Lawler-Villasenor 2 Set for Nov. 8 EliteXC

In their initial encounter, Lawler (16-4, 1 NC) made quick work of Villasenor (26-6) out of the gate with a flying-knee knockout at Pride 32 “The Real Deal” in October 2006. Villasenor has gone 4-for-5 since that night, leaving David Loiseau, Riki Fukuda, Ryan Jensen, and Phil Baroni in his wake. Villasenor’s only loss in that time came at the hands of scrappy Brazilian striker Murilo “Ninja” Rua, who dropped Villasenor in the second round to earn the EliteXC crown in June 2007.

Lawler, who hails out of Matt Hughes’ H.I.T. Squad in Illinois, has tangled twice with Scott Smith since taking the gold from Rua in September 2007. After gleaning a no contest with Smith last May at EliteXC “Primetime” on CBS, Lawler successively stopped the Sacramento fighter with a barrage of second-round strikes on July 26 in Stockton. Calif.

A venue for the Nov. 8 event has yet to be announced.