Lawlor Defeats Dollaway in The Ultimate Fighter 8 Finale

Tom Lawlor, one of the few four-time national champions in NCWA history, made national news last Saturday at the UFC: The Ultimate Fighter 8 Finale. Lawlor, the most prominent wrestler in Central Florida’s long NCWA history, beat former NCAA champion C.B. Dollaway in the featured middleweight bout before a record UFC pay-per-view audience.

Lawlor defeated Dollaway via submission with a guillotine chokehold only 55 seconds into the bout. Lawlor earned the Submission of the Night Award for the quick effort. Dollaway, an NCAA Division I national champion at Arizona State who also won an NJCAA title after an All-American high school career, was the favorite in the undercard bout.

The win moves Lawlor’s UFC record to 6-1, with five of the six wins coming in the first round.

Lawlor lives in Orlando, Fla., and trains with the American Top Team, a mixed martial arts team that also has “The Ultimate Fighter" alums Ben Saunders and Seth Petruzelli on its roster. He had a short career as a professional wrestler in central Florida before turning pro in 2007. He was an all-state heavyweight at Estero High School in Fort Myers, Fla., after moving south from Swansea, Mass. At UCF, Lawlor earned a social sciences and education degree.

A complete biography on Lawlor that includes a variety of action photos, plus a post-fight video from Saturday, are at this UFC link: www.ufc.com/TomLawlor.