The Fight Horizon – Robbie Lawler vs. Rory MacDonald
A pivotal matchup in the welterweight division is rumored and almost certain to be added to UFC 167, a card headlined by Georges St. Pierre, who will be looking to defend his welterweight title against #1 contender Johny Hendricks. Top contenders Rory MacDonald and Robbie Lawler, both coming off of wins, will collide in a fight that will almost certainly determine the next challenger to the welterweight throne.
The Matchup:
“Ruthless” Robbie Lawler (21-9 overall, 6-3 in the UFC)
Strengths: Ruthlessness, aggression, knockout power in hands and legs
Weaknesses: Submission defense, struggles with elite grapplers
Rory “Ares” MacDonald (15-1 overall, 6-1 in the UFC)
Strengths: Does everything well, very tactical and poised
Weaknesses: Becoming more of a point fighter recently (if you can call that a weakness)
The Date: Rumored for UFC 167, Nov. 17, 2013
Weight Class: Welterweight
What led to it: Both guys are coming off of victories against strong competition. MacDonald’s victory over Jake Ellenberger was probably more meaningful, but Lawler’s finish of Voelker was much more impressive. They’re both in the top ten and they’re both on the way up the ladder. Time to fight.
Why it matters: In all likelihood, this is a title eliminator. If St. Pierre gets through Hendricks as he has every challenger previous (and that’s a sizeable “if”), then the options for future matchups are very limited. There are no other guys in contention that make a whole of sense or deserve a shot. Either that, or GSP already beat them. Demian Maia and Tarec Saffiedine are on win streaks, but their resumes aren’t that impressive and it would be a hard fight to sell against either of those guys.
Lawler and MacDonald have some oomph behind their names and the way they’ve been fighting, with the exception of MacDonald’s last fight, they are on the fast track to the top. Problem is, it’s already well-documented that Rory MAC and GSP don’t want to fight each other, and regardless of what Dana White says, they really seem to mean it. Too bad they’re in the same division and they’re both elite, because the way things are going, it’s inevitable that they would have to meet.
Now if Lawler wins, of course the problem is solved, and we would be looking at a huge resurgence from Lawler. Hell, we’re already looking at that. Take a look at his Strikeforce fights. Since his return to the UFC, this is the first time he’s strung together back-to-back wins in a long time. And the way he’s done it makes it even more impressive.
The winner of this one getting the winner of Condit vs. Kampmann also makes sense. Depending on how the scenarios play out, we’re either looking at a title eliminator, or an eliminator to get into a title eliminator fight. Whatever happens, one of these guys is most likely going to fight for the title in the very near future.
