Rory MacDonald may not be a lock for a title shot after all.
UFC President Dana White is mulling over the possibility of an immediate rematch between Robbie Lawler and Johny Hendricks following a controversial decision at UFC 181 in another epic slugfest.
“I don’t know. The trilogy wouldn’t be a bad idea,” White said on Fox Sports 1 (via Shaun Al-Shatti of MMAFighting.com). “We’ll see what happens.”
MacDonald was expected to be next in line for a shot at UFC gold after dismantling Tarec Saffiedine in October. After the fight, White not only confirmed MacDonald was next in line, but he also told The Canadian Press that the title fight would take place in Canada.
Lawler and Hendricks fought to another nail-biting decision Saturday night in a bout that did little to clear up the welterweight title picture. The fact that MacDonald is a deserving contender puts White in the precarious spot of either going back on his word or honoring his original statement.
There is no doubt that Lawler and Hendricks need to fight again to settle the rivalry once and for all. But as a matchmaker, do you pull the trigger now while the subject of the controversy is fresh, or do you put things off and chance either Hendricks or Lawler losing?
It’s a can of worms that never had to be opened in the first place. People often accuse White of being coy or guarded at post-fight press conferences when he refuses to comment on future title fights.
This is the reason.
Jordy McElroy is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. He is also the MMA writer for Rocktagon.
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