UFC on Fox 5 showed what could be a changing of the guard in the welterweight division. Rory MacDonald, all of the age of 23, defeated former UFC welterweight champion BJ Penn by unanimous decision. It was MacDonald’s most dominant perfo…
UFC on Fox 5 showed what could be a changing of the guard in the welterweight division. Rory MacDonald, all of the age of 23, defeated former UFC welterweight champion BJ Penn by unanimous decision. It was MacDonald’s most dominant performance inside the octagon. What’s next for MacDonald? He called out former interim champion Carlos Condit, so time should tell if that rematch from UFC 115 takes place.
Who are the top 10 welterweights right now in the UFC? Maybe MacDonald and Condit are in there. Let’s take a look and see.
It was bound to get awkward eventually. As soon as Rory MacDonald stepped into the UFC’s famed Octagon for the first time almost three years ago, it was obvious that the young Canadian possessed a tremendous amount of potential. As his UFC career…
It was bound to get awkward eventually.
As soon as Rory MacDonald stepped into the UFC’s famed Octagon for the first time almost three years ago, it was obvious that the young Canadian possessed a tremendous amount of potential. As his UFC career progressed, it became apparent that “Ares” was going to find himself in the welterweight title picture before he hit his 24th birthday.
Whether it was his impressive showing in a loss to Carlos Condit in just his second Octagon appearance or his absolute destruction of Mike Pyle barely a year later, every fight fan has had that moment where they’ve realized “Wow, this Rory MacDonald kid is really, really good.”
After watching MacDonald annihilate MMA legend and future UFC hall of famerBJ Penn at UFC on Fox 5 Saturday, it became obvious just how good the Tri-Star-based fighter can really become.
For three full rounds, MacDonald completely had his way with “The Prodigy.” Throwing sharp jabs, connecting on a few beautiful elbows from inside the clinch and even “Ali-shuffling” his way around the cage, MacDonald essentially put on a clinic against one of the most popular and well respected fighters in the history of the sport.
Simply put, MacDonald proved that he’s for real during his beat down of Penn.
The problem is, he may have arrived a bit too soon.
While we all knew that “Ares” was going to be good, but it’s hard to imagine that anyone thought he was going to be this good, this quickly. While it’s never a bad thing to add a new contender to one of the UFC’s toughest divisions, it does become a problem when said contender has no intention of fighting the current champion.
MacDonald’s relationship with Georges St-Pierre has been well-documented. The fighters both fight out of the Tri-Star gym in Montreal under the tutelage of FriasZahabi, they’ve trained together for most of the last few years and St-Pierre has publicly gone out and said that he believes that MacDonald is a future champion.
They’re friends and they have no intention of ever fighting each other inside the Octagon.
However, we’ve seen training partners swear they’ve wanted no part of each other in the past, only to see the relationship go up in flames when UFC gold gets thrown into the equation. Jon Jones and Rashad Evans seemingly went from best friends to bitter rivals once that elusive belt got between them. But while the situation between Jones and Evans seemed inevitable, it appears that St-Pierre and MacDonald share more of a Josh Koscheck-Jon Fitch (longtime teammates that have refused to fight) type of loyalty.
Unless they decide to split custody of Mike Ricci and part ways, there isn’t going to be a Canadian super fight for the belt any time soon.
This leaves Rory in a tough spot. He’s a championship-caliber fighter at just 23 years old, but St-Pierre is only 31 and is still sitting in the prime of his career.
MacDonald could just stay active and wait for St-Pierre to either get beaten or walk away, but when you look at the success that Anderson Silva is still having at 37 years old, it becomes harder to justify taking that chance.
Any way you look at it, MacDonald has one option if he absolutely refuses to fight GSP: middleweight. Since MacDonald clearly believes he is better suited to fight at 170, that’s not exactly an enticing option.
Right now, MacDonald is still a fight or two away from getting a serious look as a possible title contender, but it’s only a matter of time.
Eventually, he’s going to get the call from the UFC asking him to fight GSP for the title, and when that happens, he may have to make the tough choice.
Like every other fighter, MacDonald’s main goal is to become the best in the world. He may never get there if he refuses to fight St-Pierre.
The three men this question is referring to are Carlos Condit, Johny Hendricks, and Nick Diaz. Last night, Rory MacDonald put on the best performance of his young career on UFC on FOX 5. He lit up B.J. Penn with numerous jabs, body shots, and that unfo…
The three men this question is referring to are Carlos Condit, Johny Hendricks, and Nick Diaz.
Last night, Rory MacDonald put on the best performance of his young career on UFC on FOX 5. He lit up B.J. Penn with numerous jabs, body shots, and that unforgettable low-to-high sidekick that caught everyone watching off-guard. MacDonald felt so confident from his win that he went so far as to call out expert kickboxer Carlos Condit to avenge his controversial loss to the “natural born killer”—the only blemish on MacDonald’s record to date.
Regardless of his request, there is a good chance that MacDonald will have to face Condit, Hendricks or Diaz in the not-so-distant future. While it’s obvious that his striking skills did a great deal of damage to a washed-up B.J. Penn, could those same skills really stand a chance against his rivals?
MacDonald’s blows against Penn were fairly accurate and undeniably powerful, but the only times in which he truly shined were when he was stalking Penn up against the cage. He didn’t really get in the former champion’s face with many unique combinations, cut him off with angles and advanced circling techniques, or even loosen up to prepare a flurry that could have potentially put “the Prodigy” away.
Yet, it’s safe to say that MacDonald didn’t really have to make much of a strenuous effort to win, considering the absence of a defense from Penn.
This is why it could be argued that the real stand-up story of the match wasn’t how impressive MacDonald looked—it was the unbelievably sorry excuse for boxing displayed by B.J. Penn.
We all saw what Nick Diaz did to Penn in their fight, and if Penn stood there like a punching bag against Hendricks or Condit, he would either be knocked out or similarly beaten into a bloody pulp.
The same goes for MacDonald’s preferred stand up strategy as well. If he were to simply stand in front of either of these three fighters like he did before unloading on Penn, he’d have a lot less opportunities to capitalize on a lack of movement or responding strikes from his opponent. MacDonald wouldn’t have a target standing in front of him with not much to offer in return. In fact, he’d probably become the punching bag instead.
MacDonald most definitely exuded an understanding of MMA striking against Penn, but his win was not dominant enough to pose a threat on the feet to Carlos Condit, Nick Diaz, or even Johny Hendricks. There is still reason to believe MacDonald would be at a disadvantage in the event of an exchange with any of these competitors.
Although he did just win a fight primarily due to strikes, Rory MacDonald’s greatest strength lies within his wrestling. This provided the foundation for him to do significant damage on the ground when he faced Nate Diaz, Che Mills, and Carlos Condit. MacDonald probably didn’t impose this strategy on Penn because of the fear of a possible submission or reversal from the decorated Jiu-Jitsu practitioner.
Or maybe he was just bent on humiliating Penn on the feet.
Whatever his motivation was, MacDonald only wrestled with Penn for a few moments. If he truly wants to challenge Hendricks, Diaz or Condit, he’d better get back to his base and not overestimate his striking skills.
That’s not to say he’d have an easy time grappling with any of these guys, but it’d be a hell of a lot easier than standing with them.
Yes, MacDonald picked up a huge win over Penn and he earned it definitively. However, his striking abilities did not showcase the level of efficiency of the hands of Nick Diaz, Condit, or Hendricks. Rory MacDonald cannot and should not be counted out in a fight with a top contender. A pure boxing/kickboxing match with Diaz, Condit or Hendricks, however, would not be a good situation for the Canadian to find himself in.
Rory MacDonald may have lost some fans with his taunting of the famed, popular fighter B.J. Penn at their UFC on Fox 5 bout, but it hardly matters. MacDonald’s skills will carry him where the fans wont. MacDonald is talented enough where he doesn’…
Rory MacDonald may have lost some fans with his taunting of the famed, popular fighter B.J. Penn at their UFC on Fox 5 bout, but it hardly matters. MacDonald’s skills will carry him where the fans wont.
MacDonald is talented enough where he doesn’t need fan support in order to get pushed into big fights. He got a fight against B.J. Penn on Fox when his fan support was tepid at best.
That fight was set up not because of MacDonald’s popularity, but because of his raw fighting prowess and his ability to cause harm to another human being. The UFC knew they had a prospect that was going to be a force at welterweight for quite some time, so they had to unleash him, even if the fans had taken issues with him.
A rare talent like MacDonald (23 and already a monster—a monster who trains at the Tristar Gym with the likes of welterweight champ Georges St-Pierre) can’t be ignored, even if the fans think he’s a conceited jerk, a drab individual who lacks personality or what have you.
Fan support is overrated.
Fans don’t need to support or love a fighter for that fighter to be successful. A fighter needs to be talented (in an entertaining way) to be successful.
Being successful like Jon Fitch wasn’t enough because he put fans to sleep despite amassing a great record. (And, for his efforts, he was put on the undercard as soon as he lost a fight after his initial 8-0 streak in the UFC.)
But being successful like Rory MacDonald—a young stud who powers through the opposition almost as if he’s insulted that he was matched up with someone so beneath him—is a ticket to MMA success no matter what the fans think. Even if they hate MacDonald, they’ll still part with their cash for the slim, evanescent hope that he’ll be brought down from Olympus.
Thus, the fans need Rory MacDonald more than he needs them. They can hate as much as they want; he’s not going anywhere.
It was bound to get awkward eventually.