It is always nice to see Lawler back in action, and thankfully, the
UFC has put him in a pairing that figures to turn into an
entertaining war. It has now been about two decades since “Ruthless
Robbie” was a top prospect and nearly a decade since Lawler’s UFC
return, which came at a point when he was still a viable veteran
but seemed to firmly be in the journeyman portion of his career.
However, Lawler’s career found a second wind, culminating in a 2014
welterweight title victory and a reign that ranks among the most
fondly remembered in UFC history. Beyond the good vibes of being a
culmination of so much work, Lawler’s fights against Johny
Hendricks, Rory
MacDonald and Carlos
Condit were championship-round epics that rank among the best
bouts of all-time. Tyron
Woodley quickly ended Lawler’s run with a first-round knockout,
and he has clearly been winding down since then, especially thanks
to a stretch where the UFC seemed content to match him with
wrestling-focused contenders instead of allowing him to shine in
striking wars. Now that Lawler has firmly slid out of contention,
the promotion seems to have pivoted back to matchmaking that is
just plain fun. Lawler looked revitalized in a strange comeback
fight for old rival Nick Diaz, and
with a clear win there, he now draws Barberena. “Bam Bam” had a
breakout year in 2016, upsetting highly touted prospects Sage
Northcutt and Warlley
Alves with his rugged and relentless style. That did not turn
into a title run for him, but it gave him enough name value to stay
in some prominent positions, enough so that by his 2019 “Fight of
the Year” contender against Vicente
Luque, Barberena was fully established as a fighter who
guaranteed excitement with every trip to the Octagon. Even in a
loss, Barberena’s career seemed to be at its peak, which made the
next few years all the more harrowing. After a subsequent setback
to Randy
Brown, Barberena spent the greater part of two years on the
shelf thanks to multiple career- and life-threatening injuries.
Understandably, Barberena looked quite flat upon his full-time
return, even shockingly dropping a decision to Jason Witt.
Barberena obviously did well over the years to become a more
technically sound fighter, but the worry was that his body had
betrayed him just when he figured to benefit from those gains.
Since the Witt loss, Barberena has put together two straight wins,
including an all-action victory over Matt Brown in
March. Barberena may be diminished, but he is still capable of
wading through damage and gutting things out to an impressive
degree. Lawler does need to pace himself at times, so there is a
chance that Barberena can take this just by fighting hard for 15
full minutes. However, Lawler still has enough craft—and he may
actually be the sprier fighter—to likely take at least two rounds,
especially since Barberena does not appear to be the level of
wrestler at this point who can take him fully out of his game. This
should be an enjoyable watch. The pick is Lawler via decision.
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