Robby Lawler moves up a weightclass...

Robbie Lawler
Robbie Lawler is looking for a change of scenery. Scheduled to appear on August 21st's UFC 49 card at the MGM Garden Arena in Las Vegas, the "ruthless" one will move up in weight divisions to face experience-heavy Hawaiian Ronald "the Machine Gun" Jhun.

"I think it will be better on my body," the former welterweight said of his recent decision to jump classes. "When I go down to 170, I'm a little too lean and I don't think it's good on my joints, so I'm gonna see what it feels like at 185."

Breaking onto the scene back at UFC 37 with an inspiring three round stand-up display against veteran Aaron Riley, Lawler impressed fans early on with his "caution to the wind" fighting style. He matched that performance with brutal back-to-back knockouts of Steve Berger and Tiki Ghosn at UFC's 37.5 and 40, before succumbing to kickboxer Pete Spratt at UFC 42. Sustaining a groin injury that shelved the aggressive fighter for seven months, Lawler returned at UFC 45 with a decision win over Chris Lytle.

Coming off a second round knockout loss to Nick Diaz at UFC 46, the Iowan brawler insists that neither this nor the fact that fellow Miletich Martial Arts teammate and former champion Matt Hughes remains at welterweight had any bearing on the move. "That had nothing to do with it," the 8-2 fighter says, adding, "We wouldn't do that [fight each other]. We don't get paid enough."

Although he hasn't set his sights on any middleweights in particular, 21-11- 2 Jhun will get the first crack at the Miletich standout who says he walks around at 185 to 192 pounds naturally. "I'm game," Jhun excitedly commented about his impending UFC debut. "A lot of guys tell me wow, he's kind of dangerous. But, you know what? I would have been fighting Robbie [at welterweight] anyway, but I don't think he wants to fight at 170, because I heard he has to lose a lot of weight." A former middleweight himself, Jhun has spent the last two years in the 170 pound division locking horns with UFC vets like Shonie Carter and Dennis Hallman. "It wasn't like I was forced into fighting at 185," Jhun says of his recent assignment. "They offered it to me, and I thought it was a big opportunity." However, if all goes well, Jhun says he will look to secure a welterweight match-up next.

I live in hawaii and have had the pleasure of watching Ronald Jhun fight in a few Super Brawl events that are held here. He is a pretty good fighter but is not the same caliber as Lawler. It will probably be exciting for the first 45 seconds but honestly i dont see it going on for very long. I would like to see Jhun do well but i suspect the UFC is using it as a tune up fight for Lawler.

Lawler isn't a great fighter but he doesn't have to be, he's got guts to come out swinging the way he does. Jhun will win.

i like lawler i dont think he is cocky like most people

Lawler was a sensation that was released too early for his own good, he has speed, power and technique and trains with miletich wich is a plus, but he lacked a little maturity/refinement wich he didnt have...he lost twice..once to Pete Spratt because of a 'leg clash' they had wich broke something in lawlers hip, Lawler was dominating the entire fight. His second loss however against Nick Diaz showed an important flaw!!!
Lawler has heavy hands and isnt scared of using them, but Nick Diaz patiently backed away and countered inteligently....Diaz is a beginner in terms of striking skills in the UFC level, but he managed to rock Lawler once easily and then KO him with a very light counter one-two type punch. Lawler's aggression and lack of concentration led to his end in that fight!

So what does this have to do with him moving up a weight class? Well think of it this way, He is beatable and KO-able in the welterweight division in which people cut to make 170lbs, How on earth does he expect to handle the 180 division with people cutting down to be 185lbs? I mean the heavy hitters...Baroni, Murray, the very skilled Matt Lindland!
In terms of strategy, yes he needs to change divisions because the welterweight belongs to Matt Hughes now that BJ Penn has been kicked out of UFC, so lawler will never get a chance at the title there, so he needs to move....but Middle weight gives me a feeling that he will suffer a horrible losing streak that could eventually get him sent packing from the UFC.

My take on Lawler is similar, He has natural power and explosivness but he tryed to fight to early with not enough experience. He was riding that "im untouchable" confedence that many young fighters with power have until they get picked apart by a seasoned vet or meet someone with more power... (you could see his energy go before the "groin injury" when he got tagged by Spratt) Now I think his confedence is a bit shaken and he is looking for a change... I don't knw if moving up is a good choice! Even if he takes Juhn, wich I doubt (jhun has come along way as a fighter sense super brawl and Jhon Lewis' productions)
Where is Lawler gonna go, as much as i hate to admit it,I dont see him out powering barone much less Lindland! **** it if I was Lawler I would keep signig on to fight and make as much money as I could to invest in something else! I think his career with the UFC is almost up.