Rory MacDonald Injured; Carlos Condit to Face Johny Hendricks at UFC 158

The UFC confirmed Monday evening via Twitter that Rory MacDonald has withdrawn from his March 16 rematch with Carlos Condit after suffering a neck injury in training. Johny Hendricks, who was originally scheduled to face Jake Ellenberger on the same card, will now square off with Condit at UFC 158. MMAJunkie.com first reported the development.

UFC 158 takes place at the Bell Centre in Montreal and is headlined by a 170-pound title tilt between Georges St. Pierre and Nick Diaz. At the moment, Ellenberger does not have a replacement opponent, but he is expected to remain on the card.

MacDonald requested a rematch with Condit following a dominant three-round verdict against B.J. Penn at UFC on Fox 5 in December. “The Natural Born Killer” defeated the Tristar Gym representative with a furious third-round flurry in their first meeting at UFC 115, the only loss of MacDonald’s career to date.

Condit captured the interim welterweight crown against Nick Diaz at UFC 143, but came up short in his bid to unify the belts against reigning champion Georges St. Pierre at UFC 154 in November. Hendricks has won five straight fights, including notable triumphs over Jon Fitch, Josh Koscheck and Martin Kampmann in his last three outings.