Robbie Lawler returns this July at UFC 276 against Bryan Barberena
We’ve just been informed of a very exciting welterweight match up going down at UFC 276, where former UFC welterweight champion ‘Ruthless’ Robbie Lawler faces fellow brawler Bryan ‘Bam Bam’ Barberena.
UFC 276 is to go down July 2, 2022, at the T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada.
Both of these men are coming off impressive, entertaining performances; Lawler recently finished the returning Nick Diaz in their rematch back in September, whereas Barberena was awarded a split decision victory over Matt Brown in their Fight of the Night contest earlier this spring.
‘Ruthless’ had one of the more remarkable career resurgences in the entire sport upon returning to the UFC back in 2013.
Going into his fight with Josh Koscheck, Lawler was 1-3 over his last four, and 3-5 over his last eight.
However, Lawler shocked us all with the improvements he made once moving his camp to ATT. After knocking Koscheck out, he then did the same to Bobby Voelker, before defeating Rory MacDonald (SD).
This awarded him a vacant title shot, where he was defeated (UD) by Johny Hendricks.
Lawler then won two more fights en route to another title shot, defeating Jake Ellenberger (TKO) and Matt Brown (UD), and he defeated Hendricks (SD) this time around to claim the title.
Lawler had two successful defenses during his reign against the likes of MacDonald (TKO) in their rematch, and then former interim UFC champion & multi-time WEC welterweight champion Carlos Condit (SD), making him 8-1 in his second stint with the UFC.
But, his run would come to an end in his next bout, where he was KO’d by Tyron Woodley, losing his title in the process. A victory over Donald Cerrone (UD) would follow, before losing his next four-straight.
To our surprise, former Strikeforce welterweight champion Nick Diaz came back after over six years away to rematch Lawler, and he’d fall in the third round (TKO) to the former champion, giving Lawler his first win in over four years.
‘Bam Bam’ on the other hand first got noticed with his submission victory over Sage Northcutt (arm-triangle choke), handing the young prodigy the first defeat of his career, bringing Barberena’s record to 11-3.
Barberena has gone back-and-forth between wins and losses since, climbing to 17-8 where he sits now. He does however come into this bout on a two-fight win streak. He, like Lawler, has a win over Jake Ellenberger, and also Jake’s brother, Joe, finishing them both via TKO.
This is an epic welterweight showdown between two of the toughest, grittiest fighters in the whole sport. At this point they’ve both been finished with strikes; but with how many wars each have been in, it’s bound to happen.
Who walks away from this UFC 276 encounter on top?
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