Tomorrow night on the main card of UFC 276, we are going to see a fun matchup where a former champion will make his return. “Ruthless” Robbie Lawler (29-15) is back as he takes on the tough veteran Bryan Barberena (17-8).
Barberena was last seen at UFC Columbus when he took on another fan-favorite in Matt Brown. It was a very close fight where many thought that Brown won, however, two of the judges gave the fight and the split decision to Barberena.
Barberena has won two in a row in the UFC. After his last fight, he was without a contract and said he’d retire if the UFC didn’t resign him. Well the promotion wasn’t ready to let him go and they resigned him. Not only did they do that, they gave him a fight with a former champion.
Robbie Lawler snapped a career worst four-fight losing streak at UFC 266 when he rematched with Nick Diaz. Lawler looked good in that fight, but it was still a far cry from his championship form back in 2016. The 40-year-old former champion will look to pick up his 30th win tomorrow night.
UFC 276 Prediction
I think that we are going to see a very fun fight tomorrow night between these two at UFC 276. It’s very rare that you see a boring Robbie Lawler fight and I don’t think that this fight is going to be any different.
One thing I’ll be watching out for in this one is who is going forward and where is this fight being fought. If they stay at range, Barberena has a really good shot at winning here. He’s got a lot of pop and really good shots from the outside.
For Lawler, I think that he needs to be the one coming forward. The former UFC champion is at his best when he’s aggressive. We’ve seen him struggle when he’s being backed up against the fence and can’t get his offense off.
I think he has plenty of fight left in him and I think we will see a pressuring Robbie Lawler tomorrow night. Will it be enough? Maybe not, but something tells me the former champion gets the win at UFC 276. I think it’s a very close fight at the end in striking numbers, but the former champ will do enough to squeak by.
Prediction: Robbie Lawler by Decision