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By: Maynard Sweeney, MMATorch Contributor This article is the twenty-sixth in a series of daily releases counting down the top thirty fights of 2008. We will release a new article each day starting from #30 all the way up until the end of the month.
Top 30 Fights of 2008: #5
"Ruthless" Robbie Lawler vs. Scott "Hands of Steel" Smith
EliteXC on CBS - 05/31/2008
Here we are, the top five. Albeit a wee bit on the late side, courtesy of Mother Earth. But we're here nonetheless, and that's all that counts, right?
There's not a whole lot to be said about Scott Smith and Robbie Lawler's first fight. It was a gritty, tooth and nail war where the gloves were off and and both were looking to have themselves sitting pretty after each massive haymaker from the cheap seats. The fight was itself an exercise in recklessness, with both competitors having a storied history in which it hasn't been uncommon for either to abandon technique and start winging the leather maces that they believe their arms to be.
There's not much sense in breaking down each round, as they were all more or less the same. Lawler held a slight edge in all three frames, but the action was for the most part back and forth. Smith relentlessly searched for a head kick, and Lawler skillfully bobbed and weaved his way through Smith's strikes only to throw a barrage of explosive punches of his own. The fight rarely went to the mat, and was primarily spent in the clinch and in the pocket exchanging hands.
The fight was originally slated for five rounds, seeing as Lawler was putting his EliteXC middleweight title on the line, but in the third round, Smith caught a thumb to the eyeball. Against both Smith's own wishes as well as his corner's, the fight was stopped by ringside doctors due to Smith's inability to see. Because of athletic commission rules, the fight was ruled a no contest since it was a title fight and was unable to complete three full rounds.
The two would meet at a later date, upon which Lawler would find himself victorious in the second round by way of technical knockout. It was a good fight, but nowhere near the level of excitement "Ruthless" and "Hands of Steel" would produce in their first meeting. This fight was arguably the best ever put on by the now defunct EliteXC, although it's run was too short to really offer up any real competition.
Stay tuned for #4 of the MMATorch Top 30 Fights of 2008, which will be revealed with a full article later.
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Jamie Penick, editor-in-chief
(mmatorcheditor@gmail.com)
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