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UFC Fight Night: Lawler vs. Brown
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Published: 7/25/2014  at  3:09:00 AM
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UFC FIGHT NIGHT

Saturday, July 26, 2014
San Jose, CA

Robbie “Ruthless” Lawler (23-10) vs. Matt “The Immortal” Brown (21-11)

Five-round welterweight bout

Line: Lawler -350 Brown +290

Robbie Lawler looks to inch closer to another welterweight title fight as he goes up against a dangerous fighter in Matt Brown at UFC Fight Night on Saturday.

After a tough loss to Johny Hendricks, Lawler bounced back against Jake Ellenberger in convincing fashion at UFC 173. In that fight, “Ruthless” ended the match in the third round by delivering a vicious knee followed by a flurry of punches. The match against Hendricks was very close, and it showed how good Lawler can be. He has the ability to deliver a knockout at any point during the match, and has the cardio to throw those punches the entire match. He goes up against Matt Brown on Saturday, who is one of the toughest guys in the sport. “The Immortal” looks the part sometimes, as nobody has been able to get a hold of him as of late. Brown has won his last seven matches, with his win against Erick Silva on May 10 being his most recent. In that fight, he was able to display the knockout power that he possesses, ending the fight in the third round. Both of these guys have incredible knockout power, and both see a chance to potentially earn a title bout in the end. This has the makings of an incredible fight, and in the end, look for Lawler to win by knockout.

Of Lawler’s 23 career victories, 19 have ended by way of knockout. He also has three victories by decision, and one by submission. At 5-foot-11, Lawler does not have incredible size or length, so he is really looking to stay within striking distance of his opponent. The Illinois native does not land as many significant strikes as Brown (4.13 for Brown, compared to 3.41 for Lawler). However, Lawler’s strength in his punches makes up for his lack of throwing a lot. Lawler does do a nice job of defending against the punches, defending 63 percent of his opponent’s attempts (58 percent defended by Brown). Both of these guys can end the fight at any moment, which should provide for an exciting night. For Brown, at 33 years old, the opportunity for a title bout with a win may be the last opportunity for his career.

Brown has 21 victories in his career, with 13 of them coming by way of knockout. For a knockout artist though, Brown has the ability to also end the match with a submission, winning six matches in that style with two wins by decision. Not only does the Ohio native deliver more significant strikes, he is also much more accurate landing them (59 percent for Brown, while Lawler lands only 43 percent of his strikes). Both of these guys are great using their knockout power, so Brown could use his big grappling advantage to help him get the win. Brown has a 2.09 takedown average, compared to 1.05 for Lawler. Size and length won’t be a huge advantage in this fight, as Brown will have a one-inch height advantage on Lawler. Both of these guys know how big of fight this is, so look for an exciting match.


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