(If you squint, you can see Simpsons characters in their abs.)
Rory MacDonald will face a fellow up-and-coming welterweight in his adopted hometown of Montreal on March 24 when he takes on British standout Che “Beautiful” Mills at Bell Centre at UFC 145.
Sportsnet’s “Showdown” Joe Ferraro was the first to report the potential bout via Twitter and we have since confirmed the news with a source close to one of the fighters.
A native of Quesnel, BC, MacDonald has been impressive in four UFC starts, compiling a 3-1 record with wins over Mike Guymon, Nate Diaz and Mike Pyle. “Ares” was just seven seconds away from maintaining his status as an undefeated fighter at UFC 115, but was caught by Carlos Condit and finished by “The Natural Born Killer” at 4:53 of the third round and lost by TKO. Since then the 22-year-old, who has been fighting since he turned 16, made a permanent move to Montreal to train with some of the country’s best fighters including UFC champion Georges St-Pierre at Tristar Gym. An injury forced him out of a planned UFC 140 pairing with Brian Ebersole this weekend, and he was replaced by fellow Canuck Claude Patrick on the card.
(Video courtesy of YouTube/lordblaketha)
Although he isn’t as well known as MacDonald, Mills is no slouch himself, having decimated Chris Cope in his Octagon debut last month in just 40 seconds at UFC 138 in Birmingham, England. The 29-year-old former Cage Rage 170-pound champ and Gloucester native also holds a pair of KO victories over DREAM welterweight champion Marius Zaromskis.
(Video courtesy of YouTube/mrmills13)
No other bouts have been announced for the card, and the UFC has yet to confirm this pairing.