Former UFC welterweight champion Robbie Lawler is one of the most popular fighters in the promotion. Because of his fan-friendly, brawling style along with a no-nonsense attitude, many fighters have him as their favorite fighter as well.
But who does “Ruthless” enjoy watching today?
Recently appearing on Complex, Lawler mentioned three names in particular — UFC interim middleweight champion Israel Adesanya, UFC interim lightweight champion Dustin Poirier, and Jorge Masvidal.
“I like watching the ‘Stylebender’ fight,” Lawler said. “He’s a clean striker. Off the top of my head, I like watching Dustin Poirier fight. I love watching Masvidal fight.
“Pretty much guys that I know that I can appreciate their toughness. Because there’s more to fighting than techniques. You can learn techniques but when push comes to shove, who are you as a fighter? If you stripped all your skills away, all your techniques, all your strength, are you still a fighter or are you going to puss out?”
Adesanya certainly showed his toughness in his back-and-forth brawl with Kelvin Gastelum at UFC 236 back in April. The same can be said of Poirier and Masvidal, both of whom used to train with Lawler when the latter was still at American Top Team.
As for Lawler, we already know how tough he is, and he’ll showcase it once more when he faces Colby Covington in the UFC Newark headliner on August 3.