Robbie Lawler evolving and thriving in his second UFC stint

(This story first appeared in Thursday’s USA TODAY.)

Talk to people who have been beside Robbie Lawler on his journey from hot prospect to beatable bruiser to UFC welterweight contender and you’ll hear the word “maturity” often.

It’s what happens when you manage to buck considerable odds against a late-career resurgence in MMA, as Lawler is doing eight years after his first UFC stint ended in disappointment with a 4-3 record and a release from his contract.

It’s also what happens when you have solid coaches — and you listen to them.

“Robbie was such a talent to where he didn’t really trust a lot of other people,” Lawler’s coach, Matt Pena, told USA TODAY Sports. “Now, we just tell him what to do and he does it. Before, he was always a little critical of what he was going to do and why he was going to do it.”

After bouncing around gyms and transferring to the UFC from the now-defunct Strikeforce promotion as a 3-5 middleweight, Lawler (22-9 MMA, 7-3 UFC) is lighter and has won three in a row as a welterweight, with knockouts in two of the fights.

Saturday, the veteran gets his biggest chance yet to realize his potential when he meets Johny Hendricks (15-2 MMA, 10-2 UFC) for the welterweight belt in the headliner of UFC 171 at American Airlines Center in Dallas, which airs live on pay-per-view (10 p.m. ET).

The southpaws will compete for a title left vacant when Georges St-Pierre stepped away from the sport this year.

To Pena and Lawler’s longtime manager, Monte Cox, it’s no accident the fighter is on a roll after finding stability at Florida’s famed American Top Team. They say Lawler, 31, no longer takes for granted the abilities that brought him to the UFC as a talented 20-year-old knockout artist.

“He’s never let the fame or notoriety get to his head,” Pena says. “He’s the type of guy that as soon as the fight’s over, he’s back in the gym. He’s not letting his body blow out of proportion. He’s just a complete professional.”

Lawler’s innate punching power, which sounded like gunshots and brought curious onlookers, according to a chronicle of his former team, is now balanced. There’s a focus on his craft that includes submissions, wrestling and a sparring schedule that keeps miles off his body.

“All of a sudden, you’ve still got that knockout power,” Cox says. “He’s sparring, so he’s finding more openings and creating more openings, and his wrestling and jiu-jitsu have come up a couple of notches to support the striking. You improve a couple of areas of his game, and all of a sudden he’s become the complete package.”

Paradoxically, it’s those broader skills that make Lawler more capable of landing his concussive left hand, Pena said. and Lawler is always looking for the knockout.

“Now, there’s tons of athletes, and a handful of guys really have that mean streak, that are real fighters,” Cox says. “A lot of folks are here for the fame and the money now. Rob is a throwback.”

For the latest on UFC 171, stay tuned to the UFC Rumors section of the site.