Robbie Lawler has reportedly pulled out of his scheduled fight against Donald Cerrone at UFC 205, according to TMZ Sports and Brett Okamoto of ESPN.
Per the TMZ Sports report, Cerrone "will still fight and the UFC is currently looking for a new opponent."
Ariel Helwani of MMA Fighting reported that "according to sources, Lawler decided he needed a little more time to get ready for the fight after getting knocked out by Tyron Woodley at UFC 201 in late July."
That would represent an interesting turn from Lawler, who reportedly was itching to get back into the Octagon after his loss, per Damon Martin of Fox Sports:
Lawler, 27-11, became the UFC welterweight champion at UFC 181 in 2014, defeating Johny Hendricks by a split decision. He defended it twice in Fight of the Night performances against Rory MacDonald at UFC 189 and Carlos Condit at UFC at UFC 195. He lost the title to Woodley in July, however, the first time he's been knocked out since 2004 and just his second loss in his last 10 bouts.
The welterweight division appears to be wide open below Woodley, with Lawler, Cerrone, Nick Diaz, Stephen Thompson (the current top contender and likely Woodley's next opponent) and former champion Georges St-Pierre all potential future opponents for the current champion.
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