the longest at 170 pounds since the legendary Georges St-Pierre vacated the title after more than 2,000 days in 2013—so too has the decided lack of notice he’s gotten.

Yes, the hardcore fan loves him because they know he’s going to give them their money’s worth or go out on his shield trying, but his continued lack of exposure to broader audiences is doing little to make him a true superstar.

It’s strange in a way, given Lawler is easily the most compelling career story on the roster and the type of intense, muted firebrand who comes off as bizarrely charismatic. He was a prospect while his sport was still prospective, he spent a decade in purgatory fighting people you’ve never heard of in places you didn’t know existed for amounts you wouldn’t believe were available, and he returned to the UFC under cover of darkness on the whim of Dana White.

He’s gone 8-1 since that that return in February 2013, narrowly losing a Fight of the Year title bout to Johny Hendricks in 2014 before avenging the defeat a few fights later and never looking back. He’s defended the welterweight title twice, once against Rory MacDonald in the 2015 Fight of the Year and once against Carlos Condit in a fight that’s likely to be named Fight of the Year for 2016.

That Lawler renaissance, born of his role as MMA’s foremost purveyor of poetic viciousness and buoyed by just enough good feeling from those who watched him meet his potential, suggests the man who’s been Ruthless for 15 years deserves better than he’s gotten on the attention front.

Saturday night, he’ll headline an event jammed between UFC 200 and the Conor McGregor-Nate Diaz rematch, a card that practically screams “save your money” to the casual fan. The Condit fight happened when as many people were in airports heading home from breaks as there were in bars or on couches waiting to see him in action. He also fought MacDonald on a McGregor undercard, so you can imagine how much attention he received there.

This is not to suggest the UFC has buried Lawler intentionally. He’s fought on Fox a couple of times and was heavily featured in ads during the most recent show on the network. There’s even an argument to be made that his appearance on that McGregor show last summer—when he acquitted himself more than admirably and perhaps legendarily—did more to help him than to hurt him.

Yet the fact remains there doesn’t seem to be a hype commensurate with what Lawler is guaranteed to provide come fight night, and that’s something of a shame.

Should Lawler best Woodley at UFC 201, he’ll have defended his welterweight title three times. Only Pat Miletich, Matt Hughes and St-Pierre have done it more, and none did it with the ferocity and bombast of the reigning champion.

Lawler is the best thing going in MMA, the man who proves success can be found by being exciting, provided you have the willpower and guts to find it.

If he could only find a little more attention for that fact, things would truly be perfect for him.

Follow me on Twitter @matthewjryder!

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Robbie Lawler: It Wouldn’t Be Smart For GSP To Return

Reigning 170-pound kingpin “Ruthless” Robbie Lawler will look to make the third defense of his welterweight title when he meets No. 4-ranked Tyron “The Chosen One” Woodley in the main event of tomorrow night’s (July 30, 2016) UFC 201 from Atlanta, Georgia. If Lawler can indeed get by the former NCAA wrestler, he may have […]

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St. Pierre defended his title a divisional record nine straight times before vacating it in 2013 and going into a semi-retirement. Since leaving the sport, questions and rumors have swirled nonstop regarding a potential return for the Canadian superstar, but it has never become a reality, although that could change in the near future. Last month, St. Pierre told MMAFighting.com’s Ariel Helwani that he was ready to make his return to competitive fighting.

If GSP does indeed return, a fight between him and Lawler would be massive, although the “Ruthless” one doesn’t feel as if it would be a smart move for “Rush”:

“I don’t really get too excited (about a St-Pierre bout),” Lawler recently told MMAJunkie. “It’d be nice to beat him and showcase my skills against him, but I don’t think he’s coming back. It wouldn’t be a smart move for him. He’s done a lot for the sport and won a lot of fights. I’m not the guy I think he wants to come back against.”

At this point in each fighters’ career, who would you see winning this potential scrap?

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UFC Fighters Offer Up Their UFC 201 Predictions (Video)

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rv3VAea_RPA[/embed]

Kelvin Gastelum, Julianna Pena, Amanda Nunes and others offer up their fight predictions for Saturday night’s main and co-main events at UFC 201.

In the penultimate bout, Rose Namajunas…

Kelvin Gastelum, Julianna Pena, Amanda Nunes and others offer up their fight predictions for Saturday night’s main and co-main events at UFC 201.

In the penultimate bout, Rose Namajunas and Karolina Kowalkiewicz square off in a key strawweight contest. The winner could likely be the next title challenger in the 115-pound division.

The main event for the night is for the welterweight title, as Robbie Lawler defends his belt against Tyron Woodley.

Robbie Lawler Reveals Why He Issued A Chilling Threat To Conor McGregor’s Soul

Current reigning 170-pound champ ‘Ruthless’ Robbie Lawler is set to make the third title defense of his UFC career, when he takes on No. 4-ranked Tyron Woodley in the main event of UFC 201 live on pay-per-view (PPV) from Atlanta. Prior to the bout’s announcement, however, Lawler threatened to take the soul of Irish mixed

The post Robbie Lawler Reveals Why He Issued A Chilling Threat To Conor McGregor’s Soul appeared first on LowKick MMA.

Prior to the bout’s announcement, however, Lawler threatened to take the soul of Irish mixed martial arts (MMA) phenom, and UFC featherweight champion, Conor McGregor if he decides to jump up for ‘The Ruthless One’s’ title.

In a recent interview on UFC Tonight, courtesy of FOX Sports, the welterweight kingpin revealed why he threatened to take McGregor’s soul when asked about a possible matchup with the 145-pound champ in a recent interview at a local Atlanta TV station:

“He asked me a question and I was like why are you bringing this guy’s name up?” Lawler said.

“It kind of irritated me so I just told him what I thought about the situation and his last fight and I don’t think he should be mentioned with me because I’m not like everybody else. I’m a little different.”

Lawler has been in various wars throughout his tumultuous MMA career, but claims the blood-filled battles he’s experienced throughout the years have yet to take a toll on him:

“They’re not taking a toll,” Lawler said. “Obviously, you want to get in there and get out as soon as possible and be as clean as possible. So that’s always the goal to go and beat somebody up, not take any damage and be sharp and impose your will on somebody.

“But these guys aren’t backing down. They’re fighting for what I have so I know they’re going to be bringing their ‘A’ game.”

Each and every time Lawler steps inside of the Octagon, you can expect an absolute spectacle of a contest to get underway.

While Lawler is credited for perhaps having the most exciting fighting style the promotion has to offer, he remains adamant that he is not trying to ‘out do’ each of his performances but rather improve his strategic abilities and finish his opponent:

“I’m not trying to out do my performance necessarily,” Lawler said. “I’m just trying to be a better fighter every time I compete so it’s all about being more strategic and looking for a way to get a finish.”

Lawler and Woodley will meet in the main event of UFC 201 live on PPV, form the Phillips Arena in Atlanta, Georgia this Saturday (July 30, 2016).

The post Robbie Lawler Reveals Why He Issued A Chilling Threat To Conor McGregor’s Soul appeared first on LowKick MMA.

Robbie Lawler Knows Each Challenger Is Bringing Their “A-Game”

Robbie Lawler has been involved in wars since he first entered into MMA.

The reigning UFC welterweight champion, though, doesn’t enter the cage expecting to put on “Fight of the Year” battles each time.

Saturday night, “Ruthless” will try to take out Tyron Woodley as “fast as possible” to continue his run atop the division. The two are the main event for UFC 201.

“They’re not taking a toll. You just want to get in and out as fast as possible,” he said during a recent appearance on UFC Tonight. “That’s the goal – to beat someone, not take damage and impose your will on someone. They’re not backing down, they’re fighting for what I have and bringing their A-game.”

The 34-year-old Lawler (27-10) scored a split decision over Carlos Condit and January, adding to a win streak that features Rory MacDonald, Johny Hendricks, Matt Brown and Jake Ellenberger. Overall, he is 8-1 since returning to the UFC.

“I’m not trying to out-do my last performance, I’m just trying to be a better fighter each time I go out there,” Lawler said. “It’s all about being more strategic and getting a finish.”

Robbie Lawler has been involved in wars since he first entered into MMA.

The reigning UFC welterweight champion, though, doesn’t enter the cage expecting to put on “Fight of the Year” battles each time.

Saturday night, “Ruthless” will try to take out Tyron Woodley as “fast as possible” to continue his run atop the division. The two are the main event for UFC 201.

“I’m not trying to out-do my last performance, I’m just trying to be a better fighter each time I go out there,” Lawler said. “It’s all about being more strategic and getting a finish.”