The welterweight division could be in for a major shake up near the top of the division

According to reports, welterweight contenders Rory MacDonald and Hector Lombard have verbally agreed to do battle at UFC 186 in Montreal this April. VendettaFighter.com  was the first to report the news.

MacDonald (18-2), a Montreal native, was last seen walking away with a violent third round knockout over former Strikeforce champion Tarec Saffiedine in their main event matchup at UFC Fight Night 54 in October. This victory not only marked the TriStar Gym product’s first stoppage win since 2011 but also extended his win streak to three straight, which includes a dominant decision win over Tyron Woodley and a Fight of the Night performance over Demian Maia. To date, the “Red King’s” last defeat came in the form of a split decision loss to current welterweight champion Robbie Lawler at UFC 167 in November 2013. MacDonald was expected to challenge for the belt in his next outing, however the UFC decided to book the rubber match between Lawler and former champion Johny Hendricks instead. MacDonald will enter this bout with 13 career stoppage wins, including seven by way of knockout, and a UFC record of 9-2.

Lombard (35-4), the former Bellator middleweight champion, will enter this bout riding a three fight wins streak since making the drop down to 170-pounds. IN his most recent performance, the man known as “Showweather” earned a decision win over former WSOF champion Josh Burkman at UFC 182. Prior to this win, Lombard rag-dolled  former Strikeforce middleweight champion and UFC welterweight title contender Jake Shields for 15 straight minutes en route to a dominant decision win at UFC 171 in March 2014. Lombard currently holds 26 career stoppage victory, including an incredible 19 by way of knockout, and a UFC record of 4-2.

UFC 186 is currently scheduled to take place on April 25th at Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It should be noted this bout has yet to be made official and there is no word on whether it will take be the headliner or co-main event. This winner of this bout is expected to be named the new number contender of the  UFC’s 170-pound division.

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José began his career as a mixed martial arts journalist while still enrolled at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communications at Arizona State University. Since graduating in May 2013, he has attended dozens of high profile UFC fight cards as a credentialed member of the media, providing live cage side coverage through his articles and videos. His work has appeared on UFC.com, ArizonaSports.com and AZCentral. He is also currently one of the main contributors on Power MMA Show at Arizona Sports 98.7 FM, one of the first all MMA radio shows on a major radio station.