Dana White: Rory MacDonald will fight for title next in Canada
Following a TKO win over Tarec Saffiedine at last weekend's UFC Fight Night card in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, Rory MacDonald has officially earned the next shot at the welterweight title in 2015.
MacDonald seemed like the clear choice with his No. 2 ranking in the standings and three-fight win streak with all of his victories coming over top 10 opponents. Now he has confirmation as UFC president Dana White has stated that MacDonald will get the shot and as an added bonus he will get to compete for the belt in his home country of Canada.
"It's pretty impossible to deny Rory that, whoever comes out of that Hendricks-Lawler fight, he's the next guy in line," White told the Canadian Press on Wednesday. "He's next in line and that fight will be in Canada."
MacDonald has loomed around the title shot for more than the past year, but he suffered a loss to Robbie Lawler in late 2013 that pushed him back in the pecking order. He returned in top form, picking up wins over Demian Maia and Tyron Woodley in back-to-back fights before finishing Saffiedine last weekend.
While MacDonald appeared to be the only person worthy of a title shot at the top of the welterweight division, receiving confirmation from White is the best way to know for sure that his next fight will be for the belt.
The extra confirmation that the fight will take place in Canada is certainly welcome news to fans in the area, who missed out on the UFC 178 fight card that was originally supposed to take place in Toronto before being shifted to Las Vegas.
MacDonald will now play the waiting game. Before he can fight for the belt, welterweight champion Johny Hendricks first needs to face No. 1 contender Robbie Lawler at UFC 181 in December. MacDonald will then face the winner of Hendricks vs. Lawler in 2015.
