A massive welterweight bout is coming to the Great White North.
Rory MacDonald will take on Hector Lombard at UFC 186 on April 25, Lombard confirmed with MMAFighting.com on Saturday. The fight was initially reported by VendettaFighter.com. That bout would seemingly be a 170-pound title eliminator, but Lombard said that has not been made official.
Lombard isn’t sure whether the bout will be the main event, but said “it should be.”
UFC officials told MMAFighting.com that the potential bout is not yet official.
MacDonald (18-2) was supposed to get the next welterweight title shot until Robbie Lawler’s victory over Johny Hendricks at UFC 181 to take the belt. Hendricks defeated Lawler last March and, since both fights were extremely tight, the UFC has decided to go with an immediate trilogy. MacDonald, 25, has won three straight, including a third-round TKO of Tarec Saffiedine in October. The Canadian trains at Tristar Gym in Montreal.
Lombard (35-4, 1 NC) is one of the most feared fighters in the UFC. He is 3-0 as a welterweight in the UFC and is coming off a unanimous decision win over Josh Burkman at UFC 182 on Jan. 3. The 36-year-old Cuba native and former Olympic judoka is a former Bellator MMA middleweight champion and owns victories over the likes of Jake Shields, Nate Marquardt and Rousimar Palhares.
UFC 186 will mark the promotion’s return to Montreal for the first time since UFC 158 in March 2013. No other fights have been announced for the card.