Another welterweight classic has been made available for free as Robbie Lawler defends the 170-pound belt against Rory MacDonald at UFC 189.
Lawler was coming in hot, as the veteran had just won the title off of Johny Hendricks at UFC 181. Prior to that fight, the 38-year-old defeated Jake Ellenberger (via TKO at UFC 173) and Matt Brown (via unanimous decision at UFC on Fox 12) in impressive fashion. Lawler had only one UFC loss on his record at this point in his career, which is a bout against Johny Hendricks at UFC 171.
MacDonald was arguably Lawler’s toughest challenger at this point as the fighter was on a tear throughout the welterweight division, besting Demian Maia (via unanimous at UFC 170), Tyron Woodley (UFC 174), and Tarec Saffiedine (UFC Fight Night 54) before meeting the reigning champion.
While Lawler does own a victory over MacDonald at UFC 167, the fighter evolved his skillset following their first encounter and walked into the contest a very dangerous threat for the then UFC Welterweight Champion. Check out the incredible rematch between the two top tier welterweights at UFC 189: