The UFC 170 fight card for February 22nd in Las Vegas is starting to come together with the announcement of a welterweight fight between Rory MacDonald and Demian Maia.
Both fighters are looking to get right back into the thick of things in the top end of the division after their recent losses. For MacDonald, once thought to be a future title holder in waiting at 170lbs, 2013 hasn’t gone according to plan with an underwhelming win over Jake Ellenberger earlier in the year taking some of the steam out of his hype train, while a split decision loss to Robbie Lawler last month threatened to derail it altogether.
Nevertheless, still just 24 years old, MacDonald is still developing as a fighter and a fight with Maia gives him the perfect opportunity to get back on track.
Maia had been plotting a route to the title himself before coming unstuck with a split decision loss to Jake Shields in October, so he’ll be looking to reestablish himself as a contender and get back to the form that saw him go three fights undefeated after initially making the move down from middleweight in the summer of last year.
It was announced earlier this week that a light-heavyweight fight between Rashad Evans and Daniel Cormier will headline UFC 170. MacDonald Vs Maia is certain to also be on the main card, but it’s not clear at this stage whether it’ll end up being chalked down as the co-main event or not.
