An upcoming fight between former welterweight champion Robbie Lawler and former lightweight titleholder Rafael dos Anjos will decide who gets the next shot at current 170lb kingpin Tyron Woodley’s title.
That was the word according to Dana White during today’s UFC 217 press conference in Toronto, Canada, though he didn’t go into any other great detail other to acknowledge that’s what they are aiming for when asked about it by a reporter.
Lawler Vs Dos Anjos headlines the upcoming UFC On FOX 26 event on December 16th in Winnepeg, Canada, which means that Woodley won’t be defending his title again until sometime in 2018.
Lawler lost his title to Woodley by way of a first round KO in July of last year, bringing an end to a five-fight winning streak in which he’d shown the best form of his entire career.
The 35-year-old ‘Ruthless’ has only fought once since then, earning a unanimous decision victory over Donald Cerrone at UFC 214 in July to claim the No.1 contender spot on the official rankings.
Meanwhile, after losing his 155lb belt to Eddie Alvarez last year and then suffering another defeat against Tony Ferguson, Dos Anjos has looked to embark on a new challenge at welterweight, and so far it’s worked out well for him.
So far the Brazilian has claimed two victories in his new weight class, defeating Tarec Saffiedine by decision and then Neil Magny by a first round submission in 2017, earning himself a spot in the top 5 at 170lbs.
