Lawler vs. MacDonald II was the kind of fight that lives on forever
While Conor McGregor and Chad Mendes were busy staring each other down and throwing enough expletives at each other that Howard Stern would blush, welterweight champion Robbie Lawler and No. 1 contender Rory MacDonald had just about the friendliest lead up to their title fight at UFC 189.
Sure things got a little snippy at the weigh-ins when MacDonald put his fist up to Lawler's chin and just before they walked away, the hand was swiped away as UFC president Dana White stepped in the middle just to ensure nothing bad happened.
In terms of pre-fight heat, Lawler and MacDonald registered somewhere on the subarctic level but none of that mattered once they stepped into the Octagon together.
Lawler was the champion made and forged through a career filled with ups, downs, rises, falls, accolades and disappointments before finally realizing his dream last December when he defeated Johny Hendricks to win the welterweight title.
MacDonald was the heir apparent, who was touted as the next great welterweight on the day he arrived in the UFC and saw the hype only grow bigger as he trained and worked under legendary champion Georges St-Pierre before stepping out of his shadow once his fellow Canadian semi-retired from competition.
The two welterweights stepped into the Octagon together and admittedly had a lackluster opening round as they both tried to find their range and the perfect opening to land some kind of offense. From then on out, Lawler and MacDonald proceeded to put on one of the best championship fights in history.
Lawler found a home for his punches in round two that staggered MacDonald and busted open his nose. Just when it looked like the champion was about to celebrate, MacDonald came back with a huge head kick in round three before nearly finishing the fight if not for a horn sounding and saving Lawler from losing his belt.
Lawler and MacDonald battled it out in round four as well, but by the end of the five minutes, the incumbent champion had a badly split lip and it looked like the title might be going home to Canada again.
That was until round five.
Lawler took a look at MacDonald from across the cage, spit some of his blood on the ground and stared at the challenger like he was literally stealing food from his family's mouths and money from their pockets.
With five minutes to go, Lawler came out firing but it wasn't a haymaker or a chin-shattering uppercut that finished the fight. It was a simple, technical straight punch down the middle that landed like a tactical missile and MacDonald's nose erupted.
That was enough as MacDonald fell to the ground in pain and Lawler didn't need to do much else afterwards to seal the deal and regain his championship. When the fight was over both men went to the hospital with Lawler requiring some attention on a mangled lip and MacDonald suffering a fractured nose and a fractured foot.
"It's more exciting because I showed everyone I'm a true fighter," Lawler yelled after winning his fourth straight fight. "I come to fight, no matter what happens I keep coming and try to knock people out!"
Lawler is probably never going to bowl anyone over with his verbal skills leading up to his fights and as excited as he was in his post-fight speech with UFC commentator Joe Rogan, no one is probably lining up to hear him say it again.
But what Lawler did at UFC 189, along with Rory MacDonald, was put on a show that didn't need bad blood or harsh words. They just went into the Octagon and performed like two of the best fighters in the world and let the fight speak for itself.
To survive as the biggest MMA promotion in the world, the UFC needs Conor McGregor just as much as they need Robbie Lawler and Rory MacDonald. Certainly, fighters like McGregor, who can hype a fight and sell Pay-Per-Views are essential to the sport exploding into the mainstream where fighters are appearing on "The Conan O'Brien Show" and getting offers to star in video game commercials.
But for the MMA purists who just love to watch great fights and great fighters plying their craft, Lawler and MacDonald are essential to the sport, just in a much different way.
They go out and put on the kind of fights like what we saw on Saturday night that will live forever. When there's a naysayer who just can't get into MMA, someone is going to show them Lawler vs. MacDonald from UFC 189 and they might just change their mind. When there's a newcomer who has never seen MMA and wants to know what it's all about, someone can pull up the Lawler vs. MacDonald fight from UFC 189 and say this is what is great about MMA.
Lawler and MacDonald won't wow you with their words, but what they do with their fists is like watching a ballet of violence that can't ever be forgotten.
