Thomas Joseph Lawlor (born May 15, 1983) is an American

professional wrestler Professional wrestling is a form of theater that revolves around staged wrestling matches. The mock combat is performed in a ring similar to the kind used in boxing, and the dramatic aspects of pro wrestling may be performed both in the ring o ...

, retired

mixed martial artist Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incorpo ...

and

podcast A podcast is a program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. For example, an episodic series of digital audio or video files that a user can download to a personal device to listen to at a time of their choosin ...

host. He is best known for his time in

Major League Wrestling Major League Wrestling (MLW), is an American professional wrestling promotion based in New Rochelle, New York. The promotion was founded in 2002 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania by former WWE writer Court Bauer. The promotion markets its product as ...

(MLW), where he was a former one-time

MLW World Heavyweight Champion The MLW World Heavyweight Championship is a world heavyweight championship owned and promoted by Major League Wrestling (MLW). It is the promotion's principal championship. The championship was established on September 26, 2002 during the MLW Re ...

and the winner of the first-ever

Battle Riot Battle Riot is a professional wrestling event produced by Major League Wrestling Major League Wrestling (MLW), is an American professional wrestling promotion based in New Rochelle, New York. The promotion was founded in 2002 in Philadelphia, P ...

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

and the 2020 Opera Cup tournament. He currently appears for

New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) is a Japanese professional wrestling promotion based in Nakano, Tokyo. Founded on January 13, 1972, by Antonio Inoki, the promotion was sold to Yuke's, who later sold it to Bushiroad in 2012. TV Asahi and Amuse, Inc. own minority sha ...

, where he was the inaugural Strong Openweight Champion. Lawlor competed in the

Light Heavyweight Light heavyweight, also referred to as junior cruiserweight or light cruiserweight, is a weight class in combat sports. Boxing Professional In professional boxing, the division is above and up to , falling between super middleweight and cruise ...

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''.

Early life

Lawlor was born in

Fall River, Massachusetts Fall River is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. The City of Fall River's population was 94,000 at the 2020 United States Census, making it the tenth-largest city in the state. Located along the eastern shore of Mount H ...

before moving to Swansea, Massachusetts, and then finally to Fort Myers, Florida. He attended

Estero High School Estero High School is a public high school located in Estero, Florida, United States. It is part of the Lee County School District and opened in 1987. The total enrollment is about 1,667 students. Its mascot is the Wildcat. Estero High School ...

in Florida and was on the

wrestling Wrestling is a series of combat sports involving grappling-type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. Wrestling techniques have been incorporated into martial arts, combat ...

team, then continued his wrestling career at the

University of Central Florida The University of Central Florida (UCF) is a public research university whose main campus is in unincorporated Orange County, Florida. UCF also has nine smaller regional campuses throughout central Florida. It is part of the State University ...

where he won three

NCWA The National Collegiate Wrestling Association (NCWA) is a nonprofit association of 162 institutions, conferences, organizations and individuals that organize the wrestling programs of many colleges and universities in the United States and Canada ...

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 Fall River is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. The City of Fall River's population was 94,000 at the 2020 United States Census, making it the tenth-largest city in the state. Located along the eastern shore of Mount H ...

. Lawlor had a sister who died in a car accident in 2001. He dedicated his

UFC on Fuel TV 9 ''UFC on Fuel TV: Mousasi vs. Latifi'' (also known as ''UFC on Fuel TV 9'' or ''UFC Sweden 2'') was a mixed martial arts event held on April 6, 2013, at the Ericsson Globe Arena in Stockholm, Sweden. The event was broadcast live on Fuel TV. Ba ...

win to his late sister.

Mixed martial arts

Lawlor previously lived in

Providence, RI Providence is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. One of the oldest cities in New England, it was founded in 1636 by Roger Williams, a Reformed Baptist theologian and religious exile from the Massachusetts Ba ...

. He, along with TUF alumni and MMA veteran

Seth Petruzelli Seth Christopher Petruzelli (born December 3, 1979) is an American retired mixed martial artist, kickboxer, professional wrestler and entrepreneur. Petruzelli competed in the Heavyweight and Light Heavyweight divisions for the UFC, WEC, Eli ...

and Brazilian jiu-jitsu Black Belt Mike Lee, was previously a part-owner and coach a
The Jungle MMA – Orlando BJJ, MMA, Muay ThaiThe Jungle MMA and Fitness
He currently trains at Lauzon MMA and works with Team Aggression in

Bridgewater, Massachusetts Bridgewater is a town located in Plymouth County, in the state of Massachusetts, United States. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, the town's population was 28,633. Bridgewater is located approximately south of Boston and approximately 35 miles east ...

. Lawlor has made himself known by imitating other fighters (

Art Jimmerson Arthur Jimmerson (born August 4, 1963) is an American retired boxer & mixed martial artist who competed at super middleweight, light heavyweight, and cruiserweight. As an amateur, Jimmerson was the 1983 National Golden Gloves Middleweight cham ...

Dan Severn Daniel DeWayne Severn (born June 8, 1958), nicknamed "The Beast", is an American professional wrestler, retired mixed martial artist and amateur wrestler. A UFC Hall of Fame member, Severn is considered one of the leading pioneers of mixed mart ...

Harold Howard Harold Clarence Howard (born 1958) is a Canadian retired martial artist who earned a blackbelt in Jujutsu under Steve Reynolds and in Gōjū-Ryū Karate under Yogi Israel and was the first World Sport Jujutsu Heavyweight Champion in 1984. Howar ...

Genki Sudo is a Japanese MMA fighter, singer, actor and politician who has been serving as a political independent in the House of Councillors since 2019. Between 1998 and 2006, Sudo was a professional athlete and then was in the entertainment industry fro ...

, and

Conor McGregor Conor Anthony McGregor ( ga, Conchúr Antóin Mac Gréagóir; born 14 July 1988) is an Irish professional mixed martial artist. He is a former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) featherweight and lightweight double-champion. He is the first ...

) 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 Apollo Creed is a fictional character from the ''Rocky'' films, played by Carl Weathers. He serves as the main antagonist in ''Rocky'' and '' Rocky II'' and also appears in ''Rocky III'' and ''Rocky IV''. He is a tough but agile boxer w ...

amongst others) have made Lawlor something of a

cult figure A cult following refers to a group of fans who are highly dedicated to some person, idea, object, movement, or work, often an artist, in particular a performing artist, or an artwork in some medium. The lattermost is often called a cult classic. A ...

among fans. In 2010, Lawlor announced his intention to tone down his pre-fight antics.

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 ''The Ultimate Fighter'' is an American reality television series and mixed martial arts (MMA) competition produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and Pilgrim Media Group currently airing on ESPN+. It previously aired for fourteen s ...

''. He submitted Ryan Lopez with a

rear naked choke The rear naked choke (RNC) is a chokehold in martial arts applied from an opponent's back. The word "naked" in this context suggests that, unlike other strangulation techniques found in jujutsu/judo, this hold does not require the use of a keiko ...

in the elimination round to earn his spot in the ''TUF'' house. He was chosen by

Frank Mir Francisco Santos Mir III (; born May 24, 1979), is an American mixed martial artist who most recently competed for Bellator MMA in the Heavyweight division. He formerly competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) for sixteen years. A fo ...

to be a part of Team Mir. He was selected to fight first against

Ryan Bader Arizona State Sun Devils Ryan DuWayne Bader (born June 7, 1983) is an American mixed martial artist currently signed to Bellator MMA where he is the current Bellator Heavyweight Champion, the former Bellator Light Heavyweight Champion, an ...

and despite a good showing, Lawlor lost by knockout in the first round, due to a

ground and pound Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, incorpo ...

punches.

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Lawlor won his UFC debut against former ''

The Ultimate Fighter 8 ''The Ultimate Fighter: Team Nogueira vs. Team Mir'' is the eighth installment of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) produced reality television series ''The Ultimate Fighter'', which went into production in late May 2008 and premiered on ...

'' castmate

Kyle Kingsbury Kyle Loren Kingsbury (born March 22, 1982) is a retired American professional mixed martial artist. A professional competitor from 2006–2014, Kingsbury also formerly competed for King of the Cage and was a cast member of Spike TV's '' The Ultim ...

via unanimous decision. They fought on the preliminary card at

The Ultimate Fighter 8 Finale ''The Ultimate Fighter: Team Nogueira vs. Team Mir'' is the eighth installment of the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) produced reality television series ''The Ultimate Fighter'', which went into production in late May 2008 and premiered on ...

. After the fight with Kingsbury, Lawlor moved down in weight after realizing he was too small for light heavyweight. Lawlor had his second fight for the UFC, when he took on

C. B. Dollaway Clarence Byron "C. B." Dollaway (born August 10, 1983) is an American mixed martial artist currently fighting in the Light Heavyweight division. A professional since 2006, he formerly fought in the UFC and was a finalist on SpikeTV's ''The Ultim ...

UFC 100 ''UFC 100'' was a mixed martial arts event produced by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) on July 11, 2009, in Las Vegas, Nevada. This event was the most bought UFC pay-per-view of all time with a buyrate of 1.6million, until UFC 202 brok ...

. 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 ''UFC Fight Night: Maynard vs. Diaz'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 20'') was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) on January 11, 2010 at the Patriot Center in Fairfax, Virginia. Background Nik Lentz ...

. 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 Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, inc ...

. Lawlor was scheduled to face

Tim Credeur Timothy Wallace Credeur II (born July 9, 1977) is a retired American mixed martial artist. He was a cast member of Spike TV's '' The Ultimate Fighter 7'' and was defeated by fellow cast member Jesse Taylor in the semi-finals. He was then brought ...

on May 8, 2010, at

UFC 113 ''UFC 113: Machida vs. Shogun 2'' was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on May 8, 2010, at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Background UFC 113 featured the rematch between Lyoto Machida and Mauríci ...

, but Credeur was forced off the card with an injury. Lawlor instead faced Joe Doerksen, losing via

submission Deference (also called submission or passivity) is the condition of submitting to the espoused, legitimate influence of one's superior or superiors. Deference implies a yielding or submitting to the judgment of a recognized superior, out of re ...

in the second round. Lawlor earned a much needed victory over Patrick Cote on October 23, 2010, at

UFC 121 ''UFC 121: Lesnar vs. Velasquez'' was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on October 23, 2010 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California, United States. The event was the fourth time the UFC has hosted at the Hon ...

in a performance that once again displayed Lawlor's superb wrestling and jiu jitsu skills by successfully executing five takedowns, threatening with

s (nearly finishing Cote in the first round with an

arm-triangle choke Arm triangle choke, side choke, or head and arm choke are generic terms describing blood chokeholds in which the opponent is strangled in between their own shoulder and the practitioner's arm. This is as opposed to the regular triangle choke, whi ...

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 Maiquel José Falcão Gonçalves (8 March 1981 – 23 January 2022) was a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist who competed in the Light Heavyweight division. A professional competitor since 2004, Falcão was perhaps best known for his ...

on August 27, 2011, at

UFC 134 ''UFC 134: Silva vs. Okami'' (also known as ''UFC Rio'') was a mixed martial arts (MMA) pay-per-view event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on August 27, 2011 at the HSBC Arena in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The event was the second that t ...

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 Kyle Noke (born 18 March 1980) is an Australian retired mixed martial artist who competed as a Welterweight in the Ultimate Fighting Championship. A professional competitor since 2002, Noke has also fought for EliteXC. Background Noke, origina ...

on August 14, 2011, at

UFC on Versus 5 ''UFC Live: Hardy vs. Lytle'' (also known as ''UFC on Versus 5'') was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on August 14, 2011, at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The event was the first that the UFC h ...

. However, Lawlor pulled out of the fight in early July 2011. Lawlor lost to

Chris Weidman Christopher James WeidmanMIXED MARTIAL ARTS S ...

on November 19, 2011, at

UFC 139 ''UFC 139: Shogun vs. Henderson'' was a mixed martial arts event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on November 19, 2011 at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, California. It was the first UFC event in San Jose, the longtime home and base ar ...

due to a D'Arce choke in 2:07 of the first round. Lawlor faced

Jason MacDonald Jason Anthony MacDonald (born June 3, 1975) is a Canadian former mixed martial artist. A professional from 1999 until 2013, he is perhaps best remembered for his two stints in the UFC, but also fought for King of the Cage, and the Maximum Fight ...

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

Francis Carmont Francis Carmont (born October 10, 1981) is a French professional mixed martial artist who last competed in the Light Heavyweight division. A professional competitor since 2004, Carmont has competed for Bellator MMA, the UFC, and KSW. Mixed mart ...

on November 17, 2012, at

UFC 154 ''UFC 154: St-Pierre vs. Condit'' was a mixed martial arts pay-per-view event held by the Ultimate Fighting Championship on November 17, 2012, at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Background Parent company Zuffa, LLC produced a UFC Pri ...

. 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

s, he lost the fight via a controversial split decision Lawlor faced

Michael Kuiper Michael Jan Hugo Kuiper (born June 7, 1989) is a Dutch mixed martial artist who most recently competed in the Light Heavyweight division. A professional competitor since 2009, he has competed for the UFC and Titan FC. Mixed martial arts career ...

on April 6, 2013, at

. After losing the first round, he rebounded and won via submission, a

guillotine choke The guillotine choke, also known as Mae Hadaka Jime (前裸絞, "front naked choke"; compare to a rear naked choke) in judo, is a chokehold in martial arts applied from in front of the opponent, often on the ground but can also be done while stan ...

, 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 Ilir Latifi (born July 28, 1983) is a Swedish mixed martial artist who previously fought in the Heavyweight division of the UFC. A two-time national wrestling champion and a professional MMA competitor since 2008, Latifi has also competed in S ...

in a light heavyweight bout on July 19, 2014, at

UFC Fight Night 46 The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

. However, Lawlor was forced out of the bout due to injury, and was replaced by promotional newcomer Chris Dempsey. After over two years away from active competition, Lawlor returned to face

Gian Villante Gianpiero Villante (born August 18, 1985) is a retired American mixed martial artist who previously fought in the heavyweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. A professional from 2009 to 2021, he also has competed for Strikeforce ...

on July 25, 2015, at UFC on Fox 16. He won the fight via knockout in the second round and also earned a ''Performance of the Night'' bonus. Lawlor was expected to face

Fábio Maldonado Fábio Rogério Maldonado (born 17 March 1980) is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist and boxer currently competing in the light heavyweight division of Fight Nights Global. A professional MMA competitor since 2000, he has also ...

on November 7, 2015, at

UFC Fight Night 77 ''UFC Fight Night: Belfort vs. Henderson 3'' (also known as ''UFC Fight Night 77'') was a mixed martial arts event held on November 7, 2015, at the Ginásio do Ibirapuera in São Paulo, Brazil. Background The event was the fourth held in São Pa ...

. However, Lawlor was forced out of the bout with injury and replaced by Corey Anderson. Lawlor faced Corey Anderson on March 5, 2016, at

UFC 196 ''UFC 196: McGregor vs. Diaz'' was a mixed martial arts event held on March 5, 2016 at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Background The event was officially announced in November 2015 as "UFC 197," taking place on March 5, 2016 at HS ...

. He lost the fight by unanimous decision. On November 4, 2016, Lawlor was provisionally suspended from the UFC stemming from an out-of-competition drug test conducted by

USADA The United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA, ) is a non-profit, non-governmental 501(c)(3) organization and the national anti- doping organization (NADO) for the United States. To protect clean competition and the integrity of sport and prevent ...

on October 10, 2016. Lawlor revealed that he failed for

Ostarine Enobosarm, also known as ostarine or MK-2866, is an investigational selective androgen receptor modulator (SARM) developed by GTx, Inc. for the treatment of conditions such as muscle wasting and osteoporosis, formerly under development by Merc ...

, although he denied knowing the cause of the failure. In February 2017, Lawlor was handed a two-year suspension. He became eligible to return to competition in October 2018. On August 13, 2018, Tom Lawlor was released from UFC, less than two months before his suspension was lifted. 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 Deron Andrew Winn (born June 13, 1989) is an American mixed martial artist and freestyle wrestler. A professional mixed martial artist since 2017, he formerly competed with the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and Bellator MMA, fighting in th ...

Golden Boy Promotions Golden Boy Promotions, Inc. is an American boxing promotional firm based in Los Angeles, California. The company was established in 2002 by eight-time world champion (in six divisions) Oscar De La Hoya, borrowing his nickname "Golden Boy." Histo ...

's inaugural MMA event. He lost the fight by unanimous decision.

Professional Fighters League

in March 2020, Lawlor signed with

Professional Fighters League The Professional Fighters League (PFL) is an American mixed martial arts league founded by venture capitalist Donn Davis in 2017 and launched in 2018, following the acquisition and restructuring of the former World Series of Fighting (WSOF) promo ...

and is expected to participate in the PFL season 3 light heavyweight bracket. Lawlor was set to face

Jordan Johnson Jordan Johnson may refer to: * Jordan Johnson (fighter) (born 1988), mixed martial arts * Jordan Johnson (footballer) Jordan Johnson (born 9 October 1986) is a professional footballer who plays as a forward for Congleton Town. Born in England, ...

on April 29, 2021 at PFL 2 as the start of the 2021 PFL Light Heavyweight tournament. However, in March, it was announced that Johnson pulled out and was replaced by promotional newcomer Antônio Carlos Júnior. He lost the bout via guillotine choke in the first round. Lawlor faced Jordan Young at PFL 5 on June 17, 2021. He won the bout via unanimous decision and then retired by placing his gloves down in the center of the mat after the win.

Professional wrestling career

Independent circuit (2014–present)

Before the start of his MMA career, Lawlor worked two years as a

on the Florida independent circuit, even taking part in a

WWE World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., d/b/a as WWE, is an American professional wrestling promotion. A global integrated media and entertainment company, WWE has also branched out into other fields, including film, American football, and vari ...

tryout. On May 17, 2014, Lawlor made his Ring of Honor debut accompanying reDRagon as their manager against

The Young Bucks The Young Bucks are an American professional wrestling tag team and promoters, consisting of brothers Matthew and Nicholas Massie, who are known by their ring names Matt and Nick Jackson, respectively. They are signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW ...

in their match for the

ROH World Tag Team Championship The ROH World Tag Team Championship is a professional wrestling world tag team championship contested for in the American professional wrestling promotion Ring of Honor. The championship is generally contested in professional wrestling matches, i ...

at the ROH and

co-promoted pay-per-view

War of the Worlds ''The War of the Worlds'' is a science fiction novel by English author H. G. Wells, first serialised in 1897 by '' Pearson's Magazine'' in the UK and by ''Cosmopolitan'' magazine in the US. The novel's first appearance in hardcover was i ...

. Lawlor returned to professional wrestling in February 2017, due to his suspension from UFC. 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 All Star Wrestling (ASW) is a British professional wrestling promotion operated by Brian Dixon and based in Birkenhead, England. Founded as Wrestling Enterprises of Birkenhead in October 1970, it has also been known over the years as All Star P ...

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

answered Lawlor's challenge. Lawlor pinned Severn to advance. Day 2, Lawlor was in a Fatal Four-Way with

Tracy Williams Tracy Williams is an American professional wrestler currently wrestling for Ring of Honor (ROH) where he is a former ROH World Tag Team Champion with Foundation teammate Rhett Titus. He is also a former ROH World Television Champion. Prior t ...

, Mike Tolar and Dominic Garrini. Williams would win the match and the tournament.

Major League Wrestling (2017–2021)

Since their 2017 relaunch, Lawlor has competed in

(MLW), and appears on their weekly

MLW Fusion ''MLW Fusion'' is a professional wrestling television program produced by Major League Wrestling (MLW) that originally premiered on April 20, 2018 on beIN Sports USA. On November 10, 2022, the series began streaming on Pro Wrestling TV. A thir ...

television series. Lawlor won the first

in MLW in 2018. He won after eliminating

Jake Hager Donald Jacob Hager Jr. (born March 24, 1982) is an American professional wrestler and mixed martial artist, currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW) under the ring name Jake Hager, where he is a member of the Jericho Appreciation Society s ...

, who he went on to feud with. He followed that up by beating

Sami Callihan Samuel Alton Johnston (born September 1, 1987) is an American professional wrestler and promoter, better known by the ring name Sami Callihan, currently signed with Impact Wrestling and is a former Impact World Champion. He also wrestled for Luch ...

Shane Strickland Stephon Strickland (born September 30, 1990) is an American professional wrestler currently signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he performs under the ring name Swerve Strickland and is a former AEW World Tag Team Champion (with Keith Lee). ...

and his former partner

Simon Gotch Seth Lesser (born October 18, 1982) is an American professional wrestler better known by the ring name Simon Gotch. He is best known for his time in WWE, where he held the NXT Tag Team Championship as one-half of The Vaudevillains along with A ...

in singles matches. On February 2, 2019, Lawlor won the

MLW World Heavyweight Championship The MLW World Heavyweight Championship is a world heavyweight championship owned and promoted by Major League Wrestling (MLW). It is the promotion's principal championship. The championship was established on September 26, 2002 during the MLW Re ...

from

Low Ki Brandon Silvestry (born September 6, 1979) is an American professional wrestler of Italian and Puerto Rican descent, better known by his ring name Low Ki. He is known for his time with Impact Wrestling, Ring of Honor and Major League Wrestli ...

at MLW's live SuperFight event. He would hold the title 154 days, before losing it to

Jacob Fatu Jacob Fatu is an American professional wrestler currently signed to Major League Wrestling. He is a former one-time MLW World Heavyweight Champion and his reign is the longest in the title's history at 819 days. He also performs on the independ ...

Kings of Colosseum Kings of Colosseum is a professional wrestling supercard event produced by Major League Wrestling (MLW). The first event was held in 2019 as a special live episode of MLW's weekly series, ''Fusion Fusion, or synthesis, is the process of combining ...

in July 2019. He would also fail to defeat Fatu in a rematch for the title. On November 14, 2019, it was announced Lawlor left the promotion. However, on November 22, 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.

New Japan Pro-Wrestling (2020–present)

On the July 12, 2020 episode of Lion's Break Collision, Lawlor made his

debut, defeating

Rocky Romero John R. Rivera (born October 28, 1982) is a Puerto Rican-American professional wrestler and former mixed martial artist. He is currently signed non-exclusively to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), better known by his ring name Rocky Romero (ロッ ...

. Lawlor immediately aligned himself with J. R. Kratos and Taylor Rust, forming the NJPW version of

Team Filthy ''Team Filthy'' is a professional wrestling stable, performing in New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) and previously Major League Wrestling (MLW) . The group was formed on October 5, 2017 during One Shot by "Filthy" Tom Lawlor. History Major League ...

. The group later added The West Coast Wrecking Crew (Jorel Nelson and Royce Isaacs) and Danny Limelight. After a loss against

Jeff Cobb Jeffrey Cobb (ジェフ・コブ　''Jefu Kobu'', born July 11, 1982) is an American professional wrestler and former amateur wrestler currently signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) where he is a two-time IWGP Tag Team Champion with United Emp ...

, Lawlor kicked Rust out of Team Filthy, replacing him with Chris Dickinson. However, Dickinson later aligned himself with

Brody King Nathan Troy Blauvelt (born March 17, 1987), better known by his ring name Brody King, is an American professional wrestler and musician signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he is a member of The House of Black. King was previously signed ...

at the

ROH 19th Anniversary Show ROH 19th Anniversary was a professional wrestling event produced by American promotion Ring of Honor (ROH) that aired on Friday, March 26 on Pay-per-view. It emanated from the UMBC Event Center in Baltimore, Maryland. It was the 18th event in th ...

, causing tension amongst Team Filthy. Dickinson refused to commit to Team Filthy's violent actions on the following weeks episodes of

NJPW Strong ''NJPW Strong'' is a professional wrestling television series produced by Japanese professional wrestling promotion New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) which debuted on August 7, 2020. It currently airs Saturday at 8pm ET on NJPW World and FITE TV. ...

, further straining the groups relationship with Dickinson. In April 2021, Lawlor competed in the

New Japan Cup USA New Japan Cup USA is an annual professional wrestling tournament produced by New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). The tournament is a spin-off of NJPW's annual New Japan Cup introduced in 2020. The tournament was promoted under NJPW's North American ...

tournament to crown the first ever NJPW Strong Openweight Champion. He defeated the DKC in a qualifying match,

Ren Narita Ren Narita (成田蓮 ''Narita Ren'', born November 29, 1997) is a Japanese professional wrestler currently signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). Early life Narita has played several sports before becoming a wrestler, including baseball and ...

in the first round, Hikuleo in the semi-finals, and

in the finals to win the New Japan Cup USA and become the first ever NJPW Strong Openweight Champion. Team Filthy and Dickinson's relationship finally ended when Dickinson challenged Lawlor for the title as his first challenger, causing Lawlor and Team Filthy to attack Dickinson, removing him from the faction. In May 2021, Lawlor defeated Dickinson to retain his Strong Openweight Championship at

Collision In physics, a collision is any event in which two or more bodies exert forces on each other in a relatively short time. Although the most common use of the word ''collision'' refers to incidents in which two or more objects collide with great fo ...

. Lawlor retained against Karl Fredericks at Ignition. Lawlor continued to retain the title against challengers such as

Satoshi Kojima is a Japanese professional wrestler signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling, but makes appearances for Pro Wrestling Noah. Considered to be one of the greatest Japanese professional wrestlers of the 21st century and of all-time, he was the first wrest ...

Lio Rush Lionel Gerard Green (born November 11, 1994), better known by the ring name Lio Rush, is an American professional wrestler and musician currently signed to New Japan Pro Wrestling (NJPW), where he is a member of the Chaos stable. He has also a ...

and

. At

Detonation Detonation () is a type of combustion involving a supersonic exothermic front accelerating through a medium that eventually drives a shock front propagating directly in front of it. Detonations propagate supersonically through shock waves with s ...

, Lawlor defeated

Fred Rosser Frederick Douglas Rosser III (born November 2, 1983) is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he is the current Strong Openweight Champion in his first reign. He is best known for his ...

. He made further title defences against Taylor Rust and

Clark Connors Connor Deutsch (born October 6, 1993), better known by the ring name Clark Connors is an American professional wrestler. He is currently signed to New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he was the winner of the 2020 Lion's Break Crown. Profession ...

before losing the title Rosser at

, in a match where if Rosser lost he'd have to leave NJPW Strong, ending Lawlor's reign at 397 days. At

Dominion 6.12 in Osaka-jo Hall Dominion 6.12 in Osaka-jo Hall was a professional wrestling event promoted by New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW). The event took place on June 12, 2022, in Osaka, Osaka, at the Osaka-jō Hall and is the fourteenth event under the Dominion name and eig ...

, Lawlor was announced to be a participant in the G1 Climax 32 tournament as a part of the A Block, making his tournament debut and his NJPW debut in Japan. Lawlor ended his campaign with 6 points, failing to advance to the semi-finals.

Other media

In May 2015,

Figure Four Online Figure may refer to: General *A shape, drawing, depiction, or geometric configuration *Figure (wood), wood appearance *Figure (music), distinguished from musical motif *Noise figure, in telecommunication * Dance figure, an elementary dance patter ...

launched the ''Filthy Tom Lawlor Show'' (later renamed ''Filthy Four Daily''), a weekly

featuring Lawlor discussing MMA and professional wrestling with host Bryan Alvarez. In September 2016, it was announced he would be making monthly appearances on ''The Bryan and Vinny Show'' to discuss

SmackDown Live ''WWE SmackDown'', also known as ''Friday Night SmackDown'' or simply ''SmackDown'', is an American professional wrestling television program produced by WWE that as of currently airs live every Friday at 8 p.m. ET on Fox. Fox Deportes simul ...

pay-per-views. He has also made appearances on Wrestling Observer Radio. He is the co-host of the FRB Show with Front Row Brian.

Personal life

Lawlor currently resides in

Las Vegas, NV Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

Championships and accomplishments

Amateur wrestling

National Collegiate Wrestling Association The National Collegiate Wrestling Association (NCWA) is a nonprofit association of 162 institutions, conferences, organizations and individuals that organize the wrestling programs of many colleges and universities in the United States and Canad ...

** NCWA National 235lbs Champion (2003, 2004, 2005)

Mixed martial arts

Ultimate Fighting Championship The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by Zuffa, a wholly owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. It is the largest MMA ...

** Fight of the Night (One time) ** Knockout of the Night (One time) ** Submission of the Night (One time) **

Performance of the Night UFC Bonus Awards are three separate cash bonuses usually awarded to four fighters after each UFC event, based on internal decisions by UFC management. More/fewer bonuses have been awarded at some events, especially when no knockouts or submissions ...

(One time)

Professional wrestling

*Absolute Intense Wrestling **AIW Absolute Championship (1 time) *Black Label Pro **BLP Heavyweight Championship (1 time) ** BLP Midwest Championship (1 time, current) **BLP Heavyweight Championship Tournament (2017) *Division One Pro Wrestling **FX Cup (2008) *

( 1 time) **

(

) ** Opera Cup (

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global social and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns and the largest economic recession since the Great Depression in t ...

) *

Strong Openweight Championship The is a professional wrestling championship owned and promoted by the New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW) promotion. The title was officially announced on April 2, 2021. The title is exclusively featured on NJPW's American television program ''NJPW St ...

( 1 time, inaugural) ** New Japan Cup USA (2021) *Prestige Wrestling **Prestige Championship (1 time) **Prestige Rise or Die Tournament (2019) *''

Pro Wrestling Illustrated ''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' (''PWI'') is an American internationally sold professional wrestling magazine that was founded in 1979 by publisher Stanley Weston. ''PWI'' is headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, and published by Kappa Publi ...

'' **Ranked No. 59 of the top 500 singles wrestlers in the

PWI 500 ''Pro Wrestling Illustrated'' (''PWI'') is an American internationally sold professional wrestling magazine that was founded in 1979 by publisher Stanley Weston. ''PWI'' is headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, and published by Kappa Publi ...

in 2021

Mixed martial arts record

, - , Win , align=center, 11–8 (1) , Jordan Young , Decision (unanimous) , PFL 5 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 , Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 10–8 (1) , Antônio Carlos Júnior , Submission (guillotine choke) , PFL 2 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 4:43 , Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 10–7 (1) ,

, Decision (unanimous) , Golden Boy Promotions: Liddell vs. Ortiz 3 , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 , Inglewood, California, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 10–6 (1) , Corey Anderson , Decision (unanimous) ,

, , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vega ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 10–5 (1) ,

, KO (punch) , UFC on Fox: Dillashaw vs. Barão 2 , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 0:27 ,

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 9–5 (1) ,

, Submission (guillotine choke) , UFC on Fuel TV: Mousasi vs. Latifi , , align=center, 2 , align=center, 1:05 , Stockholm, Sweden , , - , Loss , align=center, 8–5 (1) ,

, Decision (split) ,

, , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

, Canada , , - , Win , align=center, 8–4 (1) ,

, KO (punch) , UFC on Fuel TV: The Korean Zombie vs. Poirier , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:50 ,

Fairfax, Virginia The City of Fairfax ( ), colloquially known as Fairfax City, Downtown Fairfax, Old Town Fairfax, Fairfax Courthouse, FFX, or simply Fairfax, is an independent city (United States), independent city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 7–4 (1) ,

Chris Weidman Christopher James WeidmanMIXED MARTIAL ARTS S ...

, Technical Submission (D'Arce choke) ,

, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 2:07 ,

San Jose, California San Jose, officially San José (; ; ), is a major city in the U.S. state of California that is the cultural, financial, and political center of Silicon Valley and largest city in Northern California by both population and area. With a 2020 popu ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 7–3 (1) , Patrick Côté , Decision (unanimous) ,

, , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

Anaheim, California Anaheim ( ) is a city in northern Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States Census, the city had a population of 346,824, making it the most populous city in Orange County, the 10th-most ...

, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 6–3 (1) , Joe Doerksen , Submission (rear-naked choke) ,

, , align=center, 2 , align=center, 2:10 , Montreal, Quebec, Canada , , - , Loss , align=center, 6–2 (1) , Aaron Simpson , Decision (split) , UFC Fight Night: Maynard vs. Diaz , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 6–1 (1) ,

, Technical submission (guillotine choke) ,

, , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:55 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 5–1 (1) ,

, Decision (unanimous) , The Ultimate Fighter: Team Nogueira vs Team Mir Finale , , align=center, 3 , align=center, 5:00 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 4–1 (1) , Travis Bartlett , Technical submission (guillotine choke) , Full Force 20 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:10 , Foxborough, Massachusetts, United States , , - , Loss , align=center, 3–1 (1) , Shane Primm , DQ (illegal knee to the head) , World Fighting Championships 6 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:24 ,

Tampa, Florida Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 3–0 (1) , Cesar Barros , KO (punches) , Full Force 15 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:10 ,

Mansfield, Massachusetts Mansfield is a town in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. As of the United States 2020 Census, the town population is 23,860. Mansfield is in the south-southwest suburbs of Boston and is also close to Providence, Rhode Island. The vill ...

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 2–0 (1) , Jason Barlog , TKO (punches) , WFC 3 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 3:59 ,

, United States , , - , Win , align=center, 1–0 (1) , Jonathan Fernandez , Submission (rear naked choke) , X-treme Fighting Championships , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 1:20 ,

, United States , , - , NC , align=center, 0–0 (1) , Ariel Gandulla , No Contest , Kick Enterprises , , align=center, 1 , align=center, N/A , Fort Myers, Florida, United States ,

Amateur mixed martial arts record

, - , Win , align=center, 1–0 , Rich Mitchell , KO (punches) , XF: Xtreme Fighting 5 , , align=center, 1 , align=center, 0:54 ,

, United States ,

References

External links

Tom Lawlor
at PFL * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lawlor, Tom 1982 births Living people Sportspeople from Fall River, Massachusetts American male mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists from Massachusetts Middleweight mixed martial artists Mixed martial artists utilizing collegiate wrestling Mixed martial artists utilizing Brazilian jiu-jitsu Ultimate Fighting Championship male fighters American male professional wrestlers American male sport wrestlers Professional wrestlers from Massachusetts American practitioners of Brazilian jiu-jitsu People awarded a black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu Wrestling Observer Newsletter University of Central Florida alumni MLW World Heavyweight Champions

Early life

Mixed martial arts

Amateur career

''The Ultimate Fighter''

Ultimate Fighting Championship

Post-UFC career

Professional Fighters League

Professional wrestling career

Independent circuit (2014–present)

Major League Wrestling (2017–2021)

New Japan Pro-Wrestling (2020–present)

Other media

Personal life

Championships and accomplishments

Amateur wrestling

Mixed martial arts

Professional wrestling

Mixed martial arts record

Amateur mixed martial arts record

See also

References

External links