A pair of former welterweight champions will square off in a June 29 rematch as Tyron Woodley and Robbie Lawler have agreed verbally to meet at UFC Fight Night in Minneapolis.
UFC president Dana White confirmed the news to ESPN's Brett Okamoto on Wednesday with the bout scheduled to headline an ESPN card at Target Center.
Woodley (19-4-1) signed on for a relatively quick return after losing his 170-pound title via dominant decision loss to Kamaru Usman at UFC 235 on March 2. The loss snapped a seven-fight unbeaten streak for the 36-year-old Woodley.
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Lawler (28-13, 1 NC) is also coming off a defeat suffered at UFC 235 when his bout against a debuting Ben Askren was controversially stopped after referee Herb Dean stopped the fight thinking Lawler had been choked unconscious. The 37-year-old Lawler is just 1-3 in his last four bouts, which began when he yielded his welterweight title to Woodley via first-round knockout at UFC 201 in 2016.
Like their first meeting, the rematch has equal potential to be a thrilling affair between two fighters who do their best work on their feet. The winner would prevent himself from sliding out of a suddenly crowded welterweight title picture which includes the likes of Usman, Askren, former interim champion Colby Covington, Rafael dos Anjos and Jorge Masvidal.
