As expected, welterweight champion Robbie Lawler will make his next title defense against Tyron Woodley at UFC 201 in Atlanta on July 30th.
There had been some talk that Lawler could be headed into an immediate rematch with Carlos Condit after their close split decision fight at the start of the year, but UFC President Dana White had indicated recently that Woodley was likely to get the nod instead.
For Lawler, this will be his third title defense, having defeat the aforementioned Condit and Rory MacDonald since taking the title from Johny Hendricks back in December of 2014 at UFC 181.
As for Woodley, this opportunity comes his way after back-to-back victories over Dong Hyun Kim and Kelvin Gastelum, which helped erase a decision loss to Rory MacDonad a couple of years ago.
The former Strikeforce fighter is coming off an eighteen month lay-off though, with a fight with Johny Hendricks at UFC 192 in October falling through when his opponent suffered health issues on the day of the weigh-ins.
The UFC granted Woodley a title shot opportunity after that, and they’ve stayed true to their word.
Lawler Vs Condit is the only fight so far tagged for the UFC 201 show, which comes just a few weeks after the heavily stacked UFC 200 event.
