At UFC 235, former UFC welterweight champ Robbie Lawler was tasked with welcoming former ONE and Bellator champ Ben Askren to the Octagon. In the opening seconds of the first round it looked as though Lawler would spoil Askren’s debut, as he executed a beautiful slam and nearly finished the wrestler with a storm of ground strikes. Miraculously, however, Askren was able to weather this storm and lock up a bulldog choke for the victory. The only problem was that Robbie Lawler didn’t seem to be unconcious — referee Herb Dean only though he was. In the UFC 235 edition of the popular UFC-produced series The Thrill and the Agony we can hear what Lawler and Dean said to each other in the moments after this controversial stoppage. As you can see, Robbie Lawler moves from profanity-ridden fury to complete understanding in a matter of seconds. It’s really something to behold. Here’s a transcript of the pair’s exchange (via BloodyElbow): Right after the stoppage, there was some understandable frustration and confusion: Lawler: “What the [expletive] are you doing? !” Dean: “I thought you…” Lawler: “I didn’t. What the [expletive]? !” Within seconds, though, Robbie Lawler had moved on to acceptance and understanding. Dean: [Inaudible] Lawler: “I know. It’s alright.” Lawler then actually called Dean back over to forgive him. Lawler: “Herb. Herb. Hey. Hey, don’t [expletive] worry about it. You’re a [expletive] hell of a ref. Dean: “No, man. No. I don’t understand how, like… I saw your arm (go) limp, I grabbed it. But I didn’t know.” Lawler: “and then I gave you a thumbs up.” Dean: “I didn’t know. I didn’t see you give me a thumbs up.” Lawler: “It happens man. If [expletive] happens.” What did you think of the stoppage in the UFC 235 fight between Ben Askren and Robbie Lawler? This article first appeared on BJPENN.COM on 3/5/2019. This article appeared first on BJPENN.COM<doc-sep>Robbie Lawler was nothing but class after his controversial loss to Ben Askren at UFC 235 and now his manager has followed his lead with a response issued to the 2008 Olympian while still hoping that an immediate rematch gets booked. This past weekend in Las Vegas, Lawler fell to Askren via a first round bulldog choke submission that stopped the contest after the former welterweight champion had dominated the early portion of the fight. After Lawler dropped bombs on Askren through the first couple of minutes of the round, the former Bellator champion managed to stage a comeback before snatching the rarely seen bulldog choke against the fence. A few seconds after the submission was applied, referee Herb Dean stopped the fight after he saw Lawler’s arm drop for a moment. Dean believed that Lawler had passed out from the submission but a split second before the fight was called off, he had given the referee a thumbs up to indicate he was OK to continue. Unfortunately the fight had already ended and there was no way to restart the action. Earlier this week, Askren then offered his own comments on the fight while saying that he didn’t believe there was any controversy not to mention he doesn’t believe Lawler had any way to break free from the submission. “No. 1, I do think he passed out for a little bit. No. 2, there was just no escape,” Askren said on the Rudis podcast. “There was 1:40 left, he was not getting out of that hold in no way, shape or form. It was sunk deep, it was sunk tight and there was just literally nowhere for him to go.” Now Lawler’s manager David Martin has issued a response to that statement while hoping that UFC president Dana White follows through with his desire to book an immediate rematch after he called the end of the fight a ‘bad stoppage’. “We acknowledge that Ben is a tremendous fighter; coming back from the beating Robbie gave him demonstrates his grit and shows why he has a strong history of winning. That is undeniable,” Martin wrote. “However, Ben’s comments speak directly to the fact that there was a lot of time left in the round leading to a lot of unknowns. Things could have dramatically changed in the 1:40 remaining in the round, just as they did a minute into the fight. Story continues “It is unfortunate that Robbie didn’t get his chance to get out of a tough position like Ben was able to do earlier in the round. No one knows, which is why an immediate rematch is warranted. As for an appeal to the commission, nothing has been ruled out. But if this were to occur it would be handled professionally behind closed doors like we do all of our business. Through adversity, Robbie remains a true professional and role model for the sport-someone I certainly want my three boys to look up to.” While Askren has scoffed at the idea of rematch, instead turning his attention to the upcoming fight between Darren Till and Jorge Masvidal, there still remains a possibility that he will end up meeting Lawler again instead. White was adamant about booking the immediate rematch after UFC 235 ended and now Lawler, via his manager, has made it clear that’s exactly what they want as well.<doc-sep>
Ben Askren and Robbie Lawler's UFC 235 bout ended in controversy on Saturday night. Former Bellator and ONE welterweight champion Askren was declared the winner. However, it was a stoppage called prematurely by referee Herb Dean. The 34-year-old Askren locked in a bulldog choke on Lawler. The UFC veteran's arm subsequently went limp with Dean immediately calling a halt to the fight. However, Lawler was not unconscious. As soon as Askren released his hold, Lawler was on his feet. "Shit happens in there and sometimes mistakes are made," Lawler said in the post-fight press conference. Herb checked on me and when he checked on me I gave him the thumbs up. I couldn't hear him talking because of how the choke was on. I'm not just going to dangle a hand there so I put it down. Then when he checked, I gave him the thumbs up. I looked right at him, I was like, 'Hey man, fuck, I'm good.' I wasn't choking. I was actually thinking that I could just pick him up and slam him. He was squeezing so damn hard, I was just like, 'Let him burn out his arm.' At least that's how it felt to me, I don't know how it looked on TV. It felt like he was wasting energy squeezing me when I wasn't getting choked. He's a hell of a ref. He just made a mistake. Stuff happens. People make mistakes and I'm not one to whine about shit. This was the moment of controversy. "That was a bad stoppage." "What a disappointing way to end this fight." Ben Askren picks up a controversial first win in the UFC.#UFC235 pic.twitter.com/y3Q85nxddL — UFC on BT Sport (@btsportufc) March 3, 2019 It was a hugely eventful round. Askren somehow survived an onslaught from Lawler in the opening moments after being slammed to the canvas. Ben Askren's UFC debut was definitely 'funky' 🙃 Somehow he survived an early Robbie Lawler onslaught before controversy helped him to a first octagon win...#UFC235 pic.twitter.com/dXAxOp9AFt — UFC on BT Sport (@btsportufc) March 3, 2019 See Also: Khabib Nurmagomedov Takes Aim At Dana White As UFC Spat Escalates