Looks like Rory MacDonald will get his once-promised shot at the UFC welterweight strap after all.
On February 18, the UFC announced No. 2-ranked Rory MacDonald would face off with current 170-pound champion Robbie Lawler in the co-main event of July’s stacked UFC 189 card in Las Vegas. The two previously fought at UFC 167, with Ruthless earning a split-decision victory.
While he emerged from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in November 2013 victorious, Lawler doesn’t plan on leaving anything to chance in his summertime splash with MacDonald.
“I think it will be a new and improved fight. I think things will be different, but I want a finish,” Lawler told Fox Sports’ Damon Martin.
The 32-year-old has endured a difficult time finishing opponents atop the heap of the welterweight ladder. Ruthless has knocked out UFC journeymen Josh Koscheck and Jake Ellenberger but was unable to get the finish against tougher foes in MacDonald and former champion Johny Hendricks.
Against MacDonald, Lawler had an especially tough time staying upright. After winning the opening frame, he succumbed to the wrestling pedigree of the Canadian, allowing four takedowns while minimizing the amount of ground-and-pound he received.
Lawler pulled away in the third utilizing his improved cardio and an aggressive striking attack to outpoint The Canadian Psycho. The judges on the evening—Cecil Peoples, Mark Smith and Glenn Trowbridge—were for the most part in unison, aside from Trowbridge, who awarded MacDonald Round 1.
Though the 25-year-old Tristar gym general ultimately lost a close call, he has since put together quite the impressive winning streak. MacDonald ran through three Top 10 opponents in 2014.
He first bested renowned grappler Demian Maia. After being dominated in the opening round, the Canadian blitzed the Brazilian in the next two, while stuffing 20 ill-advised takedown attempts by Maia.
In his next Octagon foray, MacDonald put forth a balanced attack against Tyron Woodley, beating him to the punch for 15 minutes. Then, in a win over Team Quest’s Tarec Saffiedine, he outclassed the Karate specialist en route to another unanimous-decision performance.
Following his third straight victory, MacDonald was promised a title shot by UFC President Dana White. However, that was quickly revoked once Lawler defeated Hendricks, setting up what appeared to be a trilogy fight between the pair sometime in 2015.
MacDonald was then linked to a potential title eliminator against physically imposing Cuban Hector Lombard, but the bout was scrapped after Lombard failed a drug test for the anabolic steroid desoxymethyltestosterone, per MMAFighting.com’s Ariel Helwani.
UFC 189 is shaping up to be a can’t-miss event. The card’s main event features a featherweight championship tussle between current titleholder Jose Aldo and brash Irish contender Conor McGregor.
Typically the heavier weight classes receive headlining duties on cards with two title fights but in this case, UFC officials are going with the money-making machine McGregor.
Lawler and MacDonald may already be familiar with each other, but this time it’s not just a title eliminator. The Canadian knows all too well how hard title shots are to come by.
On July 11, one of these fighters will be looking to bring some stability, or chaos, to a division that’s otherwise in flux. Oh, and of course, the first finish in a welterweight title fight since Georges St-Pierre stopped B.J. Penn at UFC 94.
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