Rory MacDonald Announces Retirement From MMA

Former UFC and Bellator fighter Rory MacDonald is hanging up the gloves following a professional career that spanned nearly two decades. MacDonald fell to short-notice replacement Dilano Taylor in the 2022 PFL welterweight semifinals on Saturday. He wa…

Former UFC and Bellator fighter Rory MacDonald is hanging up the gloves following a professional career that spanned nearly two decades. MacDonald fell to short-notice replacement Dilano Taylor in the 2022 PFL welterweight semifinals on Saturday. He was originally supposed to face Magomed Umalatov before Umalatov had issues acquiring a visa to travel to the…

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Dilano Taylor stops Rory MacDonald with shocking upset KO win on short notice – PFL 8 Highlights

Dilano TaylorScoring the most high-profile victory of his professional career to date, Dilano Taylor manages to improve to 10-2 as a professional –finishing former UFC welterweight title challenger and former Bellator MMA champion, Rory MacDonald with a stunning upset knockout win in the opening round of their PFL 8 welterweight semi final headliner. Taylor, who replaced […]

Dilano Taylor

Scoring the most high-profile victory of his professional career to date, Dilano Taylor manages to improve to 10-2 as a professional –finishing former UFC welterweight title challenger and former Bellator MMA champion, Rory MacDonald with a stunning upset knockout win in the opening round of their PFL 8 welterweight semi final headliner.

Taylor, who replaced Magomed Umalatov on just three days’ notice against Canadian veteran, MacDonald, got off to a bright start against the UFC alum in the first exchange, managing to switch a wrestling exchange in his favor, winding up in full guard and then fending off an armbar attempt from MacDonald.

Rebounding from a loss to Magomed Magomedkerimov at the beginning of last month, Taylor advances to the finale of the PFL welterweight tournament finale against Sweden’s Sadibou Sy, attempting to cash a cheque worth $1,000,000 — after sprining with a massive straight right hand, dropping MacDonald and following up with ground strikes to score a first frame KO success.

Below, catch the highlights from Dilano Taylor’s shocking KO win over Rory MacDonald

Rory MacDonald Hits Back At Idea Struggling Pettis Should Retire

PFL welterweight finalist Rory MacDonald feels Anthony Pettis and other struggling veterans should be treated with compassion by fans. MacDonald is set to face Dilano Taylor this Saturday in the PFL Playoffs in Cardiff, Wales. He holds the No. 1 seed i…

PFL welterweight finalist Rory MacDonald feels Anthony Pettis and other struggling veterans should be treated with compassion by fans. MacDonald is set to face Dilano Taylor this Saturday in the PFL Playoffs in Cardiff, Wales. He holds the No. 1 seed in the playoffs following a submission of Brett Cooper and a controversial loss to…

Continue Reading Rory MacDonald Hits Back At Idea Struggling Pettis Should Retire at MMA News.

Kayla Harrison, Anthony Pettis, Rory MacDonald Rise To The Occasion: PFL 3 Results

Kayla Harrison, Anthony Pettis, Rory MacDonaldThe Professional Fighters League (PFL) 3 fight card saw the big names come out on top as Kayla Harrison extended her undefeated run to 13. Kayla Harrison extends her unbeaten record Two-time PFL champion Kayla Harrison returned to action against Marina Mokhnatkina at PFL 3. The former Olympian won by unanimous decision in a lopsided […]

Kayla Harrison, Anthony Pettis, Rory MacDonald

The Professional Fighters League (PFL) 3 fight card saw the big names come out on top as Kayla Harrison extended her undefeated run to 13.

Kayla Harrison extends her unbeaten record

Two-time PFL champion Kayla Harrison returned to action against Marina Mokhnatkina at PFL 3. The former Olympian won by unanimous decision in a lopsided contest. Though Harrison believed her performance to be “utter dog crap”, her dominant display was evident on the scorecards.

With her win over Mokhnatkina this past Friday, Harrison has officially surpassed Amanda Nunes, Cris Cyborg, and Ronda Rousey for the best start to a women’s MMA career in history.

Anthony Pettis takes home the finish of the night

Former UFC and WEC champion Anthony Pettis put on a signature performance against Myles Price to win by triangle choke in the opening round of the bout. Following a rough start to the regular season that saw ‘Showtime’ drop two fights by decision, Pettis is aiming for another run at a third major promotional title.

With his thrilling submission win over Price, Pettis took home the Finish of the Night bonus as he moved up the lightweight standings. He has racked up eight performance bonuses over his UFC run that included wins over the likes of Cowboy Cerrone, Stephen Thompson, Charles Olivera, and Benson Henderson.

Rory MacDonald dominates to finish Cooper

Former Bellator welterweight champion and UFC title challenger Rory MacDonald returned for his second PFL season against the newcomer Brett Cooper. After beginning his 2021 PFL campaign with a quick six first-round submission, MacDonald lost the next two by decision including one considered to be one of the worst robberies in the game against Gleison Tibau.

Getting the fight to the mat in the first 15 seconds, the veteran MacDonald made quick of Cooper as he dominated his way to a first-round finish. After doing some damage with his ground and pound, ‘Red King’ took Cooper’s neck to lock in a rear-naked choke and take a “6 point finish”.

PFL 3: Official Results

MAIN CARD

  • Kayla Harrison def. Marina Mokhnatkina via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
  • Carlos Leal def. Ray Cooper III via unanimous decision (30-26, 30-27, 29-27)
  • Anthony Pettis def. Myles Price via submission (triangle choke) – Round 1, 4:17
  • Rory MacDonald def. Brett Cooper via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 1, 2:23
  • Larissa Pacheco def. Zamzagul Fayzalianova via TKO (punches) – Round 1, 1:25

PRELIMINARY CARD

  • Dilano Taylor def. Joao Zeferino via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
  • Genah Fabian def. Julia Budd via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
  • Sadibou Sy def. Nikolai Aleksakhim via split decision (29-28, 27-30, 29-28)
  • Jarrah Al Silawi def. Gleison Tibau via split decision (30-27, 28-29, 29-28)
  • Olena Kolesnyk def. Abigail Montes via split decision (30-27, 28-29, 29-28)
  • Martina Jindrova def. Vanessa Melo via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)

MacDonald Opens Up On PFL Elimination, Vows To Return Next Season

Rory MacDonald has released a statement following his unanimous decision loss in the PFL welterweight tournament. After getting his PFL career off to a good start with a submission win over Curtis Millender, Rory MacDonald suffered defeat to Gleison Ti…

Rory MacDonald has released a statement following his unanimous decision loss in the PFL welterweight tournament. After getting his PFL career off to a good start with a submission win over Curtis Millender, Rory MacDonald suffered defeat to Gleison Tibau in what is widely considered to be one of the worst judging decisions in MMA […]

Continue Reading MacDonald Opens Up On PFL Elimination, Vows To Return Next Season at MMA News.

Rory MacDonald Speaks Out for First Time Since PFL Playoffs Exit

Former Bellator champion and 2021 PFL welterweight semifinalist Rory MacDonald is planning on a major comeback after a brief setback in his career; losing to Ray Cooper III in the PFL Playoffs and ending his first season with the league on a sour note. MacDonald fell to Cooper by unanimous decision in the PFL welterweight […]

Former Bellator champion and 2021 PFL welterweight semifinalist Rory MacDonald is planning on a major comeback after a brief setback in his career; losing to Ray Cooper III in the PFL Playoffs and ending his first season with the league on a sour note.

MacDonald fell to Cooper by unanimous decision in the PFL welterweight semifinals, getting dominated on the ground and appearing unable to showcase his diverse striking in the fight. Cooper came out with plenty to prove and ultimately won the fight off of pure grit and toughness.

Many around the MMA community believed that MacDonald was the clear favorite to win the welterweight championship in his first PFL season, but he’ll have to wait until next season to get that chance. MacDonald sounded optimistic about his fighting future and plans on coming back as a stronger fighter after the experience of losing back-to-back outings.

“Happy to be home with my family after spending 6 weeks apart,” MacDonald posted on his Instagram. “Being away from them for that long really affected me & showed me how much we need to be together for me to be at my best.”

“I’ll be taking a few weeks off to enjoy relaxing at home with family and use the time to start planning my comeback for my 2nd season in [the PFL].”

MacDonald had quite the roller coaster ride in his first season with the PFL in 2021. After earning a dominant submission win over Curtis Millender to open up the regular season, he lost a controversial decision to Gleison Tibau in the regular-season finale before ultimately losing to the defending champion, Cooper in the opening round of the playoffs. MacDonald signed with the league after a long tenure in Bellator which included a reign as the promotion’s welterweight champion.

After an unfortunate end to his rookie season in the PFL, MacDonald will look to get back on track and prove to the rest of the league that he still has what it takes to be one of the PFL’s biggest stars.

Do you think Rory MacDonald is still an elite MMA fighter?