UFC Fight Night 54 will cap off the two-day event for the UFC, and they will close out the weekend in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.
The main event features No. 2-ranked welterweight contender Rory MacDonald taking on No. 9-ranked Tarec Saffiedine.
In t…
UFC Fight Night 54 will cap off the two-day event for the UFC, and they will close out the weekend in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.
The main event features No. 2-ranked welterweight contender Rory MacDonald taking on No. 9-ranked TarecSaffiedine.
In the co-main event, bantamweights Raphael Assuncao and Bryan Caraway do battle to try and put their name in the mix for T.J. Dillashaw’s title belt. A task proved much more difficult thanks to Dominick Cruz’s return to the division.
Bleacher Report will have complete coverage of the event for you when it gets underway. The first bout hits UFC Fight Pass at 7 p.m. ET before the card moves to Fox Sports 1 at 8 p.m. ET.
It feels like Rory MacDonald should be fighting for the welterweight title, but the 170-pound division is stacked with top-notch fighters. MacDonald also lost to Robbie Lawler, the man getting his second shot at Johny Hendricks’ title in December.
As o…
It feels like Rory MacDonald should be fighting for the welterweight title, but the 170-pound division is stacked with top-notch fighters. MacDonald also lost to Robbie Lawler, the man getting his second shot at Johny Hendricks’ title in December.
As of now, MacDonald sits near the top of the heap, but he’ll have to win at least one more fight against a top contender before he can get a shot at the belt.
On Saturday, Oct. 4, that aforementioned contender is TarecSaffiedine. The Sponge is undefeated in the UFC, and dating back to his time in Strikeforce, he has won five fights in a row. This is a big-time and potentially competitive scrap. It headlines the UFC Fight Night 54 card live from Halifax, Canada.
Because MacDonald was born in Quesnel, British Columbia, he’ll certainly have a large cheering section. Can he stay on track to earn a title shot?
Here’s the viewing information, full card and predictions for the night of fights. Just below the table is a closer look at the top two fights on the card.
Raphael Assuncao Will Outpoint Bryan Caraway
This bout is a tough matchup for Caraway. He desperately needs to take the battle to the mat, as he won’t be a match for Assuncao‘s boxing. However, if he does manage to take the 32-year-old Brazilian down, there’s no guarantee that he dominates the action there.
Caraway does have 17 submission wins in his career, but Assuncao has 10. The latter is also quietly on a six-fight win streak that includes a split-decision win over current UFC bantamweight champion T.J. Dillashaw in Oct. 2013.
Assuncao’stakedown defense has been solid despite his own grappling prowess. He has been able to stuff 77 percent of the takedowns attempted against him. By staying on his feet against Caraway, he’ll stay in the most advantageous position. Assuncao will stay hot with a unanimous-decision win on the strength of accurate and effective striking.
Rory is Too Big and Too Skilled for Saffiedine
You can’t put too much into the results against common opponents, but it’s worth mentioning that Saffiedine lost a split decision to TyronWoodley in Jan. 2011, and MacDonald dismantled him in June.
That only adds to the fact that physically and mentally, MacDonald seems like the superior fighter.
His two-inch height advantage is key because he is one of the few mixed martial artists who knows how to fight tall. He uses his range and length very well. It’s the reason why MacDonald is only hit with 2.30 strikes per minute in his fights. MacDonald also owns one of the most complete MMA games in the sport.
Saffiedine is fairly one-dimensional, and he hasn’t demonstrated much explosive power. He has just one win by KO.
He is an accurate striker (50 percent connect rate), but matched against a technician and masterful grappler like MacDonald, it’s only a matter of time before Ares picks Saffiedine apart.
Look for MacDonald to frustrate Saffiedine with striking and to finish the deal with a submission victory. Bring on the winner of Lawler-Hendricks II.
Rory MacDonald was once an afterthought of sorts.
He has made significant progress each time he’s stepped in the Octagon and has always been considered a fighter who might easily be a future champion. But Georges St-Pierre casts a long and imposin…
Rory MacDonald was once an afterthought of sorts.
He has made significant progress each time he’s stepped in the Octagon and has always been considered a fighter who might easily be a future champion. But Georges St-Pierre casts a long and imposing shadow, and much of that darkness fell on MacDonald.
The pair were (and still are) teammates, which meant that MacDonald’s hopes of rising to greatness were stifled. He didn’t want to fight his training partner, sure, but St-Pierre and MacDonald are friends.
St-Pierre, one of the greatest fighters the sport has ever seen, took MacDonald under his wing and ushered him into the famed Tristar Gym in Montreal. They dined together and entertained together. No matter how far up the ladder MacDonald climbed, he would never seek to assume the throne.
Now, St-Pierre is gone, and we do not know if he will ever return. The welterweight division has a new champion, and the ties that prevented MacDonald from challenging for the top spot in the division are no longer holding him back. MacDonald, winner of seven of his last eight fights, is on the verge of title contention.
And after a dominant win over Tyron Woodley at UFC 174, MacDonald is closer than ever to reaching the same heights St-Pierre did.
MacDonald’s win was the sole highlight of one of the worst UFC events in recent memory.
Woodley came into the fight with a head of steam and repeated demands for a title shot; MacDonald sent him back to Florida with another loss on his record. He baffled Woodley with pinpoint striking, using his jab effectively and utterly stifling Woodley’s nonexistent game plan. Which is to say, if Woodley had an idea of what he wanted to do against MacDonald, he simply wasn’t able to execute. MacDonald was that good.
In fact, it may have been the best performance of his career.
“I think this is probably my best performance of my career so far,” MacDonald said at the post-fight press conference. “I’ve got to watch the tape, but I’m pretty happy right now. Except closing the fight. I didn’t get the finish, but things went well.”
MacDonald is now within shouting distance of a championship shot. He’ll have to wait, most likely, until the winner of next month’s heavily anticipated bout between Matt Brown and Robbie Lawler gets his shot at Johny Hendricks; Brown and Lawler are widely considered to be ahead of MacDonald.
But he is not far back from the pack, and his shot is coming sooner than later.
When it does, it will be his turn to capitalize, to emerge from St-Pierre’s looming shadow and potentially assume his place as Canada’s new favorite fighting son. But he isn’t looking for the same stratosphere of fame St-Pierre currently occupies; there will be no movie deals for MacDonald.
He wants to fight, and he wants to win the championship, but he has seen firsthand what kind of fame can go with the territory and is not interested in pursuing it. He’s in this for the athletic accomplishments and nothing more.
“I want them to like me, but I don’t want to be a superstar,” MacDonald said. “Hopefully, I will be a champion and represent Canada well.”
UFC welterweight contenders Rory MacDonald and Tyron Woodley squared off in the co-main event of UFC 174. When it was all said and done, a legitimate contender was clearly established.
“Ares” consistently utilized his jab to control the dist…
UFC welterweight contenders Rory MacDonald and TyronWoodley squared off in the co-main event of UFC 174. When it was all said and done, a legitimate contender was clearly established.
“Ares” consistently utilized his jab to control the distance and set up combinations and also scored the only takedown of the fight in the third and final frame.
Many pundits believed this was the best performance of MacDonald’s career, an assessment that the Tristar Gym standout agrees with wholeheartedly, per MMA Fighting.
The 24-year-old did not disappoint in front of his Canadian home crowd, notching his seventh victory in his past eight fights.
Unfortunately for “T-Wood,” it was the complete opposite story.
Woodley, a former Strikeforce title challenger and two-time All-American Division I wrestler, couldn’t get his takedowns going and seemed slow on the draw when he traded punches with MacDonald.
Recording three knockouts in his past four matchups, “The Chosen One” never came close to landing his signature big right hand on his Canadian counterpart and was simply outclassed for the duration of the bout.
While Woodley entered the bout ranked as the No. 3 welterweight in the world according to the UFC’s official rankings, he is now just 3-3 in his past six fights.
UFC President Dana White had no problem pouring salt into the wound for Woodley, telling MMAFighting.com’s Ariel Helwanithat “he chokes in the big fights” and was critical of the fact he didn’t aggressively pursue a finish in the third round.
To his credit, Woodley made no excuses about the loss when he addressed the situation on Twitter.
Thanks u Vancouver. What an amazin city. Congrats 2 @rory_macdonald as he was the better man 2night. #TheChosenOne will B back stronger @ufc
If UFC 174 showed one thing, it’s that one man can’t make an event.
Demetrious Johnson put on a masterful performance. In the same way Fedor Emelianenko played his opponents’ game and beat them, “Mighty Mouse” attacked Ali Bagautinov in the one a…
If UFC 174 showed one thing, it’s that one man can’t make an event.
Demetrious Johnson put on a masterful performance. In the same way Fedor Emelianenko played his opponents’ game and beat them, “Mighty Mouse” attacked Ali Bagautinov in the one area where Bagautinov was assumed to be superior: the clinch. He brutally tenderized the Russian’s torso from bell to bell.
It left the UFC commentary team asking “What is next for Demetrious Johnson?” It left the Vancouver crowd wondering “Can I beat the traffic if I leave during the second round?”
Indeed, a mass exodus took place during Johnson versus Bagautinov, and there are many ways to interpret that. Are the flyweights still being rejected by fans? Were they dissatisfied with the lengthy stretch of yawn-inducing fights beforehand? Did this stem from comped tickets going to people that just didn’t actually care much?
Tough call. Also beyond my pay grade.
What I do know is that the biggest loser tonight was Demetrious “Mighty Mouse” Johnson. He just reasserted himself as one of the greatest fighters in the world, and the only people that could muster up applause were the crickets.
UFC welterweight contender Rory MacDonald may only be 1-1 in his past two fights, but that isn’t stopping him from angling at a shot at new champion Johny Hendricks in front of his home crowd.
Just minutes after “Bigg Rigg” defeated Robbie Lawler…
UFC welterweight contender Rory MacDonald may only be 1-1 in his past two fights, but that isn’t stopping him from angling at a shot at new champion Johny Hendricks in front of his home crowd.
Just minutes after “Bigg Rigg” defeated Robbie Lawler for the vacant UFC welterweight strap in the main event of UFC 171 Saturday, MacDonald tweeted his short-term plans to capture UFC gold.
Who wants to see me fight @JohnyHendricks in vancouver for the @ufc welterweight title? Bringing the title back to canada!! @danawhite
“Ares” most recently received Fight of the Night honors at UFC 170 for pulling out a hard-fought decision win over submission wizard Demian Maia last month.
Prior to that bout, MacDonald suffered a disappointing split-decision loss to Lawler at UFC 167 in November.
Despite the bump in the road, the Tristar Gym fighter has won six of his past seven bouts and is the No. 4 welterweight in the world, according to the UFC’s official rankings.
Also in the 24-year-old’s favor is the fact that Lawler just came up short in his title bid, and Carlos Condit—who, like Lawler, is ranked above MacDonald—suffered a knee injury that cost him in a pivotal matchup against TyronWoodley at UFC 171.
Sherdog reports that “The Natural Born Killer,” who owns a TKO victory over MacDonald, likely suffered a meniscus tear—and perhaps even an ACL tear—so he will inevitably be on the shelf recovering for a while.
There are no guarantees for MacDonald, though, as Woodley, Hector Lombard and even ex-Strikeforce champ Nick Diaz are also clamoring for the next crack at Hendricks.
Given the current landscape of the UFC’s welterweight title picture, does Hendricks vs. MacDonald make the most sense right now?
John Heinis is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report. He is also the MMA editor for eDraft.com.
It feels like Rory MacDonald should be fighting for the welterweight title, but the 170-pound division is stacked with top-notch fighters. MacDonald also lost to Robbie 