Former UFC welterweight champion Robbie Lawler has heard UFC officials disclose that his Saturday night main event with Rafael dos Anjos at UFC on FOX 26 will crown the No. 1 contender.
But being a veteran of the sport, “Ruthless” also knows that nothing can ever be taken for certain.
Lawler and dos Anjos meet in a 170-pound, five-round affair from Winnipeg, airing live on FOX.
With UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley undergoing surgery, there is no real time-table for when the belt could be put on the line once again.
“That’s what they’re saying,” Lawler said. “I’m not really focused on that. I’m focused on being a better fighter and a better person. But that’s what they said, but things change in this fight game all the time.”
Lawler returned from a year-long layoff when he bested Donald Cerrone in the summer. He spent almost an entire 365 days on the sidelines after a knockout loss to Woodley.
He cleared up the exact reason for his absence from the Octagon, saying it has to be the “right fight at the right time.”
“Circumstances,” he added. “It’s not my body. It has to be the right fight at the right time. Timing. I didn’t want to come to Canada in the cold. But this was a good fight. It just has to do with timing and opponents.”
