MLW has come to an agreement that will see ‘Filthy’ Tom Lawlor remain with the promotion following the announcement of a multi-year deal.
Recently, MLW CEO Court Bauer sent out a tweet thanking Lawlor for his time with the company and indicating the two sides would not be able to come to a resolution. Despite this being incorporated on the MLW Fusion program, this was not an angle and the sides were set to move on after the December 5th tapings at the Melrose Ballroom.
MLW re-engaged in talks earlier this week and came together on a deal that was reportedly agreed to Friday. Bauer gave the following statement in the company press release:
We went into extra innings to get this deal done. Tom’s talent, passion and leadership are second to none. We’re all beyond pleased to have his continued presence in MLW for years to come.
Lawlor, 36, announced last week that he wouldn’t be accepting any new bookings after December but is now taking dates in 2020.
It’s believed that Lawlor will be able to schedule independent bookings but MLW will take priority.
Lawlor, who began pro wrestling in the mid-2000s, moved on to mixed martial arts where he had six pro fights before entering season eight of The Ultimate Fighter. Lawlor was with the UFC for almost a decade earning victories over C.B. Dollaway, Patrick Cote, Jason MacDonald, Michael Kuiper, and Gian Villante.
In 2016, Lawlor was suspended by USADA after they detected a low level of Ostarine in his system. Lawlor was unable to determine how he got the substance in his system. He received a two-year suspension for the detection of 17 picograms in his system, which today would be arbitrated in a completely different fashion and there is no way he would receive the length of suspension he was given. Rather than let Lawlor of his UFC deal, the promotion waited until the two-year sanction was about to expire before releasing Lawlor, who had since returned to professional wrestling during his suspension period.
Lawlor’s last MMA fight occurred in November 2018 where he lost by unanimous decision to Deron Winn on the lone Golden Boy MMA event that was headlined by Tito Ortiz and Chuck Liddell.
Lawlor won the MLW heavyweight title from Low Ki back in February and held it until July when he dropped it to Jacob Fatu.
Lawlor will be part of the promotion’s Opera Cup tapings on Thursday, December 5th at the Melrose Ballroom in Queens, New York.
The process of completing this deal was described to us as a ‘multi-month back-and-forth process’.
