Robbie Lawler: Rory MacDonald’s steroid accusation is his way of coping with loss at UFC 189

Rory MacDonald hasn’t been shy in expressing his belief that Robbie Lawler was on steroids during their fight at UFC 189 back in 2015, which saw them go at it for five rounds in a back-and-forth brawl that saw both combatants get busted up before “Ruthless” ended the via TKO in the final round.

Though Lawler never failed a pre or post-fight drug test, “The Red King” is confident his hard-hitting foe was “on some shit.” Lawler, however, isn’t bothered by the accusations, saying “Red King” is hurling those accusations as a way of trying to cope with the beatdown.

“I think he’s trying to figure out why things happened the way they happened and he’s finding a different way to cope with it,” Lawler said on The TSN MMA Show.

MacDonald’s theory of steroid use stems from the fact that Lawler kept coming and never let up despite hitting him with his best shot. Robbie, though, says it has nothing to do with performance enhancing drugs (PEDs), but rather his will to win.

“I mean, I was getting hurt, I got stung by a head kick and he cut my lip with an elbow, but all you have in the end is your will to fight,” said Lawler. Indeed, Robbie mustered up enough will to pull off the late win in order to retain his title.

Lawler went on to defend his title once more against Carlos Condit in yet another memorable brawl, only to loss the 170-pound strap to Tyron Woodley the following bout via first round knockout.

As for MacDonald, he jumped ship to Bellator MMA and is set to compete for the promotion’s welterweight title against Douglas Lima at Bellator 192 on January, 20, 2018.