Robert Glenn Lawler (born March 20, 1982) is an American former professional mixed martial artist who competed between 2001 and 2023.

[8] Lawler attended Bettendorf High School where he received All-State honors in wrestling and All-Conference in football.

[11] In his next fight, Lawler faced another veteran, Tiki Ghosn at UFC 40 and won in a highlight-reel knockout.

[12] Lawler then fought against Pete Spratt at UFC 42 and lost after he submitted due to a knee injury.

[13] Lawler came back to get a win over fellow boxing and wrestling specialist Chris Lytle via unanimous decision at UFC 45.

[16] Lawler then made his debut for King of the Cage, being scheduled to fight Jeremy Brown, and won via armbar submission.

[18] In his next bout and first title defense, Lawler lost to Jason "Mayhem" Miller via arm-triangle choke submission.

In his next fight, Lawler made his IFL debut in Atlanta, Georgia against Eduardo Pamplona and won via TKO.

[24] After defeating Scott Smith, Lawler's employers, EliteXC, announced that they would be shutting down and filing for bankruptcy.

[29] Lawler had two unsuccessful attempts to meet the 195 lbs mark at the Strikeforce: Los Angeles Weigh-Ins, but was finally booked for the fight weighing 195.5 pounds, after stepping on the scale for the third time.

[30] Lawler fought Olympic Games silver medalist Matt Lindland at Strikeforce: Henderson vs. Babalu II on December 4, 2010.

[35] Lawler got back on track with a highlight reel first-round TKO victory due to a flying knee over rising prospect Adlan Amagov at Strikeforce: Rockhold vs.

[37] He lost the fight via unanimous decision, despite rocking Larkin early in the first round with a short right hook.

[38] He left Miletich Fighting Systems after this loss and joined Florida-based gym American Top Team.

Koscheck visibly protested the stoppage, but replay footage showed he was not defending himself in a dangerous position, as Lawler landed repeated blows.

[40] Lawler was expected to face former Strikeforce Welterweight Champion Tarec Saffiedine on July 27, 2013, at UFC on Fox 8.

[45] On December 13, 2013, news came that Georges St-Pierre would be taking an indefinite break from MMA and vacate the UFC Welterweight Championship.

[48] Returning quickly to the cage, Lawler replaced an injured Tarec Saffiedine and fought Jake Ellenberger at UFC 173 on May 24, 2014.

[50] Lawler faced Matt Brown in a 5-round Welterweight title eliminator bout on July 26, 2014, at UFC on Fox 12.

[73] However, reports began to circulate on June 28 that Cerrone had sustained a minor injury and that the pairing would be left intact, but is expected to take place three weeks later at UFC 214.

[74] UFC President Dana White confirmed later that same day that Cerrone in fact had a staph infection and a pulled groin.

[77] In the post fight interview, Lawler dedicated his win to Matt Hughes, who was involved in a truck accident in June 2017 and was then recovering from serious injuries.

[84] The ending of the fight was controversial because referee Herb Dean stopped the fight thinking that Lawler had passed out when this may not have been the case; Lawler's arm appeared to go limp indicating he had passed out, however, while Dean was checking to see if he was out he appeared to signal a thumbs up and jumped up fully conscious straight after the stoppage.

Despite that, Nevada State Athletic Commission director Bob Bennett was in full support of Dean's decision to stop the fight.

[91] Lawler faced Neil Magny, replacing Geoff Neal, on August 29, 2020, at UFC Fight Night 175.

[94] Lawler faced returning veteran Nick Diaz in a rematch on September 25, 2021, at UFC 266.