TORONTO -- Canadian Rory (Ares) MacDonald will have to go through former Strikeforce champion Tarec (Sponge) Saffiedine to continue his run at the UFC welterweight title. The UFC announced Thursday that the two will meet Oct. 4 in the main event of a televised UFC card at the Halifax Metro Centre. MacDonald, a native of Kelowna, B.C., now fighting out of Montreal, is ranked No. 2 among UFC 170-pound contenders. Saffiedine, a Belgian based out of the U.S., is ranked 10th. The 25-year-old MacDonald has won seven of his last eight bouts and is 8-2 in the UFC since making his debut in the organization in January 2010. His lone UFC losses have come at the hands of (Ruthless) Robbie Lawler, at UFC 167 last November, and Carlos (The Natural Born Killer) Condit, at UFC 115 in June 2010. Lawler went on to lose a decision to Johny (Bigg Rigg) Hendricks to decide who would take over the title vacated by Georges St-Pierre, who trains with MacDonald. Hendricks won by decision, with Lawler earning another title shot after disposing of Matt (The Immortal) Brown on the weekend. The six-foot MacDonald is coming off an impressive win over No. 4 Tyron Woodley at UFC 174 in June in Vancouver following a decision over jiu-jitsu ace Demian Maia at UFC 170 in February. MacDonald (17-2) is a rangy well-rounded fighter who can do damage from the outside with an effective jab. But he is also dangerous in close, able to slam opponents and punish them on the ground. The Canadian will have a six-inch advantage in reach and two inches in height on Saffiedine. Saffiedine (13-3) has won five straight since dropping a decision to Woodley in Strikeforce in January 2011. His last outing, which was his UFC debut, was a decision win over Hyun Gyu Lim in January. The 27-year-old Belgian, who won eight of his last nine fights, is a former kick-boxer with a black belt in karate and a brown belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu. MacDonald is a black belt in BJJ. A win over Saffiedine would be MacDonalds fourth over a top-10 welterweight fighter. The Halifax show marks the UFCs first in Nova Scotia. Cheap Texans Jerseys . "Its way better than running gassers, thats for sure," the inside linebacker said Monday, when the Chargers started their third and final week of organized team activities, which are practices in shorts, jerseys and helmets. Wholesale Texans Jerseys . Gorges is believed to have suffered the injury while blocking a shot with a hand during Montreals win over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday. The Canadiens added to their defensive depth this week by acquiring veteran Mike Weaver from the Florida Panthers. http://www.cheaptexansjerseysauthentic.com/ . -- Miami Dolphins defensive co-ordinator Kevin Coyle defended the management style of coach Joe Philbin in the wake of the teams bullying scandal. Texans Jerseys China .Y. - Terry and Kim Pegula have no immediate plans to tinker with their new NFL team.PITTSBURGH -- Ian Desmond hit a pair of run-scoring singles to lead Washington to a 5-2 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Sunday, snapping the Nationals four-game losing streak. Desmond singled in the first inning to put the Nationals ahead 2-0 then made it 5-1 with his single in the seventh, helping end the Pirates four-game winning streak. Denard Span and Jayson Werth also had two hits for the Nationals, who scored just seven runs during their skid. Doug Fister (2-1) allowed one run and six hits in 5 1-3 inninngs with four strikeouts and no walks.dddddddddddd He has given up two runs in 17 1-3 innings in his past three starts. Rafael Soriano pitched a perfect ninth for his 11th save. Francisco Liriano (0-5) is winless in 14 consecutive regular-season starts, dating to last Sept. 10 when he won at Texas. He gave up four runs, six hits and four walks in five innings while striking out five. Neil Walker had three hits for the Pirates. Josh Harrison hit his third home run and Ike Davis also had two hits. ' ' '