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MMA

24th Jul 2015

UFC target Lawler v Condit for UFC 194 which could have ramifications for McGregor v Aldo

A lot of moving parts

Darragh Murphy

Either the UFC are going for another welterweight/featherweight double header or McGregor v Aldo will have to wait until the new year.

Early reports from highly respected MMA writer Kevin Iole suggested that the UFC had targeted December 5th’s UFC 194 for the featherweight unification bout between Irishman and Brazilian for the AT&T Stadium in Dallas, Texas.

But news broke yesterday, via Jeremy Botter of Bleacher Report, that the promotion are now targeting a welterweight title fight for UFC 194 which would take place in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

ANAHEIM, CA - NOVEMBER 12:  Mixed martial arts fighters Carlos Condit (L) and Dominick Cruz attend UFC on Fox:  Live Heavyweight Championship at the Honda Center on November 12, 2011 in Anaheim, California.  (Photo by Jason Merritt/Getty Images)

Robbie Lawler is expected to face world number 4 Carlos Condit at the event in the ScotiaBank Saddledome five months after the epic battle against Rory MacDonald at UFC 189 which saw him retain his 170lb crown despite being down on the scorecards at the start of the fifth round.

The UFC have started to make a habit of putting two title fights on their PPV events, having done so on three occasions already this year at UFC 185, UFC 187 and UFC 189 so having Lawler v Condit precede McGregor v Aldo the same way that Lawler v MacDonald was the co-main event for McGregor v Mendes would not be surprising.

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But early reports indicate that the another fight at 170 lbs, a title eliminator between Johny Hendricks and Tyron Woodley, will act as the co-main event on 5 December.

It would make sense for the UFC to save their cash cow, the featherweight unification fight, for the beginning of 2016 when they can sell out a stadium with what is being pegged as the biggest fight in the promotion’s history.

Stay tuned to SportsJOE as we will bring you any updates on the date and location for McGregor v Aldo.