Dana White Confirms Rory MacDonald Will Get Title Shot In Canada
No. 2-ranked UFC welterweight Rory MacDonald will get his title shot, and he’ll apparently have home field advantage when he does.
UFC president Dana White confirmed to the Canadian Press (via MMA Fighting) today (Wed., October 8, 2014) that “Ares” would fight for the belt in his home country at a yet-to-be-disclosed UFC card:
“It’s pretty impossible to deny Rory that, whoever comes out of that Hendricks-Lawler fight, he’s the next guy in line. [The title fight] absolutely, positively, without a doubt, be in Canada. He’s next in line and that fight will be in Canada.”
Coming off a third round TKO of former Strikeforce champion Tarec Saffiedine in the main event of last Saturday’s (October 4, 2014) UFC Fight Night 54 in Halifax, Nova Scotia, MacDonald has won three straight and has some of the most momentum in perhaps the most stacked division in all of UFC.
The promotion has been looking for a replacement for former 170-pound kingpin Georges St. Pierre’s mantle atop MMA-frenzied Canada’s list of favorite sons, and as “GSP’s” training partner and friend, MacDonald is the logical choice for the role.
MacDonald experienced a down year in 2013 with a lackluster win over Jake Ellenberger and a split decision loss to Robbie Lawler. He admitted that he had lost his love for the fight game, similar to how St. Pierre did when he vacated the belt after a controversial split decision win over current champion Johny Hendricks at UFC 167 back in November 2013.
But unlike St. Pierre, MacDonald has regained his love for fighting, and with consecutive wins over Saffiedine, Tyron Woodley, and Demian Maia; it shows. If “Ares” is finally able to reach his full potential, he’ll have an excellent chance to become champion in his home country sometime next year.
Will Hendricks or Lawler stop MacDonald’s rise to prominence as the heir apparent of Canadian MMA?
