MacDonald-Woodley winner may need to fight Lombard-Kim winner for title shot

The road to a UFC welterweight title shot may have gotten a bit longer for UFC 174's Rory MacDonald vs. Tyron Woodley winner.

The June 14 pay-per-view bout might be a title eliminator, as first thought, but there’s also a chance the winner may need to fight once more before getting a shot at the belt, which Johny Hendricks (16-2 MMA, 11-2 UFC) currently holds.

UFC President Dana White told UFC.com that, given the recently booked UFC on FOX 12 headliner and title eliminator between Matt Brown (19-11 MMA, 12-5 UFC) and Robbie Lawler (23-10 MMA, 8-4 UFC) on July 26, the MacDonald (16-2 MMA, 7-2 UFC) vs. Woodley (13-2 MMA, 3-1 UFC) winner won’t be up next.

That means the MacDonald vs. Woodley winner may need to fight either Hector Lombard (34-4-1 MMA, 3-2 UFC) or Dong Hyun Kim (19-2-1 MMA, 10-2 UFC), who were recently booked for an Aug. 23 UFC Fight Night co-headliner in Macau, to claim the title shot.

“We got Robbie Lawler who just came off a controversial loss to the champion, and No. 1 (Lawler) is facing No. 5 (Brown),” White told UFC.com. “Robbie just beat the No. 5 and No. 6 guys in his wins, right? And he was in a controversial fight with the champ, so he deserves this fight. If Matt Brown beats Robbie Lawler, then he just beat the number No. 1, and he gets the fight.”

(White, of course, was referencing the official UFC rankings. In the USA TODAY Sports/MMAjunkie MMA welterweight rankings, the contenders have the following rankings: No. 3 Lawler, No. 4 MacDonald, No. 5 Brown, No. 7 Kim, No. 8 Woodley and No. 14 Lombard.)

White also told UFC.com that the MacDonald vs. Woodley winner could be up next after the Brown vs. Lawler winner, though – likely to avoid a substantial layoff – that victor may instead fight the Lombard vs. Kim winner.

It’s further proof of the current wide-open nature of the UFC’s welterweight division following long-reigning champion Georges St-Pierre’s semi-retirement and the vacating of his title in late 2013. A number of contenders are now jockeying for position as champ Hendricks recovers from bicep surgery.

For more on UFC 174, UFC on FOX 12, and UFC Fight Night in Macau, stay tuned to the UFC Rumors section of the site.

(Pictured: Rory MacDonald)

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