Hot off of his latest victory in the main event of UFC Fight Night 54 this past Saturday night, Rory MacDonald has been confirmed as the next welterweight title contender.
MacDonald TKO’d Tarec Saffiedine with a well placed uppercut in the third round of their fight to rack up his third win in a row at 170lbs, and with only one loss in his last nine fights it’s hard to argue that he doesn’t deserve a shot at the belt.
“It’s pretty impossible to deny Rory that, whoever comes out of that Hendricks-Lawler fight, he’s the next guy in line,” White informed the Canadian media yesterday.
Current title holder Johny Hendricks and Robbie Lawler will square off for a second time in the Octagon in December, and either would make for a competitive and challenging match-up for MacDonald in his bid to become the welterweight champion.
MacDonald already fought Lawler in a No.1 contender match-up in November or last year and came up short by split decision, but has never faced Hendricks.
Regardless of who it is he’s facing, what he does know for sure is that he’s going to be enjoying the hometown advantage come fight night as White has confirmed they are going to be bringing the title fight to Canadian soil.
“[The title fight] absolutely, positively, without a doubt, be in Canada,” White stated. “He’s next in line and that fight will be in Canada.”
Canada’s a major market for the UFC, but with the country’s biggest star Georges St. Pierre currently on an indefinite hiatus from the sport they need a new fan favorite to cheer on and it’s clear that the promotion thinks that the 25 year-old MacDonald is the man for the job.
