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Robbie Lawler to Defend UFC Welterweight Title July 11 Against Rory MacDonald

Robbie Lawler will defend his UFC welterweight title against Rory MacDonald July 11 at UFC 189, according to UFC President Dana White.
White announced the news Wednesday during a press conference in Las Vegas that aired live on UFC Fight Pass and…

Robbie Lawler will defend his UFC welterweight title against Rory MacDonald July 11 at UFC 189, according to UFC President Dana White.

White announced the news Wednesday during a press conference in Las Vegas that aired live on UFC Fight Pass and FOX Sports 1.

This fight against MacDonald will mark Lawler‘s first attempt at defending the UFC strap. He won the title at UFC 181, taking a split-decision victory over then-champion Johny Hendricks in a rematch of their UFC 171 classic, which Hendricks won via unanimous decision.

Against MacDonald, Lawler finds himself in another rematch. The 170-pound champ previously defeated the Canadian MacDonald at UFC 167 via split decision.

Since that time, Lawler has gone 3-1 under the UFC banner, losing only to Hendricks.

Similarly, MacDonald has looked sensational since dropping that bout. He’s undefeated in his last three fights, with his most recent victory coming via TKO over Tarec Saffiedine at UFC Fight Night: MacDonald vs. Saffiedine in October 2014.

After that fight against Saffiedine, MacDonald was briefly scheduled to face Hector Lombard in an apparent No. 1-contender’s bout at UFC 186, but Lombard was pulled from the fight after failing a drug test for the anabolic steroid desoxymethyltestosterone, per MMAFighting.com’s Ariel Helwani.

In the wake of Lombard’s drug-test failure, MacDonald is rewarded with a chance at gold.

While he already lost to Lawler once, that bout was competitive, and there’s no doubt that the 25-year-old Tristar Gym standout is constantly evolving and polishing his game. He looks better each time he steps into the Octagon, and it’s likely many will favor him in the rematch with the current champ.

With this news, UFC 189 is shaping up to be an absolute must-buy event.

Lawler vs. MacDonald joins a featherweight title fight between Jose Aldo and Conor McGregor on the July 11 card, a one-two punch at the top of the event that is sure to generate significant buzz and excitement.

In fight cards with two title fights, typically the heavier weight class receives top billing.

At UFC 189, however, Aldo vs. McGregor will serve as the main event, with Lawler vs. MacDonald taking co-main event honors, according to a report from the UFC relayed by Helwani:

Who do you favor in this welterweight showdown? Personally, I think MacDonald keeps his distance, picks his shots and works in a few takedowns to avenge his earlier defeat and take a unanimous decision.

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The 5 Heaviest Hitters in MMA Right Now

Odds are, if you find your eyes currently gliding across this screen from one line to the next, you’re an MMA fan.
No matter how educated a fan you claim to be, no matter how much you pride yourself in appreciating a less-than-entertaining, gruel…

Odds are, if you find your eyes currently gliding across this screen from one line to the next, you’re an MMA fan.

No matter how educated a fan you claim to be, no matter how much you pride yourself in appreciating a less-than-entertaining, grueling clinch battle against the cage, you enjoy seeing a knockout. You’ll never complain after seeing one fighter walk across the cage with his God-given force that compels his opponent to succumb to gravity.

Some fighters have it, some fighters don’t. Scroll on as we list the top five heaviest hitters the sport harbors today.

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What’s Really Going on in the UFC Welterweight Division?

The UFC’s welterweight division finds itself in a sudden state of disarray. With Johny Hendricks taking a fight with Matt Brown at UFC 185, the No.1 contendership is up for grabs at welterweight.
“Ruthless” Robbie Lawler emerged victorious …

The UFC’s welterweight division finds itself in a sudden state of disarray. With Johny Hendricks taking a fight with Matt Brown at UFC 185, the No.1 contendership is up for grabs at welterweight.

“Ruthless” Robbie Lawler emerged victorious at UFC 181 in December against Johny Hendricks, taking the title in Hendricks’ first attempt at defending it. Lawler‘s long quest to the UFC title started when he was a teenager, and his win against Hendricks was the culmination of a 13-year journey. The two fought earlier in the year for the vacant welterweight championship after it was vacated by long-reigning welterweight king, Georges St-Pierre, with Hendricks becoming GSP’s successor.

Waiting for the winner of the UFC 181 main event was Rory MacDonald, who was fresh off his third-round TKO of Tarec Saffiedine in October, and winner of three straight fights. He had turned a corner since his November 2013 loss to Lawler at UFC 167, and he was the division’s top contender.

Then Lawler takes the title from Hendricks at UFC 181 and UFC President Dana White told reporters on Jan. 1 that a trilogy fight between Hendricks and Lawler “makes sense” and would be the promotion’s next move, leaving MacDonald to fend off yet another welterweight killer to maintain his position as the division’s next-next contender.

“The Red King,” as MacDonald is now nicknamed, took a fight with the always-dangerous Hector Lombard, who is 3-0 at welterweight in the UFC with wins over Nate Marquardt, Jake Shields and Josh Burkman.

While this shifting was going on at the top of the mountain, Matt Brown was left without an opponent for the UFC’s Feb. 14 Fight Night event in Broomfield, CO, when Tarec Saffiedine pulled out with an injury. A fight already booked for that night, Brandon Thatch vs. Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson was bumped up to five-round status and Matt Brown was moved off the card.

The Immortal was shifted to UFC 185 in Dallas, and will now take on Johny Hendricks. The former UFC welterweight champion is forgoing his rematch to stay active, as his manager told MMAFighting.com that Lawler wouldn’t be ready fight until this Summer, and Hendricks didn’t want to stay out of action that long.

With Hendricks facing Brown on March 14, and MacDonald taking on Lombard just a month later on April 25, the welterweight title shot is hanging in the balance. Whichever fighter emerges victorious most impressively will move on to face Lawler this Summer.

There are a number of possible scenarios and outcomes to this welterweight melee. The first of which would be that both Hendricks and MacDonald are victorious in their respective fights. If MacDonald puts on more of an inspiring performance than “Bigg Rigg,” it’s very possible that he could get the fight he has earned for the UFC welterweight title.

Another possible outcome would be if one of the two was to win and the other one to lose. In that case, if MacDonald wins against Lombard and Hendricks loses to Brown, MacDonald would definitely get the title shot against Lawler.

The other option to consider would be both Hendricks and MacDonald losing in their upcoming fights. In that case you could give the title shot to whomever defeated them most impressively. There is also the fight between the surging Kelvin Gastelum and Tyron Woodley at UFC 183. If Gastelum defeats Woodley, it would be his sixth win in the UFC since winning The Ultimate Fighter Season 17 in his official Octagon debut against Uriah Hall in April 2013.

Lastly there is the aforementioned Thatch vs. Wonderboy fight on February 14. The winner there won’t be in the running for the next title shot, but they could catapult themselves farther upward into a fight with a winner of one of the other big welterweight showdowns. Not to mention that No. 4-ranked Carlos Condit will be returning to action in 2015 from a knee injury.

The next welterweight challenger will most likely be Johny Hendricks, or Rory MacDonald, but there are a number of other welterweights who could break through the pack with impressive wins in the upcoming series of match-ups. With the champion out, we are entering into a sort of playoff period for welterweight division.

Rory MacDonald has the opportunity to take what was taken from him, his shot he has earned at the UFC welterweight title. For Johny Hendricks, he has a chance to prove that he deserves a third fight with Lawler, and a chance to definitively end their trilogy.

Whichever man winds up holding the UFC welterweight title when we enter the second half of 2015 will then have the prospect of facing off with the other king of the welterweight division, if he should decide to reclaim his throne.

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Following UFC 182, Hector Lombard vs. Rory MacDonald the Fight to Make

Hector Lombard has three wins as a UFC welterweight and has already put himself into a place to be considered a top contender within the weight class. He took a decision victory over Josh Burkman at UFC 182 to continue his current run. With this win, it seems like he is on a direct course to face off against Rory MacDonald in a title eliminator in the near future.

Lombard currently sits ranked No. 6 among UFC welterweights. Matt Brown is coming off of a loss, while Tyron Woodley and MacDonald are the only two winners who are currently available above him. MacDonald was at one time pegged as the next man to fight for the welterweight title before having that position stripped from him in favor of a trilogy bout between Johny Hendricks and Robbie Lawler (via MMA Junkie).

That availability would create the perfect opportunity to get Lombard and MacDonald together to determine a true contender. Lombard mentioned MacDonald by name during the post-fight press conference, and Dana White did not refute the potential matchup.

“Rory makes the most sense for me,” Lombard said. “He’s not going to fight for the title, so that makes sense.” To which White said, “I think he’s right. He could fight Tyron Woodley, Brown, Rory, any of those guys. We will see what happens” (video via MMA Fighting).

As mentioned, Brown is coming off of a loss, and the UFC tends to pair opponents based on their current performances, which could take him out of this equation. Woodley, who is a teammate of Lombard’s, has already been the topic of consideration as an opponent for Lombard. It was actually a major talking point within 2014 that the fight did not happen.

“Everybody wants the fight except Woodley,” said Dana White as reported by Damon Martin of Fox Sports. “He’s made it pretty clear he does not want to fight Hector Lombard.”

If Woodley is as adamant against the fight as White has stated, that leaves only MacDonald as the next opponent in line for the former Olympic Judoka. The UFC could book this bout to occur on the same card as the Hendricks-Lawler rematch to give the event some added security against injuries.

An early preview of a potential MacDonald versus Lombard fight raises some interesting questions. For example, MacDonald has been known to stifle opponents with a steady jab, which throws their game off. This is especially effective against aggressive fighters as it was against both Woodley and Jake Ellenberger. Lombard would have to find a way through this jab and inside if he was to deal with Rory’s ability to fight from range.

If Lombard was to get inside, would Rory be able to deal with Hector’s high-level judo? He’s been taken down before by men such as Demian Maia, and being under Lombard for an extended period of time would be detrimental in any view.

Both men have the ability to win this fight, which would make them a clear favorite to fight for the belt at some point in 2015.

The UFC should book Rory MacDonald against Hector Lombard to see which man will emerge as the next top contender for the 170-pound title. While they are not the most talkative of fighters, they are interesting athletes and dynamic fighters that are at the top of the division, at the right time to make this fight.

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Robbie Lawler vs. Johny Hendricks Rubber Match in the Works; Date and Venue TBA

(Our minds haven’t fully processed this yet. / Photo via Getty)

Coming off a their title fight rematch at UFC 181 — which was nearly as exciting and definitely more controversial than the first — new UFC welterweight champion Robbie Lawler and ex-champ Johny Hendricks will fight for the belt a third time, at an event to be named later.

UFC president Dana White confirmed the booking-in-progress yesterday. “We just feel like the trilogy makes sense,” White said. “Do the third fight between these two.”

Hendricks and Lawler have already battled through ten closely-pitched rounds, with Hendricks winning their first meeting (and the vacant UFC welterweight title) at UFC 171 by unanimous decision. Hendricks then took some time off to rehab a torn bicep, while Lawler stayed busy by TKO’ing Jake Ellenberger in May and out-pointing Matt Brown in July. When Hendricks and Lawler met again last month, Lawler convinced two of the judges to let him hold the belt for a while.

For the sake of closure (we hope?), Lawler vs. Hendricks III is the right move — somebody’s gotta get knocked out eventually, right? — and Rory MacDonald will have to wait a little longer for his shot. We’ll let you know when this fight gets tied to a specific event.

(Our minds haven’t fully processed this yet. / Photo via Getty)

UFC president Dana White confirmed the booking-in-progress yesterday. “We just feel like the trilogy makes sense,” White said. “Do the third fight between these two.”

For the sake of closure, Lawler vs. Hendricks III is the right move — somebody’s gotta get knocked out eventually, right? — and Rory MacDonald will have to wait a little longer for his shot. We’ll let you know when this fight gets tied to a specific event.

Robbie Lawler to Defend UFC Title from Johny Hendricks in Rubber Match

Good things may come to those who wait, but the UFC certainly likes to hurry along its trilogies lately. Indeed, UFC president Dana White announced that MMA veteran Robbie Lawler will defend his welterweight belt against now-former champion Johny Hendr…

Hendricks and Lawler faced off twice in 2014, and both fights were utter nail-biters. Their first match occurred at UFC 171 in order to fill the vacant welterweight title left following the departure of longtime champ Georges St-Pierre. In a back-and-forth affair, Hendricks overcame a serious arm injury in order to capture UFC gold.

That arm injury, however, would put Hendricks on the shelf for a long while, and during that time, Lawler would work his way back to title contention with wins over Jake Ellenberger and Matt Brown. When they rematched at UFC 181, Lawler was able to take advantage of Hendricks’ dwindling cardio and took the belt with explosive striking in the championship rounds.

The man left out in all of this is “The Canadian Psycho,” Rory MacDonald. The Tristar Gym pupil was not just promised a title shot, but also was eyeballing a fight in his backyard of Montreal. However, when the buyrates for UFC 181 came back in the ballpark of 400,000, the UFC was quick to toss MacDonald aside.

At this time, there is no set date for Lawler vs. Hendricks 3; however a likely landing spot is UFC 185, which will take place on March 14, 2015 in Dallas. Stick with Bleacher Report for more details as they become available.

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