Robbie Lawler seems apprehensive in completely closing the curtain on his MMA career.
Lawer, who retired at UFC 290 with a bang when knocking out Niko Price in 38 seconds. Following the fairytale ending, Lawler admitted he felt great all week, the camp was excellent, and he didn’t feel as if he was at the backend of his career, which raised eyebrows to the legitimate.
On a recent episode of The MMA Hour, Lawler revealed he could continue training and competing, but he’s making the decision not too:
Robbie Lawler Talks Retirement
“I definitely have more left in me, it’s just one of those things where you figure it out. I just can’t do as much as I used to is the thing,” Lawler said. “I can’t train the way I want to train. I’m like the guy who likes to do extra, and now it’s like, hey, just relax, you know how to fight so let’s just get you to the fight. So that’s the hard part for me, because I like to work, I like to workout, I like to lift, I like to do all these things and I have this checklist and the checklist is too much.
“[My body] reacts fine, it’s just that I just can’t do these three-a-days, these four-a-days, these long days,” Lawler continued. “I mean I can, but then I’m out for a day or two and have to rest and then I’m not recovered. So it’s just finding that balance and realizing, hey, you don’t need to do that much. So it’s just those types of things. As you get older you figure out a way to get the job done. It’s more of a mindset. A lot of times you’re working out to make sure you’re ready, and I realized during this camp, ‘Hey, you’re ready. Let’s just be good on that Saturday, that’s it. You only really need to be good on that Saturday. So go through the motions, try to sharpen everything up, but really it only matters how good you are on that Saturday.’”
Lawler Added
At 41-year-olds, Lawler has an accomplished MMA career many dream off. He attained UFC welterweight gold, and was inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame following his legendary bout with Rory MacDonald at UFC 189. Despite fighting professionally since 19-years of age, the fight game is Lawler’s known, but with that said, he doesn’t envision that desire will entice him back to the Octagon:
“I’m a fighter, I’m never going to say [never],” Lawler said. “But I’m in a good place. You never know, but I feel good. I feel good and I’m not training. I’m lifting, I’m running, I’m keeping myself in shape, but I don’t see it happening.
“I’m not going to say no, because you never no,” Lawler continued. “I feel great and I know how to train at my old age to be ready for one day, to be sharp for one day. And it’s always fun. That’s actually what I enjoy about sports in general, is how can you be as good as you can for a certain day or a certain bout. I love tweaking things and being a scientist of my own freaking body and trying, ‘OK, you need to have this and you need to do this,’ and figuring out a way to get the job done. … I’m always going to be doing those things, so nothing is really changing in that aspect, it’s just I’m just doing it for the fun of it.”
Quotes MMA Fighting
Coaching
Many veterans who close the curtain on their career end up completely removing themselves from the world of fighting, but that’s not Lawler’s intention:
“Just coaching at Kill Cliff FC,” Lawler said when asked what comes next. “A lot of good fighters. I didn’t get where I am today by not getting help from good coaches and good training partners. So it’s just giving them a little technique and a little push here and there, so to make their life a little easier, and to use my knowledge to help others.”
Do you think Robbie Lawler is completely done? Let us know in the comments!
Featured image credits to Embed from Getty Images
