Strikeforce "Ruthless" Robbie Lawler

Strikeforce just held a press conference promote its upcoming Strikeforce event from the Nokia Theater in Los Angeles on June 16th. The headliner for this special Wednesday event will be Robbie Lawler (19-5) and the former lightweight champ Renato Sobral (35-. When talking of the main event, Strikeforce head man Scott Coker said that the winner would put themselves next in line for a title shot.

This is a curious statement because the fight is being held at a catchweight of 195 lbs and there isn’t a title at that weight. What this actually means is that this fight went from little meaning to ultimately effecting two separate divisions.

Lawler was originally scheduled to face Jason Miller at middleweight (185 lbs.) but
Strikeforce removed Miller from the card while they awaited possible suspension from the Tennessee State Athletic Commission. Strikeforce called on veteran light heavyweight Sobral to step in for Miller and the catchweight match up was born.

A win for Lawler, according to Coker would mean a middleweight title shot against Jacare Souza. Interesting comment since the current middleweight champ is Jake Shields, but he is a free agent currently being courted by the UFC. This would lead many to believe Coker thinks Shields is all but gone and a Jacare vs. Lawler fight would be for the vacant middleweight title.

Ya beat me to the punch with this one, Sanderson.

Should be an easy win for Lawler.

I wouldn't bet everything on Lawler.

Rodger wrote:I wouldn't bet everything on Lawler.

You were right. Renato Sobral beat Robbie Lawler! Sobral battled Robbie Lawler for 15 minutes and did enough to convince all three judges that he won two rounds.

The judges' decision -- 29-28 all around -- could have easily gone either way, but Babalu did just enough to win..

Lawler cut Sobral on the bridge of the nose early in the first round with a good punch,
and he was getting the better of the exchanges on the feet in the early going. Sobral appeared to have his opportunity when he secured a takedown with two minutes to go in the first round, but Lawler shook Sobral off and got back to his feet easily. A few seconds later, when Lawler slipped on a kick and fell to the ground again, he again had no trouble getting back to his feet.


Early in the second Lawler showed how much his takedown defense has improved, as Sobral tried to secure a single-leg takedown and Lawler hammered away while hopping on one foot. During an odd moment a minute and a half into the second round, Lawler appeared to be hurt and was staggering around the cage, but Sobral oddly didn't attempt to capitalize. Sobral did land a couple of right kicks to the body that created a big purple welt on Lawler's left side, but he wasn't as aggressive as he should have been in the second.

In the third round Lawler started peppering Babalu's face with punches, opening up cuts and blackening Babalu's eye. But Babalu wouldn't quit and did a nice job of connecting to the body. By the end of the third both men were completely exhausted, and when the final horn sounded they celebrated but also looked relieved.