This fight has been discussed for a while so this comes as no surprises. Robbie Lawler has not fought for almost a year as he suffered a torn ACL during the fight with Rafael Dos Anjos and has been undergoing rehabilitation since then. As far as styles go an in shape Robbie Lawler is probably a difficult match up for Ben Askren. An easier match up would have been someone like Darren Till.
Ben Askren has not fought since 11/24/17 when he beat Shinya Aoki in 57 seconds.
When you compare the two Ben Askren has not taken much punishment in his career unlike Robbie Lawler. Robbie is going to definitely be the toughest opponent Ben has faced. The toughest opponent he faced previously was Douglas Lima in 2012.
The UFC has a lot riding on this. If Ben Askren turns out to be a dud then the UFC just sent one of the most exciting fighters to One for a dud. Ben Askren needs to pull a Khabib because if he doesn't then One Championship is going to be able to puff their chest to say how they best the UFC and this will open doors for more fighters to make the jump.