Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) welterweight kingpin Robbie Lawler may be defending his UFC title for the first time later this year, but the 170-pound champ will be the underdog when he rematches No. 1 contender Rory MacDonald.
According to the opening line over at 5Dimes (via BestFightOdds.com), "Ruthless" opened as the underdog at +100, while the "Red King" sits happily as the favorite at -140.
The two men are scheduled to face off for the second time in the co-main event feature at the upcoming UFC 189 pay-per-view (PPV) event on July 11, 2015 in Las Vegas, Nevada (more on the matchup here).
MacDonald earned his rematch with the champ by dispatching of former Strikeforce welterweight champ Tarec Saffiedine via (technical) knockout in the third round of their UFC Fight Night 54 main event last October. The victory was the Canadian's third straight since losing to Lawler via split decision back in late 2013.
While MacDonald was fighting his way back to the top, his American Top Team foe was staying busy fighting the cream of the crop in UFC's 170-pound division, including two incredible bouts against former champ Johny Hendricks. "Ruthless" ultimately toppled "Bigg Rigg" in their rematch in late December at UFC 181, setting up his first title defense against MacDonald for later this year.
Although some may cry foul over Lawler being the underdog despite his past victory over Rory and being the champ, you can expect these numbers to shift drastically as fight night moves closer.
So is there anyone out there rushing to lay down a bet on the 170-pound kingpin while he is still the underdog?