Bout agreements have been signed for a co-main draw at UFC 174 between welterweights Tyron Woodley (13-2 MMA, 3-1 UFC) and Rory MacDonald (16-2 MMA, 7-2 UFC), which could crown the next title contender. The UFC targeted the matchup in late March, but it wasn’t finalized until Woodley signed a new contract, the fighter today told MMAjunkie. “I just finished an eight-fight deal with the UFC,” he said. “I’m ready for the killer MacDonald, because the conservative person is going to get hurt bad.” UFC 174 takes place June 14 at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The event’s main card airs live on pay-per-view following preliminary-card bouts on FOX Sports 1 and UFC Fight Pass. Woodley hops back into training camp after a key win over onetime welterweight title challenger Carlos Condit, who lost their UFC 171 co-main event bout after suffering a second-round knee injury. Woodley stumped for a shot at newly crowned champ Johny Hendricks at the event’s post-fight press conference, but UFC President Dana White said the promotion would take its time in deciding the next contender. Later, Woodley took on critics who said his win over Condit wasn’t valid and even called out UFC commentator Joe Rogan for perceived commentating bias in the bout. A homegrown Strikeforce prospect, Woodley now is 3-1 in the UFC’s welterweight division with stoppage wins in all of his performances. MacDonald impressed in his most recent outing, dominating submission specialist Demian Maia at UFC 170 to rebound from a split-decision loss to Robbie Lawler in his previous outing, which halted his title run. Of course, prior to the fight, with training partner and now-former champ Georges St-Pierre still in the picture, his self-described glass ceiling was at the No. 2 spot in the division. Now that St-Pierre is on the shelf, and on the shelf even longer due to a recent ACL injury, MacDonald is free to seize the day.
Posted on: Wed, 09 Apr 2014 00:44:03 +0000