A former UFC welterweight champion who is regarded as one of the most exciting action fighters in the sport’s history, “Ruthless” Robbie Lawler has achieved MMA immortality.
Lawler (30-18, 1 NC), who retired in 2023 at the age of 41, will be inducted into the modern wing this summer as part of the 2025 class of the UFC Hall of Fame. The news was announced on Saturday during the UFC 313 pay-per-view telecast.
A native of San Diego, Lawler came of age as an MMA fighter under the tutelage of UFC Hall of Famer Pat Miletich in Iowa before later fighting out of Florida. A true fighter’s fighter, Lawler made his UFC debut at age 20 in 2002 before leaving the promotion to compete under the banners of Elite XC (where he was middleweight champion), Strikeforce, PRIDE and the IFL.
It was Lawler’s second stint in the UFC, however, which began in 2013, that lifted him to legendary status. Not only did Lawler win a split decision over Johny Hendricks in their rematch at UFC 181 in 2014 to capture the welterweight title, he went on to take part in all-action classics in defense of the belt against Rory MacDonald (2015) and Carlos Condit (2016).
“Robbie Lawler is one of the most bad-ass athletes to ever step inside the Octagon,” UFC CEO Dana White said. “Robbie was an absolute killer, and I have a ton of respect for his toughness and his fighting style, which helped grow the sport of MMA and UFC by attracting a lot of new fans. Robbie had an amazing career, and it will be an honor to induct him into the UFC Hall of Fame this summer.”
Lawler will be inducted during UFC’s annual International Fight Week on June 26 in Las Vegas, becoming the 16th member of the modern wing which includes fighters who turned pro on or after Nov. 17, 2000 (when the first UFC event under the unified rules debuted) and who are over 35 or have been retired for one year.
In the final bout of his career two years ago at UFC 290 in Las Vegas, Lawler recorded a walk-off knockout of Niko Price in just 38 seconds to end his career in style. Among his 30 career wins, Lawler defeated Frank Trigg, Scott Smith, Melvin Manhoef, Matt Lindland, Josh Koscheck, MacDonald (twice), Hendricks, Condit, Matt Brown, Donald Cerrone and Nick Diaz.
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