Since he burst on the scene in 2002 with three impressive wins in the UFC, "Ruthless" Robbie Lawler's (Pictures) career has been a rollercoaster ride of chaotic proportions. Despite being just 26, he’s experienced the kinds of dizzying ups and downs that often define a fighter’s entire career.

Six years ago, he seemed the future face of Team Miletich. After debuting in the organization with a decision over granite-chinned Aaron Riley (Pictures), Lawler scored knockouts over Steve Berger (Pictures) and Tiki Ghosn (Pictures). With stablemate Matt Hughes (Pictures) running roughshod over the division, Lawler seemed the heir apparent to Miletich’s welterweight reign.

Then everything came apart. Lawler lost three of his next four matches, suffering setbacks against Pete Spratt (Pictures) (injury TKO), Nick Diaz (Pictures) (KO) and Evan Tanner (Pictures) (submission) sandwiched around a split decision over Chris Lytle (Pictures). Suddenly, the go-for-broke, free-swinging slugger seemed exposed as an explosive but limited fighter, with rumors of lax training habits not helping his reputation.

In MMA, it’s easy to pile on a guy especially when expectations ran so high. And, as Lawler’s re-emergence in the middleweight division has shown, sometimes talent needs equal parts experience and maturity to achieve results.

Since leaving the UFC in 2004, Lawler (16-4, 1 NC) has established himself as one of the game’s best middleweights, winning the Elite XC belt with a textbook performance over Murilo Rua (Pictures) last September. He showed a tempered approach and a disciplined game plan against Rua, picking him apart en route to the third-round knockout. And, off the heels of a gutty fourth-round stoppage of Frank Trigg (Pictures) in March 2007, it’s clear that Lawler has learned to pace himself, unlike earlier in his career.

On Saturday he’ll defend his belt against Scott Smith (Pictures) in a rematch of their three-round brawl May 31 that ended in a no-contest. Lawler has the chance to take another step up the middleweight ladder in a bout that promises red meat galore to the fans. If he’s to retain his title in an extended back-and-forth stand-up battle waged entirely on the feet -- and extensively in nose-to-nose clinch slugging -- the new and improved Lawler may have to garner up a little more of the “Ruthless” style that earned his nom de guerre earlier in his career.

Here’s a closer look:

Strengths

Athletic and explosive, Lawler brings a southpaw stance with solid stand-up, backed by a good takedown game and merciless finishing instinct. With ample head movement and the eyes of a predator, he stalks foes, changes angles and explodes with punches, kicks, knees -- everything but the proverbial kitchen sink. Likes a stand-up battle but will unload with both hands if he can put opponents on the ground. Years of training with Team Miletich early in his career have given him plenty of gym time with some of the world's best. As a result, he fights with the kind of cocksure attitude and confidence you'd expect.

Weaknesses

While Lawler is competent at avoiding submissions, he's only scored one in his 22-fight career, mostly because he prefers to blast opponents out rather than sink an available sub, such as a rear-naked choke. Earlier in his career, tended to overextend himself in exchanges and get caught at times, or try to do too much at once. Recent fights have shown a more measured approach, as his tactical brain seems to have caught up to his abilities. However, facing Smith, a naturally bigger fighter, the battle down the stretch could be tough if Lawler can't stop the Sacramento-based slugger and finds himself taken down or in the kind of match where cardio determines the winner.

Notable wins

Scott Smith (Pictures) (No contest in the third round, May 31, 2008)
Murilo Rua (Pictures) (KO 3, Sept. 15, 2007)
Frank Trigg (Pictures) (KO 4, March 31, 2007)
Joey Villasenor (Pictures) (KO 1, Oct. 21, 2006)

While the debut of MMA on network television received mixed reviews with Kimbo Slice’s stoppage of James Thompson (Pictures), Lawler's brawl with Scott Smith (Pictures) was an instant classic, if not for the fact that the bout was stopped short after Smith sustained an eye poke in the third round. After starting fast and seemingly having the challenger in a bit of trouble, Lawler tasted Smith's power and the two waged a hard-nosed battle for 13 minutes before the unfortunate end. Smartly, CBS is using the rematch as the headliner on Saturday night's card.

With the tactically sound performance against Smith, as well as the smarts he showed in dismantling Rua and Trigg -- along with no small degree of gumption in the latter -- Lawler's style has matured considerably since his free-swinging UFC days. And as his 22-second flying-knee stoppage of the capable Joey Villasenor (Pictures) showed, Lawler's early-fight explosiveness is still there. It's just that he isn't as gung-ho as he used to be. Now he smartly picks his shots and uses his excellent speed.

Capable of effective strikes from virtually any position, Lawler's game plan against Rua was a career-defining masterpiece. He used angles, high-percentage attacks and constant pressure to take the belt from the Brazilian. Against Smith, he'll have to walk the fine line between imposing that kind of strategy versus the temptation to explode and, perhaps, get a little reckless, which has provided some of the defining moments of his career, both good and bad. When Lawler is bombing away on an opponent in his trademark devil-may-care style, there's nobody more exciting in MMA.

Lawler's wrestling has always been a tad overshadowed by his big-time striking, but he is a competent takedown artist with solid ground-and-pound. Since moving up to 185 pounds a few years ago, he seems to have made the transition well to compete against top middleweights. In the fight against Smith, however, he only shot for one takedown, and it was capably stuffed by Smith, who debuted at heavyweight and is a pretty strong middleweight himself. Whether Lawler decides to try and take the fight to the ground could be a not-so-subtle hint of his confidence in the stand-up game.

Notable losses

Jason Miller (Pictures) (Submission 3, Sept. 2, 2006)
Evan Tanner (Pictures) (Submission 1, Oct. 4, 2004)
Nick Diaz (Pictures) (KO 2, April 2, 2004)

All three defeats have a common theme -- Lawler starts big, then comes apart after the other guy capitalizes on a mistake. Against Tanner, he scored a monster body-slam takedown, only to fall victim to an expert triangle from the submissions whiz. While slugging it out with the then-unknown Nick Diaz (Pictures) at UFC 47, Lawler scored some big shots early, then walked into a right hand and suffered a flash-knockout defeat. And, battling Miller in a rousing scrap in Icon Sport, Lawler had a big second round, pounding the durable "Mayhem" with some potent ground-and-pound, but Miller survived en route to securing a choke victory in the fourth.

Comparing these results to the modern-day Lawler is still a bit of a stretch, considering that he's only lost once in his last nine fights and has obviously improved as a fighter. But watch the tape of the Smith bout again, and it seems that Lawler became overly cautious once it became apparent Smith wasn't going to crumble in the early exchanges.

Lawler smartly downshifted to a patient attack, using pesky jabs mixed in with occasional haymakers and clinch work, but in a five-round fight, anything can happen. Given that Smith tends to be a slow starter and Lawler a fast one, "Ruthless" needs to jump out ahead early and establish his stand-up without expending too much energy and robbing himself of a closing should it go five rounds.