Robbie Lawler reveals his secret motivation for iconic Rory MacDonald win at UFC 189: 'I didn't say anything'

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Robbie Lawler was one of the most beloved fighters of any era. (Mike Roach/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images)
Robbie Lawler was known as "Ruthless" for a reason.
The 2025 UFC Hall of Fame inductee delivered some of the most epic knockouts and fights in MMA history throughout his 22-year career. Lawler's entry into the Hall later this month will be his second after his legendary rematch with Rory MacDonald entered the Fight Wing in 2023. Arguably the greatest fight of all time, Lawler vs. MacDonald 2 stands out on its own despite being part of one of the sport's most memorable events, 2015's UFC 189 pay-per-view. In hindsight, it's easy to forget the fight preceded the evening's headliner, the interim featherweight title clash between Conor McGregor and Chad Mendes.
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Lawler revealed on Wednesday's edition of "The Ariel Helwani Show" how his co-main event position for his first welterweight title defense was much more of a motivational factor than he ever let on.
"Leading up to that fight, Rory never realized it, but we were second fiddle that whole freaking build-up to that fight," Lawler said. "I'm like, 'Oh, they're putting me on the undercard of [original headliner Jose] Aldo and freaking McGregor.' So I'm just freaking training like they're disrespecting me.
"I get it. Aldo's the freaking man, Conor is the up-and-comer. But I'm the heavier guy. So, I'm freaking training hard. Like, really freaking hard. And I actually had time to freaking relax after [having five fights in] 13 months [beforehand]. So I was able to rest and put in a hard freaking camp for him — and I had something to prove. Then, two weeks before the fight, Aldo's out and they put in freaking Mendes, and I'm still the undercard. I didn't say anything. I wasn't pissed. I was like, 'OK.' It is what it was, alright. So that's who he (MacDonald) was fighting, too. 'I'm the freaking guy,' was what I was thinking."
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If there's one moment outside the cage to summarize the ruthless nature of Lawler, it'd be the famous line he delivered in response to a question about McGregor's loss to Nate Diaz the following year.
Rather than take McGregor's neck and submit the Irishman like Diaz did with a rear-naked choke at UFC 196, Lawler flatly stated he would've instead taken the McGregor's soul.
Lawler, 43, won 22 of his 30 victories by knockout and only once submitted an opponent very early in his pro career. For the former UFC welterweight champion, that was just never his style.
"He (Diaz) did just freaking take his (McGregor's) neck and freaking let him off the hook," Lawler said. "He could have done whatever he wanted. ... I want to beat people up. That's how I fought.
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"It's kind of funny because I'm coaching guys, and in the UFC I had zero submission attempts."
"In my eyes, and in my head, I was always thinking, 'If you submit somebody, there's tricks, right?' There's little tricks like, 'Oh, he tricked me.' But if you whoop somebody's ass, then there was really no trick to that."
That train of thought may lead one to believe Lawler went out of his way to prove himself in an old-school "tough-guy" fashion. But Lawler assures that was never a concern. He fought how he felt was right for him. If someone bested him, it was what it was.
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"I would tap. I would never go to sleep. That's stupid," Lawler said. "Oxygen away from your brain. What does that prove? If you got, you got me."
Lawler has been enjoying life outside the Octagon since his instantly iconic retirement fight against Niko Price in July 2023. In one of the most perfect sendoff performances ever seen in combat sports, Lawler knocked out his tough-as-nails opponent in a mere 38 seconds, leaving the fight world begging for more.
Nearly a year and a half later, Lawler has stayed true to his retirement promise, but not without a little enticement to return. Bare-knuckle boxing leader BKFC has openly done its best to bring Lawler back sans gloves for a showdown against the promotion's top star, Mike Perry. And while Lawler likes the concept, he's still under contract with the UFC and hasn't seriously entertained a return.
"Not really," Lawler responded when asked if BKFC is a real possibility. "They touched base probably January of last year, and this is where we are today. So, you tell me. I never say never to anything, but I'm retired. We have to cross those paths [with figuring out his UFC status] when we need to.
"A fight's a fight, right? [Bare-knuckle is] how I first started fighting. ... To me, a fight's a fight. Knees to the head of a grounded opponent, soccer kick, stomps, that's fighting. When I fought in Hawaii, we had all those rules. You weren't safe anywhere. If you were in a front headlock position, you probably shouldn't hang out there because you'd probably be getting kneed in the head. So there's just more stuff to worry about and no resting spot."