Lawler and etc

I was watching a little marathon of "UFC Unleashed" on Spike last night, since I let the GF watch Top Chef I got to pretty much do what I wanted with the TV after that. They showed a few interesting fights, Nick Diaz vs. Oishi, Diaz vs. Lawler, and Sylvia vs. Rodriguez. All fights we've seen a few times before (I mean, you and me, dear reader, not the royal "we"), but good fights from various persepctives. Lawler-Diaz was interesting in that Diaz the Jui jitsu specialist got in there and threw leather with Ruthless Robbie the brawler. Diaz was hurt pretty badly a couple times as well, and that fight could have gone either way. Even though I'm pretty certain he's a knucklehead, I respect Diaz's fighting skills. He's impressive to watch. The hook that dropped Lawler, all shakey-headed and google-eyed, was a pretty shot, even if Nick's eyes were screwed tightly shut like a suckling babe. Hey: it's ain't lucky if you throws it.
They also showed Louiseau-McCarthy, when The Crow looked like the second coming of Christ in the middleweight div. The sick spinning back kick to the ribs-flying knee win was the first time I'd ever seen Louiseau, and I was impressed. To see what he's done since his title shot is a little depressing.
But I was wondering what happened to Lawler, mainly. Turns out he's fighting "Ninja" Rua on Saturday in an EliteXC event, "Uprising", for the EliteXC Middleweight belt. The last fight I saw with Robbie was him KOing Frank Trigg in ICON Sport for their belt. The next fight was supposed to be against someone named Hose, but it was postponed from its late-July date, and now Robbie's not fighting for his belt, but for Ninja's. ConFyooZin. And the guy Hose is fighting on the undercard. The card also features an interesting matchup with Jake Shields fighting Renato Verissimo, which almost makes me want to get Showtime. Almost.
Robbie Lawler was an exciting fighter in the UFC. Hopefully he makes it back into the spotlight...this seems pretty big. I see huge changes in MMA over the next year and a half or so, as the big money players are starting to line up their plans. UFC is going to find their little sandbox pretty crowded, especially after the free UFC 75 show drew more viewers than competing NASCAR and college football programming. That gives money guys big fat boners.