Robbie Lawler has Tools to Beat Melvin Manhoef at Strikeforce:Miami

What may possibly be the most explosive fight on the Strikeforece: Miami card Saturday night is the fight between “Ruthless” Robbie Lawler (16-5) and Melvin Manhoef (23-5-1). Last night on MMA Gospel Radio we had a great discussion on this fight and I thought I would break it down further here and tell you why Robbie Lawlers only way to lose in this fight would be his ego.

Melvin is known as more than just a K-1 level striker, he is known as a force of mass destruction. All of his wins but one have come by way of knock out or TKO. He is an aggressive fighter with the power of Zeus in his hands who fights out of the world famous Mike’s Gym in Amsterdam, Netherlands. It is very clear what his game plan will be come Saturday night in Miami at the BankAtlantic Center. Manhoef will want to put his fists through the face of Robbie Lawler and everyone on the planet knows this.

Robbie Lawler is gutsy brawler that ends fights with his fists as well. Most of his fights have ended the same way that Melvin has ended his and this is what makes people believe we will see fireworks inside the cage when these two collide. Lawler was the EliteXC middleweight champion until they went bankrupt and he found a new home in Strikeforce. Once hailing from the Miletech camp, he now trains out of the gym he co-owns with former UFC champion and  Fighters.com eighth-ranked welterweight Matt Hughes (41-7), the H.I.T. Squad.

Robbie is known as a guy that take a punch with many reffering to his chin as being made of granite. However, training being such an experienced fighter and training with guys like Hughes, you have to think his camp is revolving around wrestling and the ground game, the glaring weakness of Dutch striker, Manhoef.

Robbie will need to avoid the initial onslaught of Melvin and work his way inside to get this fight t the ground where he can easily finish the fight. One thing stands in his way of getting back to his winning ways, his ego.

Men like Lawler are easily swayed from their solid game plans by the crowd noise and the mere anticipation of the fight ending in a KO. Wednesday night I interviewed “Razor” Rob McCullough (17-6) on MMA Gospel Radio and asked him just how easy it was to feel you can KO anyone after doing it a few times. He told us that it was very easy to get away from the game plan and it sometimes leads to disaster. Lawler must avoid this at cost in order to win this fight.

What separates the two fighters is that Manhoef has next to no ground game and while not known for his submissions, Lawler trains with Hughes who is an amazing wrestler. You have to think that after all his time working with his friend and business partner that he has picked up some wrestling knowledge. One thing is for sure, Matt Hughes used to put together good game plans and for this fight I would be shocked if the game plan was anything other than taking the fight to the mat and making it a quick night.

Lawler has the steel chin to stave off the Manhoef Blitzkrieg and should have the wrestling skills to get this fight where he is guaranteed a win. All the tools are there and the only thing getting in the way of his win on Saturday is himself.

Pride and ego can make or break a fighter and Saturday we will see how it works out for Robbie. No matter the outcome the fans are the true winners after this fight.

You can join me and my co-host Gary Friedman each Wednesday from 8-10 PM EST as we talk MMA news, interview the best in the business and discuss the latest combat sports rumors. MMA Gospel Radio can be found at www.blogtalkradio.com/mmagospel as well as available for download on iTunes.