When this fight was announced for UFC 213, most MMA fans were giddy with excitement, however that anticipation was halted when it was revealed that it had to be postponed due to an illness to one of the fighters.
Thankfully, Donald ‘The Cowboy’ Cerrone’s was able to recover and fight fans didn’t have to wait too long until it was rescheduled for UFC 214. That night has three title matches, but most MMA purists are looking forward to this fight as much as any of them.
That’s because of the two men involved – ‘Ruthless’ Robbie Lawler is renowned for being one of the toughest men in the business and his bouts with Rory MacDonald will go down as all-time greats. Meanwhile, Donald Cerrone is probably the second most popular fighter in all of the UFC, after Conor McGregor.
It’s set to be a fight for the ages and we are sure it won’t disappoint.
Robbie Lawler’s form
Robbie Lawler’s record of 27 wins and 11 losses demonstrates the fact that he is a man who knows his way around the octagon. He has far too much experience to be phased by anything.
In his last bout, he lost his welterweight title to Tyron Woodley via a first round knock-out. That will have hurt mentally, as well as physically. He will be keen to right that wrong and get back into the winning column.
Prior to that, he was on an impressive five fight winning streak, taking down fighters such as Rory MacDonald, Carlos Condit and Matt Brown.
Donald Cerrone’s form
Cerrone move to welterweight has really suited him and he has been putting on brilliant performances since rising up the weights. With a record of 32 wins and only eight losses, he also has plenty of experience within the octagon.
His last fight, against Jorge Masvidal, was his first loss since moving to welterweight. It was a devastating second round knock-out, but Cerrone took that fight just six weeks after his prior one. This is not near enough time to recover for an MMA bout – some fighters have fight camps longer than six weeks.
Thus, that loss should be taken with a large pinch of salt. He is better than that, as his fights against Matt Brown, Rick Story and Patrick Cote proved.
News
Both of these men have serious knock-out power, but you’d have to question how much Cerrone has been affected by his recent illness. Sure, he says that he is fine and he certainly is a tough character, but the body takes a certain amount of time to recover after taking a beating like that.
Will he be able to overcome this? Only time will tell…
Our tips
Robbie Lawler is a seriously tough man. In fact, we are unsure if there is anyone in the entire roster who is tougher than him. Losing his last bout in such emphatic fashion will have left his ego severely bruised and he will be keen to recover.
Couple this with the fact that Donald Cerrone is recovering from an injury and you would have to fancy Lawler for the win. He is priced at 2/3 with Coral to get it and we think that’s an excellent bet.
We wouldn’t be surprised to see this one end in the first round too. Under 3 rounds is priced at even money with Ladbrokes.