After suffering an injury leading up to his bout with Brian Ebersole at UFC 140, young phenom Rory MacDonald was removed from the card.
Instead, MacDonald would take the appropriate time to heal as it was announced he would now be meeting Che Mills a few months down the road.
But why?
Many were puzzled after the UFC announced that MacDonald would return and fight Mills as the co-main event in Atlanta, Ga.
Even Mills had to be surprised and here’s why.
Mills entered the UFC after recording a record of 13 wins, four losses and one no-contest. However, Mills failed to defeat any legitimate opponents along the way, but still managed to earn a position in the UFC’s welterweight roster.
In his Octagon debut, Mills was victorious just a whopping 40 seconds into the bout as he KO’d an underachieving Chris Cope.
One would think Mills’ stock would certainly rise, but all the way to a co-main event slot with “Ares” MacDonald?
No, no, no.
On the other end of the spectrum, MacDonald entered competition having won 12 of his last 13 fights including wins over Nate Diaz and Mike Pyle. In addition, MacDonald’s last loss came to the hands of the current interim welterweight champion, Carlos Condit.
While Mills may be approaching his prime, the UFC pushed him too quickly.
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