It was do or die for two UFC middleweight fan favorites, and Tom Lawlor made sure he kept his job with a quick knockout win over Jason MacDonald.
Lawlor landed a nice left hand that put MacDonald in trouble and the follow up right sent “The Athlete” crashing down to the canvas.
The win may have saved Lawlor’s UFC career, while MacDonald is likely done with MMA after his second consecutive loss.
What we’ll remember about this fight:
There’s not much to remember other than Lawlor’s knockout.
“Filthy” isn’t known for his hands, but it was a smart move to avoid the ground game that MacDonald possesses, and he did exactly what he needed to do to earn the victory.
What we learned about Tom Lawlor
Lawlor has some power.
The knockout was the first of Lawlor’s UFC career. He got it at a crucial time and will have a lot of momentum to build off of for his next bout.
What we learned about Jason MacDonald
MacDonald has always been a threat on the ground, but his stand-up has killed his development as a fighter.
The gameplan had to be to get Lawlor to the mat and finish him there, but Lawlor got his punches off too quickly and MacDonald had no chance to work his game.
What’s next for Lawlor
Lawlor is still a long ways from middleweight title contention, so he’ll be fighting some middle of the pack fighters for his next few bouts.
Dongi Yang lost earlier tonight, and he’d make a good opponent for Lawlor in his next fight.
What’s next for MacDonald
Retirement. MacDonald has been on his way out for a while now, and he has had a career that he can be proud of.
Hopefully he walks away with his head held high and doesn’t subject himself to any more punishment.
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