THE NEXT CHALLENGER to Tyron Woodley’s welterweight title could be determined when the UFC returns to Canada in December.
The organisation announced this afternoon that a potentially thrilling bout between Robbie Lawler and Rafael Dos Anjos will headline UFC on FOX 26 in Winnipeg on 16 December.
Currently the top-ranked contender in the 170lbs division, Lawler (28-11-1) saw his reign as UFC welterweight champion brought to an end 15 months ago when he suffered a first-round KO defeat to Woodley.
However, the 35-year-old American — who has picked up ‘Fight of the Night’ bonuses in four of his last eight outings — bounced back by overcoming Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone via unanimous decision in July.
Dos Anjos (27-9) lost the UFC lightweight title to Eddie Alvarez via first-round TKO in July of last year. Following a unanimous-decision defeat to Tony Ferguson four months later, he opted to make the move up to the 170-pound division.
As a welterweight, the Brazilian has impressed with wins earlier this year against Tarec Saffiedine (unanimous decision) and Neil Magny (first-round submission). Those victories have left the 32-year-old ranked fifth in his new weight class.