Robbie Lawler‘s UFC welterweight title defense against Rory MacDonald in July 2015 is widely considered one of the best fights in mixed martial arts history. The UFC will honor it as such when it inducts the bout into its Hall of Fame this summer.
The UFC announced Saturday the 170-pound title bout, which co-headlined UFC 189 along with a memorable interim title fight between Conor McGregor and Chad Mendes, will be inducted into its Hall of Fame ‘fight wing’ later this year.
Lawler, who is still fighting at age 41, defended his crown for the first time in that fight, when MacDonald finally succumbed to a severely broken nose in the fifth round. At that point, it was only the second stoppage loss of MacDonald’s career.
According to UFC Stats, the bout was extremely close in terms of strikes landed. Lawler landed 70 strikes to MacDonald’s 86. Both fighters caused significant damage to the other and showcased tremendous heart.
The bout featured an iconic moment after the fourth round, when Lawler, whose upper lip was split in half, spit blood to the canvas and stared MacDonald down before returning to his corner. MacDonald met his gaze and stared right back, emotionless.
MacDonald was one of the top welterweights of his generation, but was arguably never quite the same after the fight against Lawler. He only made one appearance over the next two years after that fight, and went 5-7-1 for the rest of his career.
It will mark the eighth fight the UFC has inducted into its Hall of Fame.