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On July 11 Robbie Lawler and Rory MacDonald will meet again in a highly anticipated welterweight collision at UFC 189 for the 170lb World Championship.

The duo first battled in 2013 at UFC 167 in an intensely competitive bout that was all changed by one punch, landed by Lawler, that made the difference and gave the edge to the American Top Team product who would go on to claim a split-decision victory.

Now the UFC Welterweight Champion, 33-year-old ‘Ruthless’ Robbie Lawler meets MacDonald, 25, for a second time with the Canadian having since accumulated three straight victories, most recently a TKO stoppage over striking machine Tarec Saffiedine.

Both fighters have issued top performances since they first met in the Octagon, and each man has further continued their pursuit for fighting perfection. So, who takes the edge heading in to UFC 189?

British UFC welterweight Tom Breese, an undefeated teammate of MacDonald at Montreal’s famed Tristar Gym, believes that the ‘Red King’ has made the more superior developments since the original contest and stated exclusively to MMA Plus that, while MacDonald has multiple bases covered, the most likely outcome is MacDonald claiming the title via knockout.

“I think Rory will win,” Breese stated. “I think technically he’s superior than Lawler and has improved a lot more than Lawler since the last fight. I can see it ending a couple of ways in Rory’s favour.”

23-year-old Tom Breese (8-0) made his UFC debut in May with a first round TKO win over Brazilian Luiz Jorge Dutra Jr. A former champion in the British Association of Mixed Martial Arts (BAMMA), Breese first ventured to Tristar in 2013 with standout skills in both boxing and wrestling, and was soon drafted in as a sparring partner for former UFC welterweight king Georges St-Pierre as he prepared to face Nick Diaz at UFC 158.

Lawler and MacDonald meet in the co-main event of UFC 189 in Las Vegas, alongside Ireland’s Conor McGregor and American Chad Mendes who meet to decide the UFC interim Featherweight title following the withdrawal of injured champion Jose Aldo.