The UFC heads to Canada’s capital city on June 18, 2016 and the headline match is going to be a barnburner.
Rory MacDonald vs. Stephen Thompson headline UFC Fight Night in Ottawa
Two top-tier welterweight’s will tussle at UFC Fight Night 89, as former title challenger Rory MacDonald squares off against up and coming contender Stephen Thompson.
The match-up was announced during Friday’s UFC “Unstoppable” press conference.
MacDonald (18-3) is coming off a “Fight of the Year” performance against Robbie Lawler at UFC 189 last July. In a back and forth match-up, MacDonald ended up being stopped in the fifth and final round. Prior to that bout, “Ares” was riding a three fight winning streak, with victories over Demian Maia, Tyron Woodley and Tarec Saffiedine.
Thompson (12-1) made his Octagon debut in 2012 after going 5-0. He won that bout against Dan Stittgen in impressive fashion, lost his next outing against Matt Brown and has gone on to win his next six in a row. Most recently Thompson finished former welterweight champ Johny Hendricks in the very first round.
“I’m excited to tell you that we’re going to be coming to the beautiful nation’s capital, one of my favourite cities in the country,” UFC Canada, Australia and New Zealand executive vice president Tom Wright told Postmedia, who were first to confirm the news of the event.
“We’ve always wanted to come to our nation’s capital and we know that Ontario is a strong market for us.”
UFC Fight Night 89 takes place June 18 at a venue to be announced.
