LAS VEGAS—Robbie Lawler had a front row seat to Thursday’s RAF 14 press conference brawl, and if you saw him on video, “Ruthless” remained somewhat stoic throughout.
Lawler is set to face Khamzat Chimaev in the co-main event of Friday’s wrestling event at Fontainebleau. Following Lawler and Chimaev’s section of the press conference, Arman Tsarukyan and Dillon Danis went back-and-forth when it was their turn. Eventually, Danis showed off his shirt that read “Khamzat is my bitch,” featuring a photo of Chimaev without a beard, which stemmed from their post-match brawl at RAF 10 in June.
Tsarukyan then went after Danis, and all hell broke loose, with Lawler’s opponent Chimaev getting involved.
Shortly after the viral moment, Lawler shared his reaction with MMA Fighting, and he didn’t seem impressed.
“It is what it is,” Lawler told MMA Fighting. “It’s just, I’m here to wrestle and compete. I’m just keeping my life simple and I’m not trying to get involved in any of that nonsense.”
A former UFC welterweight champion and one of the most exciting fighters in MMA history, Lawler has seen it all at this point.
After a follow-up comment, Lawler dove a little deeper on how he felt about how things went down, and hopes that fighters—and combat sports athletes in general—can act more professional during these events.
“It’s just, you want to put your best foot forward and a lot of kids are watching this, guys who are excited about wrestling” Lawler said. “It’s not always about the show and it’s not about the eyes. It’s about freaking having this sport be built and taking it to another level.
“And I just think we need to do a better job as competitors.”