Other Sites:Sports:Bio:454646 /site/sports/flash/v6/bio.swf Lawler vs. Smith /site/sports/event.do?event=454325 Robbie Lawler Injuries: A shoulder injured forced him to withdraw from two fights in late 2007...Ground game, submission skills and defense (although they are improving)...Tends to stray from his game plan on occasion, leaving himself at risk Overall talent and skills: he's regarded as one of the world's top middleweights...Aggressive, crowd-pleasing style...Power...Dedication...Class in and out of the cage...Desire: He puts as much heart and bad intentions behind his punches and lethal flying knee attacks as anyone could expect...Determination...Smarts...Poise...Cardio An emotional, albeit soft-spoken, serious-minded fan favorite who brings an edge with him into every fight...Known for utterly destroying foes with an aggressive, unbashful, swing-for-the-fences, almost reckless style of serving up a fistful of enormous power punches and ramming them down your head The always dangerous southpaw of Granite City, Ill., via St. Louis by way of Davenport, Iowa, grew up watching Mike Tyson fights and mixed martial arts movies. After taking classes in kick-boxing and jiu-jitsu, he began his amateur career in 2000. A member of Team (Pat) Miletich for years, Lawler left in early 2008 to become a trainer at Matt Hughes' HIT Squad Gym in St. Louis...Won EliteXC 185-pound crown with a convincing, dramatic third-round TKO over defending champ "Ninja" Rua Sept. 15, 2007, on SHOWTIME. EliteXC Middleweight Champion 16-5-0 13 KO's San Diego, CA