ROBBIE LAWLER’S ROAD back to the UFC welterweight title will begin in Las Vegas this summer.
The former champion will take on Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone at UFC 213 at the T-Mobile Arena on Saturday, 8 July. A headline bout for the event has yet to be confirmed.
UFC president Dana White confirmed to ESPN’s Brett Okamoto that Lawler (27-11) and Cerrone (32-8) will clash in what has the potential to be a classic. The meeting of the two fan favourites was originally due to take place last November at UFC 205 in New York.
Lawler hasn’t fought since he relinquished the welterweight title following a first-round KO loss to Tyron Woodley last August. The 35-year-old had dethroned Johny Hendricks in December 2014 before defending the strap against Rory MacDonald and Carlos Condit.
After losing to Rafael dos Anjos in a lightweight title bout in December 2015, Cerrone moved up to welterweight and recorded wins over Alex Oliveira, Patrick Cote, Rick Story and Matt Brown. Jorge Masvidal gave the 34-year-old his first taste of defeat at 170lbs via second-round TKO in January.
