Hall of Famer and UFC Berlin guest fighter Forrest Griffin (19-7) spoke about the UFC 189 co-main event between Rory MacDonald and welterweight champion Robbie Lawler, and how the fight will differ from their first encounter at UFC 167.
Lawler and MacDonald will face off for the second time at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, but this time the stakes are much higher with MacDonald on a three fight win streak since his fateful 2013 loss to Lawler.
Former UFC Light-Heavyweight champion Griffin reflected on their first bout, and attributed Lawler’s split decision win to his third round knockdown of the Canadian; a decisive move in a supremely close fight.
Griffin said: “I thought the first fight was great, and if it’s not for one punch, Rory MacDonald wins that fight. That one punch changed the whole course of the fight.”
As for the rematch, Griffin expects yet another exciting clash between the top welterweights, potentially better than the first, but questions whether or not “Red King” can use his reach to stay out of range of Lawler’s deadly hands.
“It could be a really long night, we could be in for ten rounds of fighting potentially,” Griffin joked about the UFC 189 double main event, then scheduled to be headlined by Conor McGregor vs. Jose Aldo before a rib injury forced the Brazilian to be replaced by Chad Mendes.
For so long, people have compared MacDonald’s rise to the top to that of former UFC welterweight champion and Tristar team mate Georges St-Pierre.
It has emerged as a shadow that MacDonald has been forced to become content with, however Griffin believes the 25 year-old can start to forge his own legacy with a win over Lawler in Sin City.
“I know that’s big to him, you don’t want to be in a guy’s shadow your whole career. I think it’s kind of crazy but the way for him to get out of it is to win the belt.”
“Ruthless” Robbie Lawler (25–10, 1 NC), aged 33, will make the first defence of his 170lb gold since beating Johny Hendricks at UFC 181 in December, 2014, and the American Top Team fighter’s late career resurgence, and ability to continue putting on top performances after more than 14 years as a professional makes Griffin; just three years the elder, very envious.
“Nothing makes me more jealous. I remember watching him fight, when I had only been training for like a year. He did something right [to keep fighting for so long].”
Saturday night at UFC 189 will prove whether or not MacDonald can begin his rise to Canadian super stardom, and if Lawler’s late-career revival is one of the greatest ever.
