Rory MacDonald is being hailed as the next Georges St-Pierre for good reason.
At UFC 145, the rising 22-year-old star continued his upward climb with a dominant second round TKO victory over English striker Che Mills.
Early out, Mills looked to be the more versatile fighter on the feet, but in St-Pierre-like fashion, MacDonald sought takedowns to exploit his opponent’s suspect ground game.
It was all downhill for Mills on the ground, as MacDonald rained down a multitude of unanswered punches from top position.
The ref was forced to finally step in and save Mills from further punishment at 2:20 of the second round.
While the St-Pierre comparisons are a bit premature, there is plenty to like about MacDonald’s potential as a future title contender.
Like so many others at 170 pounds, MacDonald is a stud wrestler, but he differs in his ability to damage from top position. Instead of St-Pierre, he actually mirrors Tito Ortiz in his prime in his ability to rack up damage from an opponent’s guard.
Ortiz was masterful at doing this in his heyday, and despite his young age, MacDonald isn’t far behind.
As MacDonald alluded to in his post-fight interview with UFC commentator Joe Rogan, he still has a long way to go as far as experience is concerned. There shouldn’t be any rush in pushing this young prospect to the forefront of the division.
However, time is on MacDonald’s side to possibly develop into one of the greatest welterweights in UFC history.
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