The decision to challenge Georges St-Pierre for the UFC title falls on Rory MacDonald’s shoulders and his alone.
UFC President Dana White has never supported the idea of teammates refusing to fight one another.
MacDonald and St-Pierre have trained alongside one another for years at Montreal’s Tristar gym. St-Pierre, who is one of the greatest fighters in MMA history, has become somewhat of a mentor to MacDonald.
When pressed by the media, both fighters have already indicated that they would never fight one another.
Despite his opinions, White has never tried to force a fighter’s hand in the situation. At the press conference for UFC 158, he explained why MacDonald’s future should be his own decision.
If you’re not in it to prove that you’re the best in the world, and there’s been lots of guys who were friendly or friends or train together at one time and ended up fighting each other because he wants what the other guy has. He wants to be the number one guy in the world.
He wants to be the world champion, and that’s something that Rory MacDonald needs to decide. I don’t even think that’s a decision for Georges. Georges is the guy sitting there on top, he’s the king, he’s got the belt, and Rory’s going to decide whether he wants that or not.
For now, MacDonald appears to be comfortable competing against any top welterweight not named Georges St-Pierre.
He is coming off the biggest win of his professional career over MMA legend BJ Penn. At UFC 158, he is slated to face Carlos Condit in a rematch of their June 2010 bout.
If MacDonald continues to win impressively at 170-pounds, the pressure from media and fans will only intensify for him to challenge St-Pierre for the UFC title. It’s a tough situation to be in for the 23-year-old prodigy.
White likely hit the nail on the head when he talked about MacDonald wanting what St-Pierre has, but the risks could outweigh the reward.
During a Q&A session with fans, MacDonald broke down his reasoning for not seeking a fight with St-Pierre.
Me and Georges are not going to fight. Me and him are friends, and we’re close training partners. It’s just not going to happen. I’m not in it for the money. I really don’t want to sacrifice a friendship and my spot training at Tristar. I really feel like being there has made me develop in leaps and bounds as a fighter, so I wouldn’t disrespect Georges or the gym in that way.
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