Tom Lawlor

Thomas Joseph Lawlor (born May 15, 1983) is an American professional mixed martial artist, professional wrestler and podcast host. He is currently signed to Major League Wrestling (MLW), where he is a former one-time MLW World Heavyweight Champion and the winner of the first-ever Battle Riot in 2018 and the 2020 Opera Cup tournament. Lawlor competed in the Light Heavyweight division of the UFC. A professional since 2007, he was also a cast member of SpikeTV's The Ultimate Fighter: Team Nogueira vs. Team Mir. He currently competes in Professional Fighters League.

For other people with the same name, see Thomas Lawlor.
Tom Lawlor
BornThomas Joseph Lawlor
(1983-05-15) May 15, 1983
Fall River, Massachusetts, United States
Other namesFilthy
ResidenceLas Vegas, Nevada, United States
NationalityAmerican
Height6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)[1]
Weight205 lb (93 kg; 14.6 st)
DivisionMiddleweight
Light heavyweight
Reach74 in (188 cm)[1]
Fighting out ofLas Vegas, Nevada, United States
TeamSyndicate MMA
RankBlack belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu under Tim Burrill[2]
WrestlingNCWA Wrestling[3]
Years active2003 (amateur), 2007–present
Mixed martial arts record
Total18
Wins10
By knockout4
By submission4
By decision2
Losses7
By submission2
By decision4
By disqualification1
No contests1
Amateur record
Total1
Wins1
By knockout1
Losses0
Other information
Mixed martial arts record from Sherdog

Early life

Lawlor was born in Fall River, Massachusetts before moving to Swansea, Massachusetts, and then finally to Fort Myers, Florida. He attended Estero High School in Florida and was on the wrestling team, then continued his wrestling career at the University of Central Florida where he won three NCWA national championships in the 235 lb weight class in 2003, 2004, 2005 and as a freshman placed third. He began Brazilian jiu-jitsu in his home town of Fall River. Lawlor had a sister who died in a car accident in 2001. He dedicated his UFC on Fuel TV 9 win to his late sister.

Mixed martial arts

Lawlor previously lived in Providence, RI. He, along with TUF alumni and MMA veteran Seth Petruzelli and Brazilian jiu-jitsu Black Belt Mike Lee, was previously a part-owner and coach at The Jungle MMA – Orlando BJJ, MMA, Muay Thai The Jungle MMA and Fitness. He currently trains at Lauzon MMA and works with Team Aggression in Bridgewater, Massachusetts.

Lawlor has made himself known by imitating other fighters (Art Jimmerson, Dan Severn, Harold Howard, Genki Sudo, and Conor McGregor) during the weigh-ins and octagon entrances. These impersonations, along with his tongue-in-cheek ring entrance routines (paying homage to Hulk Hogan and Apollo Creed amongst others) have made Lawlor something of a cult figure among fans. In 2010, Lawlor announced his intention to tone down his pre-fight antics.[4]

Amateur career

Before turning professional in 2007, Lawlor made his MMA debut as an amateur in 2003, facing Rich Mitchell at Xtreme Fighting 5 on July 26, 2003. He won via KO just under a minute into the fight, and would subsequently take time off from MMA.

The Ultimate Fighter

Lawlor appeared on the eighth season of The Ultimate Fighter. He submitted Ryan Lopez with a rear naked choke in the elimination round to earn his spot in the TUF house. He was chosen by Frank Mir to be a part of Team Mir.

He was selected to fight first against Ryan Bader and despite a good showing, Lawlor lost by knockout in the first round, due to a ground and pound punches.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Lawlor won his UFC debut against former The Ultimate Fighter 8 castmate Kyle Kingsbury via unanimous decision. They fought on the preliminary card at The Ultimate Fighter 8 Finale.[5] After the fight with Kingsbury, Lawlor moved down in weight after realizing he was too small for light heavyweight.[6]

Lawlor had his second fight for the UFC, when he took on CB Dollaway at UFC 100. Tom won in an upset, putting Dollaway to sleep with a guillotine choke 55 seconds into the first round and was awarded Submission of the Night honors.

Lawlor fought Aaron Simpson on January 11, 2010, at UFC Fight Night 20. Lawlor showed off his improved striking skills in the first round by dominating Simpson, but lost a controversial split decision after gassing in the third round. However, the decision of the fight was met with widespread criticism toward the current scoring system in Mixed Martial Arts.[7]

Lawlor was scheduled to face Tim Credeur on May 8, 2010, at UFC 113,[8] but Credeur was forced off the card with an injury. Lawlor instead faced Joe Doerksen,[9] losing via submission in the second round.

Lawlor earned a much needed victory over Patrick Cote on October 23, 2010, at UFC 121 in a performance that once again displayed Lawlor's superb wrestling and jiu jitsu skills by successfully executing five takedowns, threatening with submissions (nearly finishing Cote in the first round with an arm-triangle choke before Cote blatantly grabbed the fence to escape) in every round and showing his improved cardio as he easily cruised to a 30-27 unanimous decision victory.

Lawlor was expected to face Maiquel Falcão on August 27, 2011, at UFC 134[10] but Falcao was suddenly released from the promotion on May 11. Lawlor was expected to remain on the Brazilian card, but instead took a bout against Kyle Noke on August 14, 2011, at UFC on Versus 5.[11] However, Lawlor pulled out of the fight in early July 2011.[12]

Lawlor lost to Chris Weidman on November 19, 2011, at UFC 139 due to a D'Arce choke in 2:07 of the first round.[13]

Lawlor faced Jason MacDonald on May 15, 2012, his birthday, at UFC on Fuel TV: Korean Zombie vs. Poirier.[14] He won the fight via KO in the first round and earned Knockout of the Night for his efforts.

Lawlor fought Francis Carmont on November 17, 2012, at UFC 154. At the weigh in, Lawlor wore a mask resembling that of the professional wrestler the Shockmaster and deliberately tripped going through the curtain in an homage to the Shockmaster incident. Despite controlling the majority of the fight and threatening with several submissions, he lost the fight via a controversial split decision[15]

Lawlor faced Michael Kuiper on April 6, 2013, at UFC on Fuel TV 9.[16] After losing the first round, he rebounded and won via submission, a guillotine choke, early in the second round. During his post victory speech, Lawlor had dedicated his fight to his late sister; Katie.

Lawlor was expected to face Ilir Latifi in a light heavyweight bout on July 19, 2014, at UFC Fight Night 46.[17] However, Lawlor was forced out of the bout due to injury, and was replaced by promotional newcomer Chris Dempsey.[18][19]

After over two years away from active competition, Lawlor returned to face Gian Villante on July 25, 2015, at UFC on Fox 16.[20] He won the fight via knockout in the second round and also earned a Performance of the Night bonus.[21][22]

Lawlor was expected to face Fábio Maldonado on November 7, 2015, at UFC Fight Night 77.[23] However, Lawlor was forced out of the bout with injury and replaced by Corey Anderson.[24]

Lawlor faced Corey Anderson on March 5, 2016, at UFC 196.[25] He lost the fight by unanimous decision.[26]

On November 4, 2016, Lawlor was provisionally suspended from the UFC stemming from an out-of-competition drug test conducted by USADA on October 10, 2016.[27] Lawlor revealed that he failed for Ostarine, although he denied knowing the cause of the failure.[28][29] In February 2017, Lawlor was handed a two-year suspension. He became eligible to return to competition in October 2018.[30]

On August 13, 2018, Tom Lawlor was released from UFC, less than two months before his suspension was lifted.[31] At the time of his release, he held a record of 6–5 within the promotion.

Post-UFC career

On November 24, 2018, Lawlor faced Deron Winn at Golden Boy Promotions's inaugural MMA event.[32] He lost the fight by unanimous decision.[33]

Professional Fighters League

in March 2020, Lawlor signed with Professional Fighters League and is expected to participate in the PFL season 3 light heavyweight bracket.[34]

Professional wrestling career

Independent circuit (2014–present)

Before the start of his MMA career, Lawlor worked two years as a professional wrestler on the Florida independent circuit, even taking part in a WWE tryout.[35]

On May 17, 2014, Lawlor made his Ring of Honor debut accompanying reDRagon as their manager against The Young Bucks in their match for the ROH World Tag Team Championship at the ROH and New Japan Pro Wrestling co-promoted pay-per-view War of the Worlds.[36][37] Lawlor returned to professional wrestling in February 2017, due to his suspension from UFC.[38] On April 15, 2017, Lawlor debuted for Prestige Championship Wrestling competing against Davey Richards in the shows co-main event. Lawlor would lose the match but would go on to become a regular at Prestige shows. On May 5, 2017, Lawlor was advertised for Canadian promotion All Star Wrestling for their 7 July 2017 show. On May 26 and 27, Lawlor participated in the AIW JT Lightening Invitational Tournament. Day 1, he was set to face Jimmy Rave but Rave dropped out of the show due to travel issues. Instead, UFC Legend and former NWA World Champion Dan Severn answered Lawlor's challenge. Lawlor pinned Severn to advance. Day 2, Lawlor was in a Fatal Four-Way with Tracy Williams, Mike Tolar and Dominic Garrini. Williams would win the match and the tournament.

Team Filthy (2017–2018)

Lawlor currently competes in Major League Wrestling (MLW), and appears on their weekly MLW Fusion television series. Lawlor won the first Battle Riot in MLW in 2018. He won after eliminating Jake Hager, who he went on to feud with. He followed that up by beating Sami Callihan, Shane Strickland and his former partner Simon Gotch in singles matches.

World Heavyweight Champion (2019)

On February 2, 2019, Lawlor won the MLW World Heavyweight Championship from Low Ki at MLW's live SuperFight event.[39] He would hold the title 154 days, before losing it to Jacob Fatu at Kings of Colosseum in July 2019.[40] He would also fail to defeat Fatu in a rematch for the title. On November 14, 2019, it was announced Lawlor left the promotion.[41] However, on November 22nd, 2019 it was announced he had signed a new multi-year exclusive agreement with the company. Lawlor turned heel on the thanksgiving episode of Fusion by attacking Ross Von Erich with a chair during his world title bout against Jacob Fatu.[42]

New Japan Pro Wrestling (2020)

On the July 12 episode of Lion's Break Collision, Lawlor made his New Japan Pro-Wrestling debut, defeating Rocky Romero.[43]

Other media

In May 2015, Figure Four Online launched the Filthy Tom Lawlor Show (later renamed Filthy Four Daily), a weekly podcast featuring Lawlor discussing MMA and professional wrestling with host Bryan Alvarez.[44][45] In September 2016, it was announced he would be making monthly appearances on The Bryan and Vinny Show to discuss SmackDown Live pay per views.[46] He has also made appearances on Wrestling Observer Radio.[47]

He is the co-host of the FRB Show with Front Row Brian.

Personal life

Lawlor currently resides in Las Vegas, NV.[48]

Championships and accomplishments

Amateur wrestling

Mixed martial arts

Professional wrestling

Mixed martial arts record
Professional record breakdown
18 matches 10 wins 7 losses
By knockout 4 0
By submission 4 2
By decision 2 4
By disqualification 0 1
No contests 1
Res. Record Opponent Method Event Date Round Time Location Notes
Loss 10–7 (1) Deron Winn Decision (unanimous) Golden Boy Promotions: Liddell vs. Ortiz 3 November 24, 2018 3 5:00 Inglewood, California, United States
Loss 10–6 (1) Corey Anderson Decision (unanimous) UFC 196 March 5, 2016 3 5:00 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Win 10–5 (1) Gian Villante KO (punch) UFC on Fox: Dillashaw vs. Barão 2 July 25, 2015 2 0:27 Chicago, Illinois, United States Return to Light Heavyweight. Performance of the Night.
Win 9–5 (1) Michael Kuiper Submission (guillotine choke) UFC on Fuel TV: Mousasi vs. Latifi April 6, 2013 2 1:05 Stockholm, Sweden
Loss 8–5 (1) Francis Carmont Decision (split) UFC 154 November 17, 2012 3 5:00 Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Win 8–4 (1) Jason MacDonald KO (punch) UFC on Fuel TV: Korean Zombie vs. Poirier May 15, 2012 1 0:50 Fairfax, Virginia, United States Knockout of the Night.
Loss 7–4 (1) Chris Weidman Technical Submission (D'Arce choke) UFC 139 November 19, 2011 1 2:07 San Jose, California, United States
Win 7–3 (1) Patrick Côté Decision (unanimous) UFC 121 October 23, 2010 3 5:00 Anaheim, California, United States
Loss 6–3 (1) Joe Doerksen Submission (rear-naked choke) UFC 113 May 8, 2010 2 2:10 Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Loss 6–2 (1) Aaron Simpson Decision (split) UFC Fight Night: Maynard vs. Diaz January 11, 2010 3 5:00 Fairfax, Virginia, United States Fight of the Night.
Win 6–1 (1) C.B. Dollaway Technical submission (guillotine choke) UFC 100 July 11, 2009 1 0:55 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States Middleweight debut. Submission of the Night.
Win 5–1 (1) Kyle Kingsbury Decision (unanimous) The Ultimate Fighter: Team Nogueira vs Team Mir Finale December 13, 2008 3 5:00 Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Win 4–1 (1) Travis Bartlett Technical submission (guillotine choke) Full Force 20 April 12, 2008 1 1:10 Foxborough, Massachusetts, United States
Loss 3–1 (1) Shane Primm DQ (illegal knee to the head) World Fighting Championships 6 March 22, 2008 1 0:24 Tampa, Florida, United States
Win 3–0 (1) Cesar Barros KO (punches) Full Force 15 August 25, 2007 1 0:10 Mansfield, Massachusetts, United States
Win 2–0 (1) Jason Barlog TKO (punches) WFC 3 April 7, 2007 1 3:59 Tampa, Florida, United States
Win 1–0 (1) Jonathan Fernandez Submission (rear naked choke) X-treme Fighting Championships April 3, 2007 1 1:20 Tampa, Florida, United States
NC 0–0 (1) Ariel Gandulla No Contest Kick Enterprises March 10, 2007 1 N/A Fort Myers, Florida, United States Fighters fell through cage door.

Amateur mixed martial arts record
Professional record breakdown
1 match 1 win 0 losses
By knockout 1 0
By submission 0 0
By decision 0 0
Res. Record Opponent Method Event Date Round Time Location Notes
Win 1–0 Rich Mitchell KO (punches) XF: Xtreme Fighting 5 July 26, 2003 1 0:54 Fall River, Massachusetts, United States

[51]

See also

References
  1. "Fight Card - UFC Fight Night Dillashaw vs. Barao 2". UFC.com. Retrieved July 26, 2015.
  2. "TBBJJ Black Belts". timburrill.com.
  3. "Tom Lawlor - Official UFC Fighter Profile". UFC.com. Retrieved July 26, 2015.
  4. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2011-11-21. Retrieved 2011-10-01.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  5. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2008-12-12. Retrieved 2008-12-13.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  6. ""The Ultimate Fighter 8" cast member Tom Lawlor plans drop to middleweight". Mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 29 July 2017.
  7. "UFC Fight Night 20 recap". mmajunkie. January 12, 2010. Archived from the original on July 15, 2012.
  8. "Tom Lawlor vs. Tim Credeur at UFC 113". mixedmartialarts.com. Retrieved 2010-02-12.
  9. "Doerksen Replaces Credeur at UFC 113". sherdog.com. Retrieved 2010-04-20.
  10. "Maiquel Falcao vs. Tom Lawlor in the works for Brazil's UFC 134 event". mmajunkie.com. April 25, 2011. Archived from the original on April 29, 2011.
  11. "With Maiquel Falcao cut, Tom Lawlor moved to UFC on Versus 5, meets Kyle Noke". mmajunkie.com. June 2, 2011.
  12. "Tom Lawlor Injured, Off UFC on Versus 5 Card, Ed Herman Now Faces Kyle Noke". bloodyelbow.com. July 8, 2011.
  13. Stupp, Dann (2011-07-16). "Tom Lawlor vs. Chris Weidman joins UFC 139 lineup". MMAJunkie.com. Archived from the original on 2012-07-23. Retrieved 2011-07-16.
  14. "UFC targets event for May 15 at Virginia's Patriot Center, possibly UFC on FX 3". mmajunkie.com. January 25, 2012. Archived from the original on January 28, 2012. Retrieved January 25, 2012.
  15. "Francis Carmont, Tom Lawlor to Fight at UFC 154". mmafighting.com. July 31, 2012. Retrieved July 31, 2012.
  16. "Michael Kuiper vs tom Lawlor added to UFC on Fuel TV 9". mmajunkie.com. February 9, 2013.
  17. "UFC Fight Night in Dublin adds Latifi-Lawlor". mmajunkie.com. April 29, 2014.
  18. "Tom Lawlor out at UFC Fight Night 46, promotion seeks replacement foe for Ilir Latifi". mmajunkie.com. July 1, 2014.
  19. "Newcomer Chris Dempsey meets Ilir Latifi at UFC Fight Night 46". mmajunkie.com. July 3, 2014.
  20. Thomasi Gerbasi (2015-05-01). "Lawlor returns against Villante in July". UFC.com. Retrieved 2015-05-01.
  21. Ben Fowlkes (2015-07-25). "UFC on FOX 16 results: Tom Lawlor drops Gian Villante with devastating right hand". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 2015-07-25.
  22. "UFC on Fox 16 Bonuses: Dillashaw, Barboza, Felder, Lawlor earn $50K Awards". sherdog.com. 2015-07-25. Retrieved 2015-07-25.
  23. Guilherme Cruz (2015-08-18). "Fabio Maldonado vs. Tom Lawlor among additions to UFC Fight Night 77 in São Paulo". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2015-08-18.
  24. Marc Raimondi (2015-10-20). "With Tom Lawlor injured, Corey Anderson steps in to face Fabio Maldonado at UFC Sao Paulo". mmafighting.com. Retrieved 2015-10-20.
  25. "Corey Anderson vs. Tom Lawlor joins March's UFC 196 lineup". mmajunkie.com. 2016-01-14. Retrieved 2016-01-14.
  26. Steven Marrocco (2016-03-05). "UFC 196 results: Corey Anderson survives rough opening to decision Tom Lawlor". mmajunkie.com. Retrieved 2016-03-05.
  27. "UFC statement on Tom Lawlor". Ufc.com. Retrieved 29 July 2017.
  28. "Tom Lawlor reveals what substance he tested positive for". | BJPenn.com. 2016-11-05. Retrieved 2016-11-10.
  29. "F4D: Filthy Tom Lawlor addresses USADA failure, Overweight Classic Scandal, Smackdown, Impact". WON/F4W - WWE news, Pro Wrestling News, WWE Results, UFC News, UFC results. 2016-11-09. Retrieved 2016-11-10.
  30. Martin, Damon (2017-02-24). "UFC fighter Tom Lawlor suspended 2 years following positive drug test". Fox Sports. Retrieved 2017-03-18.
  31. Meltzer, Dave (2018-08-13). "'FILTHY' TOM LAWLOR RELEASED BY UFC". Retrieved 2018-08-13.
  32. Steven Marrocco (October 15, 2018). "Proposed Liddell vs. Ortiz 3 lineup features Gleison Tibau vs. Efrain Escudero". mmajunkie.com.
  33. "Liddell vs. Ortiz 3 results: Deron Winn powers way to decision over Tom Lawlor". MMAjunkie. 2018-11-25. Retrieved 2018-11-25.
  34. Newswire, MMA Fighting (2020-03-11). "UFC vet Tom Lawlor joins PFL Season 3 roster". MMA Fighting. Retrieved 2020-03-12.
  35. Davidson, Neil (November 15, 2012). "UFC's (Filthy) Tom Lawlor dons adult diaper for sumo spoof ahead of UFC 154". Yahoo News. Retrieved June 9, 2014.
  36. Meltzer, Dave (May 17, 2014). "ROH/New Japan Pro Wrestling live coverage & results: AJ Styles, Okada, Elgin, Liger, more". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved May 18, 2014.
  37. "UFC Fighter 'Filthy' Tom Lawlor -- Seeking Permanent Double Duty ... With New Wrestling Deal".
  38. Nason, Josh (2017-02-27). "Video: Tom Lawlor talks USADA and his future on The MMA Hour". Wrestling Observer Newsletter. Retrieved 2017-03-18.
  39. "Tom Lawlor signs new multi-year exclusive agreement with MLW". Major League Wrestling. Retrieved 28 November 2020.
  40. https://www.si.com/wrestling/2019/07/24/wwe-njpw-mlw-news-savio-vega-tom-lawlor-will-ospreay
  41. https://www.pwinsider.com/ViewArticle.php?id=131351
  42. Major League Wrestling [@MLW] (November 22, 2019). "BREAKING: @FilthyTomLawlor signs new multi-year exclusive agreement with Major League Wrestling - mlw.com/2019/11/22/tom-lawlor-signs-new-multi-year-exclusive-agreement-with-mlw/ …pic.twitter.com/nVvSifZSL7" (Tweet). Archived from the original on November 22, 2019. Retrieved November 22, 2019 – via Twitter.
  43. https://www.njpw1972.com/77265
  44. "FIGURE FOUR DAILY 5/4: FILTHY TOM LAWLOR SHOW DEBUT! TONS OF UFC NOTES, PLUS NXT, ROH, SMACKDOWN, TNA AND MORE!". Figure Four Online/Wrestling Observer. 2015-05-04. Retrieved 2016-04-21.
  45. "F4D: FILTHY TOM LAWLOR ON WRESTLEMANIA, TNA IMPACT, JON JONES, MORE!". Figure Four Online/Wrestling Observer. 2016-03-28. Retrieved 2016-04-21.
  46. "B&V&F: WWE Backlash post-PPV recap! AJ Styles, Becky Lynch, Slater and Rhino, more!". Figure Four Online/Wrestling Observer. 2016-09-12. Retrieved 2016-09-12.
  47. "WOR: DEATH OF CHYNA, CONOR MCGREGOR VS. UFC". Figure Four Online/Wrestling Observer. 2016-04-21. Retrieved 2016-04-21.
  48. "F4D: SMACKDOWN, IMPACT, TOTAL DIVAS, TOM'S PRO-WRESTLING DEBUT, MORE!". F4Wonline. February 22, 2017.
  49. "D1PW - Tag 2". Cagematch. Retrieved 24 May 2016.
  50. https://www.reddit.com/r/SquaredCircle/comments/ii13wz/2020_pwi_500_full_list/
  51. Sherdog.com. "Tom". Sherdog. Retrieved 2018-11-25.
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