Former UFC welterweight champ set to be on the prelims for the first time since UFC debut over two decades ago
Dana White recently made multiple fight announcements for the UFC 290 card that is set to take place during International Fight Week. The event will be held on July 8 at the T-Mobile Arena in Paradise, Nevada.
MMA fans were taken aback by one announcement where White mentioned that the July event will mark MMA veteran Robbie Lawler's last fight in the multi-billion dollar promotion. White stated that 'Ruthless' will lock horns against Niko Price on the preliminary card of the event.
MMA journalist Alex Behunin pointed out that July 8 will be the first time the former welterweight champion will compete on the prelims of a card since his promotional debut in 2002.
Robbie Lawler will be on the prelims for the first time since his UFC debut in 2002 for his retirement fight twitter.com/mmamania/statu…
White also mentioned the fact Lawler's fight will take place only two days after he gets conducted into the UFC Hall of Fame for his legendary battle against Rory MacDonald at UFC 189.
"The featured bout [on the prelims] is Robbie Lawler vs. Niko Price. Lawler will be inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame on Thursday... for his fight versus Rory MacDonald. Then, he fights on Saturday... I found Robbie Lawler when he was 19 years old, and UFC 290 will be the final fight of his amazing career," said Dana White.
Our #UFC290 main event is OFFICIAL!
Dana White just dropped the entire main card for International Fight Week and it's HUGE 🔥 https://t.co/aoNWRRiJvb
Lawler and MacDonald delivered one of the most iconic fights in the promotion's history in July 2015. The welterweight championship fight was a back-and-forth brawl that ended with a fifth-round TKO for 'Ruthless'.
Greatest Fight of all Time?! 🔥
Robbie Lawler vs Rory Macdonald takes its rightful place in the #UFCHoF! https://t.co/V21XGdukY6
Apart from Lawler vs. Price, White announced a title fight between Alexander Volkanovski vs. Yair Rodriguez as the main event. The co-main event will feature another championship bout as flyweight king Brandon Moreno will go toe-to-toe against Alexandre Pantoja. Other exciting matchups for the card will include Jalin Turner vs. Dan Hooker, Robert Whittaker vs. Dricus du Plessis and Sean Brady vs. Jack Della Maddalena.
Fans are upset with the positioning of Robbie Lawler vs. Niko Price at UFC 290
Although MMA legend Robbie Lawler is set up for an exciting scrap against the always-entertaining Niko Price, fans were upset to know that the fight will take place on the prelims.
Many thought that it was disrespectful to have 'Ruthless' on the prelims of the event. They took to social medai to share their thoughts on the news.
One individual said that Lawler deserved to be on the main card for his final fight.
@AlexBehunin Lawler deserves better than this. I'm onboard the Nickal hype train but Robbie Lawler has EARNED better than this.
Another person suggested starting a petition to get Lawler vs. Price moved to the main card.
@AlexBehunin We should start a petition to get that man moved to the main card for his final fight.
A few more tweets on the issue can be seen below:
@AlexBehunin Robbie don’t deserve this shit. He deserves much better
@AlexBehunin Just classic ufc, kick the legend to the curb as he walks out the door.
@AlexBehunin The disrespect…
@AlexBehunin Disgraceful. Put this man on the main card.