MMA News: Murilo \"Ninja\" Rua vs. Robbie Lawler at Elite XC

"Ninja" will defend his Elite XC belt against Robbie Lawler on Sept. 15. (MMAweekly.com Photo)

Elite XC world middleweight champion Murilo "Ninja" Rua (14-7-1) is a formidable opponent for any mixed martial arts fighter.

But "Ninja" doesn't scare UFC veteran and ICON Middleweight champion "Ruthless" Robbie Lawler (14-4-0).

“I just look at Ninja as a pretty good fighter,” Lawler said during a conference call to promote their Sept. 15 fight at Elite XC: Uprising. “He's well rounded. Basically he's ready to stand, ready to go to the ground, so I have to be ready for everything and I am. I just think if I catch him a few times with my hands I'm going to knock him out.”

Since leaving the UFC in 2004, Lawler has gone 6-1 with his only loss coming at the hands of Jason "Mayhem" Miller (19-5-0) in Sept. of 2006. Over a year later, "Ruthless" will put his ICON title on the line for the second title unification bout in two weeks.

Recently, Lawler left trainer Pat Miletich (28-7-2) and his team in Bettendorf, Iowa to open a new training facility with Matt Hughes (41-5-0) in St. Louis, but said he hasn't burned any bridges with Miletich.

“He's a brother to me, he's family and he always will be,” Lawler said. “I've been with him for eight years and I'm going to still keep in touch with him and we're great friends and this isn't going to stop this.”

Lawler also insists that opening the new club hasn't affected his ability to prepare for the match.

“It hasn't affected my training," he explained. "I put all that aside for this. I knew I couldn't concentrate on opening a new gym and doing all that stuff. I said I'm going to concentrate on my fighting and then open this fighting center and I'm in good shape.”

Official Card for Elite XC: Uprising
Sept. 15, Honolulu, HI

• Robbie Lawler vs. Murilo "Ninja" Rua.
• Nick Diaz vs. Mike Aina.
• Joey Villasenor vs. Riki Fukuda.
• Jake Shields vs. Renato Verissimo.
• Gina Carano vs. Tonya Evinger.
• Kala Kolohe Hose vs. Jeff Cox.
• Mark Kurano vs. Jose Diaz.
• Mark Oshiro vs. Nui Wheeler.
• Brandon Wolff vs. TBA.
• Albert Manners vs. Tyson Nam.
• Kolo Koka vs. Justin Buchholz.

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