Robbie Lawler, Rory MacDonald's Bloody Five-Round Clash Headed For UFC Hall Of Fame

The mixed martial arts community has been blessed with an unthinkable number of fights that fans can consider their favorite and the UFC is immortalizing Robbie Lawler and Rory MacDonald's bloody battle in this year's UFC Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony as part of the "Fight Wing."

Serving as the co-main event of UFC 189 on July 11, 2015, both men entered the cage with three-fight winning streaks to their name as MacDonald sought to dethrone Lawler for the welterweight title.

Additionally, it was also a rematch for a bout that Lawler had narrowly won by split decision at UFC 167 in November 2013, further adding a layer of interest in the bout.

What came next was a classic story of grit and determination as both champion and challenger gave no quarter throughout the entire bout.

The striker-versus-striker matchup saw Lawler and MacDonald firing on all cylinders right from the opening bell.

Lawler was surprisingly patient throughout the bout as he made the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belter land shots here and there while responding with combinations of his own.

Signs of the hard-hitting affair started to become more and more apparent on both men's faces as MacDonald was already sporting a broken nose by the end of the second round, while "Ruthless" was stunned with a head kick that allowed the former to land some big elbows plus a flying knee in the dying moments of round three.

Entering the championship rounds, momentum had fully swung in MacDonald's favor as he searched for the finishing blow on Lawler to start, but a bloodied Lawler stood his ground and survived the onslaught.

Upon the bell ringing to signal the end of the fourth, both men treated fans to the moment of the bout.

The fans in attendance at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada showered both men in adulation as MacDonald was visibly running on fumes while Lawler sported a gnarly split lip as he played to the crowd.

A minute into the final frame, MacDonald simply could not take the punishment anymore as he fell onto his back after receiving two stinging straight left hands from the champion, forcing referee John McCarthy to stop the bout.

Lawler would go on to record his sixth knockout victory, the third-most in UFC welterweight history, Meanwhile, MacDonald walked away with his pride very much intact.

The bout deservedly won Fight of the Night honors, while it also went on to win 2015's Fight of the Year from multiple outlets including Sherdog, MMA Fighting, and Fighters Only World MMA Awards.

Their gory encounter will be inducted on July 11–joining the likes of Clay Guida and Diego Sanchez's clash at The Ultimate Fighter 9 Finale in 2009 and Jon Jones and Alexander Gustafsson's titanic light heavyweight title bout in September 2013.