Words cannot express the effort and grit displayed by both Robbie Lawler and Rory MacDonald Saturday night at UFC 189.
In what can be considered one of the very best fights of all time, let alone a welterweight title defense, Ruthless outlasted and outpointed the Canadian challenger by way of a fifth-round TKO.
The fact that MacDonald lasted so long after breaking his nose early in the fight even further exemplifies how barbaric and tumultuous this rematch truly was.
While many people around the sport wouldn’t be surprised if a trilogy fight was immediately booked, it’s unlikely that The Red King will cement another shot at gold just yet.
Instead, he’ll be forced to nurse his wounds and most likely win at least two fights in a row to regain his divisional footing.
Here are three names that make sense for the young 25-year-old as he comes off his best performance of his career, despite a losing effort.
Carlos Condit
The Natural Born Killer may have just returned to the cage after a lengthy absence from a torn ACL, defeating Thiago Alves via second-round TKO at UFC Fight Night 67 in his comeback, but he could be matched up against anyone in the division right now.
That includes not only MacDonald, but the champion himself.
However, considering the magnitude of a Lawler vs. Hendricks trilogy fight, Condit will more than likely have to beat one more guy en route to a title shot.
MacDonald should be willing to take this fight with open arms since he was defeated by Condit back at UFC 155, and he stylistically matches up well with yet another premier striker.
GSP 2.0 would have to be more successful in the takedown department or Condit could leave him broken and bloody like Lawler did.
Matt Brown
Similar to Condit, Brown is a name in the division that makes sense against almost any other welterweight.
While it’s harder to rationalize him leapfrogging the likes of Hendricks and Condit for a title shot, he has displayed the elite level marksmanship and resilience to test any guy in the weight class.
And considering MacDonald has already fought Condit, Tyron Woodley and Demian Maia, Brown seems like a good choice to test his rebound abilities against another gritty brawler.
Of course, a long-awaited tilt between Condit and Brown could end up pushing MacDonald to the side.
Gunnar Nelson
While the Icelandic Nelson doesn’t possess the notoriety that some other names in the division do, his skill set is truly complimentary of the Top 5.
His grappling is world-class, his striking is evolving alongside training partner Conor McGregor and he’s only 26 years of age.
A showdown with MacDonald would serve as an international barn burner capable of headlining a Fight Night event in Canada.
And not only would this be a good test for MacDonald in his return, but it would allow the UFC to truly gauge Nelson’s potential as he ascends the welterweight ladder.
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