By. Thomas Huang (featured columnist)
A lot has transpired in the past 5 months in the welterweight division.
With GSP vacating the title and taking a break from the sport, we got to see some new and exciting match ups that we never got to see before. Including a 5 round battle between Johnny Hendricks and Robbie Lawler last Saturday Mar. 15.
There seems to be endless possibilities right now in the 170 pound division. A new era has begun and it is quite a pleasure to be able to witness all of it right now.
After UFC 171, a card that was mainly highlighting the wide open welterweight division, it's time to thoroughly discuss the situation at 170.
The Contenders:
We have Tyron Woodley, who just surprised everyone with his victory over Carlos Condit at UFC 171.
We have rising Asian fighter Dong Hyun Kim coming off of two spectacular knockout victories against Erick Silva and John Hathaway (KO of the year candidate) that puts him in the top ten and in a discussion for being a contender.
Hector Lombard who is shifting the ranks by dominating #6 ranked welterweight in Jake Shields.
We also have two more upcoming top ten bouts featuring #5 Jake Ellenberger vs #9 Tarec Saffiedine at UFC 172, and #7 Matt Brown vs Erick Silva at UFC Fight Night 40.
Not to mention, there are tons of up and coming prospects as well, including Kelvin Gastelum, Gunnar Nelson, Alex Garcia, and Brandon Thatch.
But out of all the top fighters that were included in this article, none of them deserve the next title shot more than the 24 year old Canadian phenom, Rory "Ares" MacDonald.
Why Rory MacDonald deserves the Title Shot next:
Fighter part of the New Breed
Rory MacDonald is one of the fighters considered to be part of the next generation of mma athletes. He is able to fight wherever the fight takes place, whether if its on his back, on his feet, on top, in the clinch. He can do it all.
We've seen him in fights like the BJ Penn where he has the ability to mix up his strikes and fight technically, but at the same time, put on an exciting show.
In his fights against Pyle and Mills, he showcased that he has dangerous ground striking. In his fights outside the UFC and his first fight in the UFC, he's shown that he has the ability to submit people as well.
Size and Reach
With his monstrous 76.5 inch reach, Rory MacDonald possesses a big advantage over current champion Johny "Bigg Rigg" Hendricks.
You add that with long legs and the big physique of MacDonald, Hendricks would have to face a new challenge that keeps the fight unpredictable and may reveal a weakness of his.
At UFC 171, Hendricks took some punishment from Robbie Lawler (74 inch reach), particularly from rounds 3 and 4.
Imagine what MacDonald would be able to do to Hendricks with his longer reach and with his huge striking display over Demian Maia.
UFC 174 is in Vancouver, BC in Canada
With Georges St-Pierre taking a break from the sport, the biggest Canadian name in the UFC is now Rory MacDonald.
With an upcoming card rumored to take place in Vancouver, BC, Canada according to MMAWeekly, it could not be a more perfect time for MacDonald to get the title shot.
Star Power
Let's face it. Rory has the potential to become a huge star in the UFC. He's young at just the age of 24, he has the looks of a model for big clothing companies with his perfect hair and flashy wardrobe, and more importantly, he has the skills.
He also has this unique personality about him, with the monotone voice, the maturity level at his age, and his focused and determined attitude that even some people that are older than him can learn from.
All of those characteristics have brought him to become one of the most hyped fighters out there and it is still growing exponentially.
Relationship w/ GSP & Tristar Gym
Rory has been training with elite guys at Tristar Gym. And no one gets more elite than Georges St-Pierre.
GSP has a 3rd dan black belt in Kyokushin Kaikan, 1st degree black belt in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu under Gracie Barra Montreal, a black belt in Gaidojutsu, a black belt in Shidokan, and he is the most successful takedown artist in the UFC.
With that being said, Rory exposing himself to such great talent makes him be at a higher level as well. In a recent interview of a retired GSP, he said that he would help Rory train and prepare for his fight if he fights for the title.
“I was not interested in fighting Rory, and Rory was not interested in fighting me,” St-Pierre said.
“Rory is my friend. He’s like a brother to me, a training partner. I wish him the best of luck, and if he’s going to fight for the belt, I’m going to be in the gym to help him.” (MMAJunkie).
And as if having GSP to train with isn't enough, Rory still has his coach Firas Zahabi, who is an MMA genius. He is a great teacher and he can really bring Rory to the next level much like he did with St-Pierre.
Heart of a Champion
Rory MacDonald has shown that he has the talent to become UFC champion in all of his previous fights, but in his fight against Demian Maia, he showed he had that something extra.
With his phenomonal escape in Round 3 to stay out of a potential loss and punish Maia on the feet, MacDonald showed that he has learned from the past. In his fight against Lawler, he survived a knockdown and ended the fight with him on top.
In his fight against Maia, he found himself in the same situation as he was in against Condit, being controlled on the ground, but this time, he was able to get back to his feet.
The Evolution of Rory MacDonald:
Georges St-Pierre has kept the title in Canadian territory for six years, defeating every single challenger in his path. During his six year, nine fight title reign, he brought in a 19-year old kid and introduced him to Tristar Gym.
That 19-year old kid is now a 24 year old man, and he goes by the name of Rory "Ares" MacDonald. A British Columbia native who started training all aspects of Mixed Martial Arts at age 14, MacDonald was destined to become an MMA fighter.
The Beginnings
MacDonald on his discovery of MMA: "I was about 14 years old. I was playing hockey at the time---at that point, I was kinda fading out of liking hockey, a lot of politics going on.---I was kinda a lost kid. My brother brought up a mixed martial arts gym that he had found during a P.E. Class trip there---He told me and I was really intrigued, because I always liked UFC growing up, but never (thought) there would be a gym that taught it."
"When I heard there was a gym that was teaching these things, I was really intrigued. We started talking about it for a good half an hour. We were driving in a car, me and my brother, my dad, and he's like 'well, you wanna go? You sound so enthusiastic about it.' (I said) 'yea!' He whipped the car around, went to the house, picked up some stuff, went to the gym, and I started training."
"And literally, when he picked me up, (I told him) this is what I'm going to be doing for the rest of my life. So I knew instantly...it was a pretty cool feeling, and it really changed the direction of my life, from negative times to a very positive thing."
MacDonald started training at a local gym in Kelowna, BC, Canada named Toshido MMA lead by coach David Lea.
Under Lea, MacDonald trained every single category of mma, which includes Jiu-Jitsu, Boxing, Muay Thai, Wrestling, and Kickboxing. All of that training would soon earn him the reputation as one of the first "new breed" fighters in the UFC.
On Oct. 15th, 2005, MacDonald, who was 16-years old, fought professionally for the very first time, against Terry Thiara.
He ended up winning that fight by rear naked choke in the 1st round and went on to have 8 more impressive victories before joining the UFC as their youngest member at the time (age 20).
Walking into the octagon for the first time against Mike Guymon at UFC Fight Night: Maynard vs Diaz, MacDonald was already considered a highly accomplished fighter for his age, winning the King Of The Cage Canadian Lightweight Title in 2007 (beating fellow friend/training partner/Current Ultimate Fighter: Nations contestant Kajan Johnson), then the King Of The Cage Lightweight Title a year later.
He moved up to welterweight later in 2009 where he racked up 2 victories there. After finally making it to the big leagues, MacDonald did not disappoint. He defeated Mike Guymon via armbar in the 1st round (10-0 record) and fought a close fight of the night battle against current #2 ranked Carlos Condit at UFC 115 in Vancouver. (Many people say he would've won if the referee had let it go on for the final 7 seconds of the final round.)
Leading up to his 2nd bout in the UFC, Rory was already hyped up as the future of the sport. Holding an undefeated record and fighting the former WEC welterweight champion Carlos Condit in his 2nd UFC fight was not an easy task. But MacDonald managed to beat Condit for the 1st two rounds with a mix of takedowns, kicks, punches, and being the more aggressive fighter.
In a packed Rogers Arena in Vancouver, filled with Canadian UFC fanatics and fans from MacDonald's semi-hometown, it seemed to fuel The 20-year old up-and-comer, to the point where it started becoming a bad thing.
"Sometimes the energy is so crazy, like when I fought Carlos in Vancouver, I couldn't hear anything but the screaming...It was very distracting. It pumped me up, the electricity and the loudness of people. It affected the way I fought." MacDonald said.
It was obvious that the crowd had made MacDonald fight with emotions, as he stalked Condit and gave him no room to breathe.
He threw hay makers, flying knees, and displayed good head movement.
By the end of round 1, MacDonald had already taken Condit down three times and gave a good impression to the fans and the judges.
He did the same thing in round 2, pressuring Condit and going for hard strikes and takedowns. He even managed to get off his back and put Condit on his back in a matter of a few seconds.
To end the round off, him and Condit both managed to land front kicks on each other, with Condit landing it on MacDonald's face and MacDonald landing it on Condit's shoulder, knocking him down on his back.
By round 3, Rory was winning two rounds to none. In Condit's corner, we saw a different side of premier coach, Greg Jackson, a side we've never seen before.
"You bounce, you move, and you punish this kid! This is five minutes of war! And you're going to give it to me!" Jackson said, while in Condit's corner.
In the first half of the round, it seemed like Rory was going to be able to pull off an impressive victory. He landed a couple of big counter shots and a clean head kick as well.
Although Rory was still able to keep a good pace, his body language and facial expressions showed that he was gassed.
MacDonald goes for the takedown and after a brief struggle, Condit sweeps him and puts MacDonald on his back instead. Immediately, Condit achieves half guard and this was the beginning of the end for Rory MacDonald.
With his gas tank drained from the stand up and take downs of rounds one and two, at the beginning of round three, MacDonald is now in big trouble with a motivated Condit on top.
"Condit in my opinion has got to finish this fight, Mike," UFC commentator Joe Rogan said.
As Condit controls MacDonald on top and lands a series of short, sharp elbows to the face of the young Rory, with 2:50 left on the clock, Rory manages to get back up, only to be clinched against the cage and takes some damage before ending up back on the mat again.
"Rory's fading, Mike." Jackson yelled. "Yes, quickly!"
With 2:00 left on the clock, Rory's right eye was swollen, and Condit is still landing a significant amount of punches and elbows.
He does this all the until the last 7 seconds and referee Kenneth Doren stops the fight.
The crowd boo's as Condit emerges as the victor.
At the end, when Rogan interviewed MacDonald, he said: "To tell you the truth, i didn't know what was going on. I thought it (was) the end of the round until he called it a TKO---But, it was a just stoppage, he was kicking my ass."
"My game plan didn't work, so, I just gotta figure it out next time and train harder."
That would be the last time Rory MacDonald tasted defeat before his recent split decision loss against title contender Robbie Lawler at UFC 167.
Although the close loss to Condit raised his stock, MacDonald was not happy with it. It has been haunting Rory MacDonald for a long time and he still seeks revenge to this day.
The disappointing loss seemed to change Rory MacDonald, making him grow into an entirely different fighter.
He seemed even more serious and determined than he has ever been.
Diaz Fight
In his next fight with TUF 5 winner Nate Diaz, he had moved from his home of Kelowna, British Colombia to Montreal, Quebec, where the infamous Tristar Gym (led by Georges St-Pierre and Firas Zahabi) was located.
He had sacrificed being away from home and his family to fulfill his dream of becoming UFC champion.
Before, he would visit Tristar Gym from time to time but was never a full time Tristar member.
But the loss to Condit lead to this decision of joining a gym with more talent, so he could achieve his maximum potential.
Showing up at UFC 129 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, MacDonald looked much more grown and muscular.
He spent a lot of his training on his strength and conditioning (something he lacked in the third round of the Condit fight) with his strength and conditioning coach, Jonathan Chaimberg.
He had changed his stance and style as well. MacDonald went on to go on a tear, winning 5 straight fights (Diaz, Pyle, Mills, Penn, Ellenberger), dominating every single one of them.
Fighting on a card headlined by GSP, it was the biggest crowd ever in a UFC event. Rory goes into the fight looking very calm, and a lot more seasoned.
We got to see the grown and improved technical fighter in MacDonald as he mixed up his strikes with leg kicks, jabs, front kicks, superman punches and right head kicks.
His move to Tristar had clearly paid off, as he looked much more skilled than before. But that was not the most notable thing in this fight. The most notable thing that had the large crowd in Toronto screaming occurred in the 3rd round, when Rory managed to do something we have never seen before inside the octagon.
He suplexed Diaz three times, and landed some hard shots on the ground in the process. MacDonald won the fight by unanimous decision (30-26, 30-27, 30-26).
Putting it all together
MacDonald then faced veteran and former WEC champ, Mike Pyle. This fight took place at UFC 133 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He put on another dominating performance, getting Pyle down on the mat, and ground and pounding his way to a first round TKO victory.
Rory MacDonald showcased his potential, knocking out Pyle, who was on a 3-fight winning streak before he had faced MacDonald.
MacDonald had also evolved into a more interesting personality.
He had changed his nickname from "The Waterboy" to "Ares", meaning "The God of War", he changed his hairstyle from a teenage look to a hip-hop style look with a line-up fade and he dusted off his shoulders and posed for the cameras after his victory.
After the fight, MacDonald was interviewed by Ariel Helwani of MMAfighting and they discussed his "Newfound Swag".
They talked about his swagger inside and outside the octagon, with his Air Jordan shoes and walkout to MC Hammer's "Can't Touch This".
MacDonald continued to make a case as a future contender, earning the Co-main Event at UFC 145 against another rising prospect in Che Mills.
The card took place in Atlanta, Georgia and was headlined by a grudge match between UFC Light Heavyweight Champion Jon "Bones" Jones and "Suga" Rashad Evans.
This was the chance for Rory MacDonald to show his capabilities on the big stage, and he succeeded.
Walking out to Tupac and The Notorious BIG's song "Runnin' (Dying To Live)", MacDonald hyped up the crowd, as he walked calmly with no emotions to the octagon, accompanied by his mentors Firas Zahabi and UFC welterweight champ, Georges St-Pierre.
Walking up the steps and to his corner, MacDonald gazed at Che Mills with a cold and intimidating stare.
In the fight, Rory took down Che Mills and displayed vicious but conservative ground and pound.
MacDonald ground and pounded Mills from all sorts of different positions on the ground, from full guard, side control, side control crucifix, full mount, and back mount.
MacDonald then won the fight by TKO in the 2nd round, finishing Mills off with violent punches in the back mount position. MacDonald made it clear that he was ready to take on top opponents.
After that fight, former lightweight and welterweight champion and future Hall of Famer called Rory out and MacDonald made it public on Ariel Helwani's show, "The MMA Hour". The fight was set to take place at UFC 152 in Toronto, but an accidental elbow caused the fight to be postponed until December 8th, 2012 at UFC on Fox 5.
At UFC on Fox 5, Rory displayed new skills in his arsenal yet again, dominating "The Prodigy" on the feet with wonderful combinations, jabs, elbows, front kicks, high kicks, body kicks, and body hooks (even did the Ali shuffle and put his hands down at one point).
MacDonald won the fight by unanimous decision (30-26, 30-27, 30-26). After the fight, MacDonald had revenge on his mind, as he called out the fighter that gave him his only loss at the time, Carlos Condit.
An established contender
His fight with Condit was set to take place at UFC 154 but a back injury had pulled MacDonald out of the fight and led to Johny Hendricks replacing him.
A fight with Jake Ellenberger was then scheduled to be UFC on Fox 8. Rory showed great ability to keep distance and hit Ellenberger throughout the whole fight with stinging jabs.
After that fight, MacDonald took on Robbie Lawler at the UFC's 20th anniversary card, UFC 167 on Nov. 16th, 2013 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
In the first round, Robbie repeatedly landed leg kicks on MacDonald and landed some uppercuts at the round. In round 2, MacDonald landed a good right straight and some good front kicks to the body before taking Lawler down and landing some elbows at the end of the round.
In the third and final round, Rory got caught with some powerful shots by Lawler that knocked him down, and he was punished with some ground and pound.
Rory managed to survive the potential stoppage and took Robbie down in the final seconds and started throwing his own ground and pound.
MacDonald then lost the fight via split decision (29-28 Lawler, 29-28 MacDonald, 29-28 Lawler).
After his first loss since Carlos Condit, MacDonald immediately went back to training and got the UFC to schedule a fight for him at the beginning of the year. He went on Ariel Helwani's "MMA Hour" and talked about how disappointed he was with his fighting in 2013 and that it has "brought back his fire".
Redemption
It was revealed that MacDonald would fight Demian Maia at UFC 170 on February 22, 2014. At the fight, Rory walked out to a much more violent song compared to his walkouts in 2013 (Walked out to "Seek and Destroy" by Metallica in 2014 & walked out to "We Found Love" by Rihanna in 2013.).
MacDonald ran to the octagon, eager to get the bad taste of a loss out of his mouth.
He came out more aggressive in his fight with Maia, and he overcame adversity two times against the highly accomplished Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Master.
After being on his back for most of the first round, MacDonald came back in the second round hitting Maia with jabs and straights and an arsenal of kicks.
He wanted to make a statement that he should be the next title contender. He displayed outstanding takedown defense, stuffing almost all of Maia's takedown attempts except one in the 1st round and another one in the 3rd that could of stolen the round for Maia if it weren't for MacDonald's escape and continuation of landing more strikes on the feet.
