STRIKEFORCE QUOTABLES: Robbie Lawler not looking past Matt Lindland bout on Saturday night

By: Jamie Penick, MMATorch Editor-in-Chief

"I am not too worried about what is happening after this fight. I am worried about training for Matt and [stepping] in there and doing my best... I expect Matt to come out and be in my face and [for] me to have a chance to hit him. I think he is a smart fighter, so I don't think he is just going to go in there and wrestle from the start. He's been working on all his skills, so I am ready for a little bit of stand-up before he closes the distance... I don't know how he thinks it is going to be, but I have been working on my skills and my wrestling, and I have been working on everything. I think you have to ask Matt how easy he thinks it will be. I think he thinks it will be tough. And it will be."

-Robbie Lawler discusses his fight with Matt Lindland on this Saturday's Strikeforce: Henderson vs. Babalu event during a pre-fight teleconference (transcribed by Sherdog.com).

Penick's Analysis: This is a big fight for Lawler. Despite being in the sport for a long time, Lawler is still only 28 years old. Despite his recent losses to Jake Shields and Renato "Babalu" Sobral, Lawler is in his prime and can remain one of the best middleweights in the sport with a win in this bout. This is going to be a very good fight on Saturday night, and one I'm very much looking forward to. If Lawler can get back on track in this fight, he'll continue to keep himself in a higher profile.

Source: http://www.mmatorch.com/artman2/publish/Affliction2/article_7685.shtml

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