Welterweight champ Robbie Lawler looks to defend title in UFC 201

LOS ANGELES (FOX 11) - Fourteen years after his first competition, UFC Welterweight champion Robbie "Ruthless" Lawler gets ready to defend his championship title in UFC 201.

"Competition is something you have to want to do. In any sport in life, you just can't force someone to do it, they're not going to be good they're not going to be excited," Lawler said. "So it's all about having fun, but martial arts is something that creates a lot of discipline and self-defense and I think that's where it should start."

After the $4 billion UFC sale to the talent agency WME-IMG, fans are expecting the sport to move into movies and television.

"I've been around this sport for a long time and UFC has grown so much. It's awesome that the fighters are gonna be getting exposure and it just shows you what the sport's become," Lawler said. "UFC is growing and I'm just happy to be relevant still."

With his fight coming up at the end of the month, Lawler said it's just business as usual for him.

"I've been fighting as long as I can remember doing martial arts. If it's a fight and it gets ugly, then I'm at home," he said. "A little bit of toughness, a little bit of grit gets you through those tough moments in a fight."

The 34-year-old fighter has held the Welterweight championship title since December of 2014.

"It's one of those things where you take every second, you have to think for every second cause there's a lot going on, a lot of variables" Lawler said. "And you wanna make sure you're in the right position and trying to figure things out. It's a chess match and being smart out there."

Lawler will face Tyron "The Chosen One" Woodley on July 30 at UFC 201 in Atlanta, Georgia. The match can be watched via Pay Per View.

Watch the full interview above!

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