Next to Glover Texeira, Rory MacDonald is probably the most hyped fighter in the whole of MMA. Unlike with Texeira, however, fans have seen enough of MacDonald in the cage to know much of that hype is for real.
So it’ll come as welcome news for most that the 23-year-old, who’s only dropped one fight in an almost impeccable career, is determined to make the most of 2013.
In an interview with Mike Chiappetta of MMA Fighting, MacDonald says:
“I like to fight and I want to make it a point next year to take fights on shorter notice… It just works better for me and my mind set. I feel like lately I’ve been trying to do what everyone else does, and I’m not everybody else. Some people need eight weeks to get ready for a fight and I really don’t think I do because of the way I look at my skills. I just need to be healthy. As long as I’m healthy I can fight at the drop of a pin. If you tell me, ‘Rory, go fight that guy,’ I’ll go do it. I don’t need that time. I just need to be healthy.”
Some may call that attitude the tempestuousness of youth, but it owes much to the frustration the Canadian has faced this past year.
In 2012, the welterweight prospect has fought only once, which simply won’t do for the man who is determined to become a champion in at least two weight divisions.
He was due to fight BJ Penn in September, but was forced to pull out of the fight due to a cut endured in training.
That obviously burned a fire under MacDonald, who, by September, was already talking about how he would do things his way from now on and fight more often.
That could have been a slight against his trainers at Tristar Gym in Montreal, where he trains alongside George St-Pierre.
Clearly that passion hasn’t died down one bit, as he told Chiappetta:
“As a fighter you have to remember that we’re just dogs in this sport…I’ll always look at it like I’m a dog…Success and all that stuff will come. At the end of the day, I’m a fighter. If I stop acting or thinking like one, I might stop being a fighter and start being a businessman.”
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