Robbie Lawler on UFC 171 title loss: 'He fought a hell of a fight'

Although Robbie Lawler was a bit more talkative after Saturday’s UFC 171 event than he normally is, it was clear the unsuccessful title challenger was still dwelling on what could have been.

The resurgent vet snapped a three-fight winning streak and failed in his attempt to claim the vacant welterweight title after suffering a narrow, hard-fought and hugely entertaining unanimous-decision loss to Johny Hendricks (16-2 MMA, 11-2 UFC) at Dallas’ pay-per-view headliner.

“It’s easy to look back now and look at the things you should have done, but yeah, I probably should have pressed a little bit more and pressed to finish,” Lawler (22-10 MMA, 7-4 UFC) said after the loss, which came via 48-47 scores across the board. “I didn’t do it tonight, and he fought a hell of a fight.”

Lawler was clearly dejected, and as he answered nearly every reporter’s question, he simply shook his head in disbelief while staring off into distance. He was one round away from a world title, and according to the UFC 171 official scorecards, the fifth and final round proved the decider (check out the Hendricks vs. Lawler video highlights).

So when Hendricks scored a late-round takedown – an often-pivotal achievement when it comes to MMA judging – Lawler knew the title probably just slipped through his hands.

“I was thinking, ‘Oh s–t, he’s laying on me.’” Lawler said. “That’s what I was thinking.

” … The thing is, when you leave it up to the judges, those things happen. I just didn’t do enough tonight, they thought. I need to go back to work, obviously, and work on some things, work on throwing a little bit maybe, some more punches. I thought I fought a pretty good fight. I defended some takedowns. It was a hell of a fight.”

The good news for Lawler is that the loss is unlikely to do much to set him back in the now-wide-open welterweight division. A battered and bruised Hendricks had nothing but praise for Lawler after the event, as did UFC President Dana White. In fact, if other contenders – Tyron Woodley, Hector Lombard and Rory MacDonald among them – weren’t queued up and campaigning for their own title shots, Lawler might have earned himself an immediate rematch.

That’s part of the reason Lawler couldn’t help but dwell on the what-ifs, including some of his stinging shots in the third round that turned the momentum of the bout.

“I saw his legs buckle a little bit, but he recovered pretty fast, and he was throwing back.” Lawler said. “He’s a dangerous opponent, and once again, maybe I should’ve pressed a little bit more and took the fight to him a little earlier.

“He brought it tonight, he was in shape, and he got the victory.”

Despite the stumble, Lawler can expect to get other meaningful bouts, and he’s potentially a win or two away from a Hendricks rematch or a fight with anyone who’s able to dethrone “Bigg Rigg” in the meantime. The former Strikeforce and EliteXC champion, though, vows he won’t make the same mistakes and let a victory slip out of hands if he gets another chance.

“I would go out there and finish him this time,” Lawler said. “I should’ve done more in the fight and thrown more punches, thrown more kicks and took him out.

“I don’t know. It’s easy to look back now and look at the things you should’ve done.”

For complete coverage of UFC 171, stay tuned to the UFC Events section of the site.

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Check out video highlights and a recap of UFC 171: