Robbie Lawler, despite being retired and still undergoing drug tests as a formality, has no plans for a UFC comeback, focusing instead on his upcoming induction into the UFC Hall of Fame’s Modern Wing.
Robbie Lawler, still getting drug tested? Yep, it’s true. But that’s as close as the soon-to-be two-time UFC Hall of Famer is to a comeback.
Recently, on the Pound 4 Pound podcast, Lawler, 43, addressed if he’s still in the UFC’s anti-doping pool post-retirement in 2023. He trains at Kill Cliff FC in Florida, but insists the tests are just formalities.
“All that was is like they tested me when a bunch of people were at the gym,” Lawler explained. “I got tested months ago, too. I’m still there getting tested.”
“But I’m retired. I am in the pool.”
Fans of Lawler, the former UFC welterweight champ, might find this reassuring. He ended his career with a knockout at UFC 290 in July 2023, defeating Niko Price in 38 seconds.
Retiring wasn’t easy, but it was all his decision. “It was all on me,” Lawler said. “No one can tell me what to do. It’s just how I am.”
Coaching, recovering, training—it’s a lot. “Do I want to keep doing this? The recovery, it’s hard. Can I still do it? Yeah, but do I want to be selfish? It’s selfish.”
“And it would be even more selfish because I have to think a lot harder than when I was 20,” he added. “When you don’t want to put all that work into doing it at a certain level, then it’s…”
Lawler’s set for another UFC Hall of Fame induction on June 26 during International Fight Week. Previously, he entered the Fight Wing with Rory MacDonald for their epic UFC 189 battle. Now, he’s joining the Modern Wing.
At UFC 313, when the announcement came in March, Lawler let himself feel the moment as a tribute video played.
“I definitely enjoyed everything,” Lawler reflected. “I’d seen the highlights before. But to have it, like, oh shit, and then the flash of my career all in, like, a three-minute span, it was a lot to handle. It definitely got me.”