Robbie Lawler may have produced perhaps the best retirement in MMA history when his 38-second knockout over Niko Price at UFC 290 was followed by a video tribute that brought tears to his eyes.
Rarely do veterans get the chance to go out on a win, much less a statement-making performance like that. But Lawler went out just like he started more than 20 years ago, by giving everything he had to finish his opponent.
Despite Lawler preemptively announcing his retirement, UFC superstar Conor McGregor still chimed in with a comment stating Lawler would be “back by the end of the year.”
While retirements in MMA are notoriously short-lived, Lawler couldn’t help but laugh at McGregor’s message to him.
“Why, does Conor want to fight?” Lawler said with a smile. “That’s a big fight, but no, I’m not really thinking about those things.
“I felt good today, that’s the thing. But if I felt good for seven full weeks, that type of thing, and the fight only went for so long. You never know but I feel good with everything I accomplished. This is definitely a good way to go out.”
Of course, it’s hard to forget a viral video from seven years ago when Lawler was asked about fighting McGregor just after he lost by rear-naked choke to Nate Diaz at UFC 196. Lawler explained that it wouldn’t have been a great fight, because if he hurt McGregor on the feet like Diaz did, he wouldn’t have taken his neck.
The reporter then asked, what would you have taken?
Without blinking, Lawler answered back, “His soul.”
The chilling moment never led to a showdown, and it seems like Lawler has completely moved on — no matter what McGregor might say.
“He’s just trying to get me gassed up, I’m sure,” Lawler said. “I’m not focused on any of that right now. I’m just relaxing and trying to embrace this moment.”
Perhaps McGregor’s timing was off, but he’s not exactly wrong when it comes to fighters retiring and then changing their minds, months, weeks or sometimes even days later.
There’s also a lot of other options out there for Lawler, such as bare-knuckle fighting, where a lot of UFC veterans have earned hefty paychecks working with promotions like BKFC.
As much as that might be a possibility for other athletes, Lawler promises he’s done competing in combat sports, with or without the gloves.
“No, I’m just coaching and hanging out — I’m just retired,” Lawler said. “I’m always going to be working out. I’m always going to be in shape. I’m going to be dieting. That’s just who I am, and what I like to do, and what I’m interested in.
“But I’m going to coach and give back to others, and guys who want to compete at a high level, I’m going to try to help them do that.”
Even with the quick finish, Lawler explained why he won’t change his mind about fighting again.
“What makes this retirement pretty easy for me is because this is the first day I actually felt good during this whole camp,” he said. “But that’s really want you want, you try to figure out how to be really good on one day at your best. I was able to do that today.”
All things considered, it would also be difficult to imagine a better ending for Lawler’s career than how he went out on Saturday. He was understandably overwhelmed with emotion as he watched highlights from his entire career.
“It’s an honor and a pleasure to freaking see that,” Lawler said. “I mean the UFC and Dana did a great job of honoring me. The fans did a great job honoring me and my career, and everything I’ve given this sport.
“I’m happy that everyone is embracing what I’ve tried to do, and I always go out there and try to knock people out and fight. I always enjoyed it. Just a long crazy career, and I’ve always loved MMA, and I guess that’s why I’ve been able to do it so long.”
