Robbie Lawler vs. Tyron Woodley welterweight title fight targeted for UFC 201 in Atla
The UFC is heading back to Atlanta for the first time in more than four years, and it looks like the welterweight title will be on the line in the main event.
UFC 201 is set for July 30 at Philips Arena in Atlanta, the UFC announced tonight. The fight targeted for the headliner is between welterweight champion Robbie Lawler (27-10 MMA, 12-4 UFC) and Tyron Woodley (15-3 MMA, 5-2 UFC), per a report on FOX Sports 1’s “UFC Tonight.”
The main card of UFC 201 will air on pay-per-view following prelims on FOX Sports 1 and UFC Fight Pass.
In April, UFC President Dana White said that title fight is the one that was being targeted to headline either UFC 201 or UFC 202, and that’s what has come to fruition – though an official announcement of the booking has yet to arrive.
Lawler beat Johny Hendricks by split decision to win the 170-pound title in the UFC 181 main event. He has defended the title twice. At UFC 189, he went to war with Rory MacDonald and got a fifth-round TKO in a “Fight of the Year” candidate – a fight White called his “fight of the ever.” At UFC 195 in January, he took a split call from Carlos Condit.
Woodley has been on the sideline since a UFC 183 split-decision win over Kelvin Gastelum, a fight in which Gastelum badly missed the welterweight limit on the scale. He was supposed to return this past October against Hendricksin a title eliminator, but Hendricks’ weight cut was bad enough he needed to be hospitalized and the fight was off. In the meantime, Woodley hasn’t been rebooked, hoping to get a shot at the title.
The UFC’s most recent trip to Atlanta came with UFC 145 in April 2012. At that event, then-light heavyweight champion Jon Jones took a unanimous decision from heated rival and former training partner Rashad Evans.
UFC 201 will wrap up a crazily busy month for the UFC, which will put on three fight cards in three nights during “International Fight Week” July 7-8-9 in Las Vegas for UFC Fight Night 90, the TUF 23 Finale and UFC 200. The promotion then heads to Sioux Falls, S.D., on July 13 for UFC Fight Night 91. On July 23, UFC on FOX 20 heads to Chicago. Then the month concludes with UFC 201 in Atlanta, giving the UFC six events in the month