INQUISITR.COM / Sports

UFC 205 Card: Robbie Lawler To Fight Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone At Madison Square Garden

By Jason Fletcher
Published on: 07:26 PST, Sep 7, 2016

UFC president Dana White announced a blockbuster welterweight fight for UFC 205 on Wednesday. According to MMAJunkie.com, former welterweight champion Robbie Lawler (27-11 MMA, 12-5 UFC) will fight red-hot Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone (31-7 MMA, 18-4 UFC) in the first-ever MMA fight held in New York after the state lifted its ban on MMA.

UFC 205 will take place at Madison Square Garden on November 12, and aside from the Lawler-Cerrone bout, the only other fight currently on the card is a welterweight bout between Thiago Alves and Al Iaquinta. White did make sure to point out that Lawler and Cerrone won’t be the main event for UFC 205 as that will be announced at a later date.

Lawler has reportedly been pushing White to put him on a card rather quickly after he suffered a first-round knockout at the hands of Tyron Woodley at UFC 201 back in July. The loss not only ended Robbie’s reign as UFC welterweight champ but also brought to an end a streak of five consecutive victories inside the octagon for the San Diego native.

After suffering such a shocking defeat at the hands of Woodley, it makes sense that Lawler would want to get that bad taste out of his mouth as quickly as possible. By taking this fight against Cerrone, Lawler will have the opportunity to fight on one of the biggest cards of the year and put his name right back in the mix for another title shot with a victory.

As for Cerrone, he’s looked like a completely different fighter since moving up from 155. Cowboy has gone 3-0 since moving to welterweight with wins over Rick Story, Patrick Cote, and Alex Oliveira. He seems to be more comfortable at this weight as he doesn’t have to cut near as much. It’s also an opportunity for him to possibly win a title after losing twice to Rafael dos Anjos at 155.

Overall, Donald has won 12 of his last 13 fights with the one loss coming to dos Anjos at UFC on Fox 17 in December 2015. When Cerrone heard that Lawler was looking for a fight at UFC 205, he immediately took to Twitter to offer his services. As we all know, Cowboy will fight anyone at any time, and it’s one of the traits that makes him so beloved by MMA fans across the world.

One would think that the winner of this fight should be the next to receive a shot at the welterweight belt. Aside from the hiccup against Woodley, Lawler has been dominant in this division over the last couple of years. At the same time, a victory over Lawler, coupled with his three other victories at 170, should put Cerrone right in line for a title shot despite his current No. 14 ranking in the division.

As for Woodley, White has yet to schedule his first title defense. Stephen Thompson wants a shot at the welterweight champ, but Woodley seems to prefer a bout against Georges St. Pierre, who is rumored to be on the comeback trail. While many would love to see a Woodley vs. St. Pierre fight, it may make more sense for Woodley to fight Thompson and then have St. Pierre fight Michael Bisping, the UFC middleweight champion.

Bisping has already called out St. Pierre for a fight in December, but the MMA legend has yet to respond. Before retiring, St. Pierre fought at welterweight, and it’s unclear if he would be willing to step up to middleweight to take the fight against Bisping.

[Photo by Steve Marcus/Getty Images]

Share this article: UFC 205 Card: Robbie Lawler To Fight Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone At Madison Square Garden
ufc mma dana white
More from Inquisitr