Rory MacDonald eager to take on Hendricks or Lawler, but GSP still not an option

Rory MacDonald was sitting on the couch watching television when he received a text message with arguably the biggest news of his life.

It said MacDonald (18-2 MMA, 9-2 UFC) had been granted a shot at the UFC welterweight title and will fight the winner of UFC 181’s headliner between Johny Hendricks (16-2 MMA, 11-2 UFC) and Robbie Lawler (24-10 MMA, 9-4 UFC) for the belt next year. To put icing on the cake, he learned it’s scheduled to take place in his native Canada.

“It’s big news,” MacDonald told MMAjunkie of his title shot. “I kind of expected it. I felt it was a natural fit for me to get in there, but to get confirmation from the organization. It feels good. I feel secure in my spot now.”

MacDonald earned his place as the top contender in the 170-pound division with a third-round TKO of Tarec Saffiedine at UFC Fight Night 54. The Oct. 4 headliner saw MacDonald emerge with his third consecutive UFC victory and eighth in his past nine octagon appearances.

The 25-year-old said he expects UFC officials will ship him to Las Vegas for UFC 181 to witness the Dec. 6 pay-per-view showdown between Hendricks and Lawler, which takes place at MGM Grand Garden Arena.

Before and after his victory over Saffiedine, MacDonald stated he has no preference regarding who walks out of UFC 181 with the belt. He simply wants to compete against the better man, and that tone hasn’t changed now that he’s confirmed as the next title challenger.

MacDonald has already shared the octagon with Lawler, and he suffered his only defeat of the past five years. “Ruthless” outpointed the Canadian by split decision at UFC 167 in November 2013 and ultimately earned a title shot with the win.

“Ares” said he’s allowed defeats to consume him in the past, most notably his first career loss, which came against former interim UFC champion Carlos Condit. His attitude greatly differs when it comes to Lawler, though, and MacDonald credits that to his maturation as a man and athlete.

“I’ve come to realize that losses are part of a martial artist’s career,” MacDonald said. “I have an outlook more as taking my losses as growing experiences. In the past, I held grudges over losing. I felt like I was never supposed to lose and things like that. I had a bad attitude as far as that. I think my attitude now is much better.

“If I have an opportunity in the future to rematch the guys who beat me, I’ll gladly take it. But my top focus is getting the championship. I just want the championship.”

MacDonald said he’s not specifically rooting either fighter, but he’s intrigued by the idea of a rematch, especially with five rounds to work instead of three.

“It would definitely be a cool experience to fight a guy for a second time because we’ve both been in there together and we know each other’s likes in a way,” MacDonald said of Lawler. “We have that history and that experience together. I’m sure that me and Robbie and me and Carlos, I’ll have those two rematches eventually. It could be next for the title, depending on how the fight in December goes. I think it would be a good experience.”

If all goes according to plan, MacDonald will hold the UFC welterweight belt by next year. An interesting twist may be on the horizon, though, should MacDonald’s friend and Tristar teammate, ex-champ Georges St-Pierre, return to the organization in 2015.

St-Pierre vacated the UFC belt in December 2013 when he announced an indefinite hiatus from competition. He never officially lost the belt, and if he were to return to the sport, he would immediately be considered a top contender, according to UFC officials.

The two fighters successfully avoided a bout with each other for years. However, if “Rush” comes back and MacDonald has the belt, the matchup would be more probable than ever.

However, MacDonald isn’t concerned about such an issue. If St-Pierre does make a return, though, MacDonald said he would avoid the fight at all costs.

“I’m pretty sure Georges would respect my position as champion just like I respected his position as champion,” MacDonald said. “I would just keep fighting, and he would probably be fighting other people. I would be the champion; he wouldn’t be.”

The exact date for MacDonald’s title shot hasn’t been determined and will depend much on the health of the winner. Regardless, MMAjunkie confirmed the championship affair will take place in MacDonald’s stomping grounds of Montreal, where he lives and trains.

MacDonald will have the opportunity to join St-Pierre and Carlos Newton as the only Canadian fighters in history to wear UFC gold. He said he’s not going to let the moment pass him by, and whoever leaves UFC 181 with the belt must be prepared to face a No. 1 contender with a nation on his shoulders.

“This is an exciting time on the horizon for me and for Canada,” MacDonald said. “I want to represent Canada and be an example of our strength as a nation. I want the belt, and whoever’s holding it, I’m going to take it from them.”

For more on UFC 181, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.