Rory MacDonald is scheduled to face fellow UFC welterweight contender Tyron Woodley at UFC 174 this summer and, should he win, the Candian believes he will have earned a shot at champion Johny Hendricks ?When I beat Woodley, hopefully [I get a title shot] in the fall or winter in Toronto or Montreal,? MacDonald told MMA Junkie in a recent interview.
?Hendricks is a great fighter. I have a lot of respect for him. He?s definitely a good fighter, and I?m excited to see him in the future.?
MacDonald was on the verge of getting a title shot before losing to Robbie Lawler last fall. Since then, MacDonald's teammate and mentor, Georges St. Pierre, left MMA and gave up his welterweight title, and MacDonald got back in the win column by beating Demian Maia.
The young fighter from Vancouver believes that he's finally hitting his potential. ?I definitely feel like I?m hitting my stride now this year,? he went on.
?My focus is at an all-time high, and I couldn?t be happier. ?I?m striving to be a champion in the welterweight division."
MacDonald doesn't hope to replace St. Pierre, however. All he can do, he knows, is become the best "Ares" that he can be.
?I don?t want to fill Georges? shoes. That?s an impossible task," he concluded.
"I don?t want to be Georges. I want to be myself. I want to represent my style of martial arts and my own personality."
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