A fight between two of the most vicious strikers in the UFC today is going down this summer — and the winner of it gets a title shot. UFC president Dana White on Tuesday revealed on Twitter that No. 1 welterweight contender Robbie Lawler, fresh off a TKO win over Jake Ellenberger this past weekend at UFC 173, will take on the surging Matt Brown in the five-round main event of UFC on FOX 12, which takes place July 26 at HP Pavilion in San Jose, California. White also confirmed that the winner of Lawler vs. Brown will receive the next title shot against UFC welterweight champion Johny Hendricks, who is scheduled to return from injury and defend his title for the first time this fall. Immediately after Brown vs. Lawler was announced, social media exploded over excitement of the matchup, which pits two of the most dangerous and entertaining fighters in the entire UFC against each other with a shot at gold on the line. On paper this is a “Fight of the Year” candidate and it should be one of the most-highly anticipated fights of the entire summer schedule in MMA. Lawler (23-10, 1 NC) has looked nothing but spectacular since returning to the UFC in 2013, going 4-1 overall in the promotion with wins over Ellenberger, Rory MacDonald, Bobby Voelker and Josh Koscheck. He nearly defeated Hendricks in a five-round war back at UFC 171, but ultimately was edged out by the new champion in a unanimous decision loss. However, he was inches away from winning the belt and now with the win over Ellenberger, he’s put himself in a prime position to challenge the red-hot Brown and get another shot at gold. Brown (19-11) has won seven fights in a row and most recently stopped Erick Silva in an amazing performance at UFC Fight Night 40. A few years ago Brown had lost three of four fights and was close to being cut by the UFC, but he’s won eight of his last nine overall since then and has truly earned all the praise he’s received as his performances have been nothing short of outstanding. The only thing holding him back from a title shot already was the lack of a top-five win, and that’s why this fight against Lawler makes so much sense, because if Brown beats the No. 1-ranked contender he can’t be denied at that point. As for the line, it hasn’t been released yet but expect Lawler to be a healthy favorite in this fight as he got tremendous respect against Ellenberger while Brown was a big underdog in his last fight against Silva. But we’ll have to wait and see how the betting public takes the line once it does come out.
