MacDonald says UFC loss paved way for success
It’s a vastly different perspective now compared to what he felt the night he was eating elbows and fists, having his face turned into that of a horror- movie victim, all in front of 18,000 roaring countrymen, all at the age of 20. But, with a few years hindsight, Rory MacDonald calls that moment one of the great learning experiences of his career.
Though that loss briefly slowed him down, the Kelowna native says the lessons he took away from his first professional setback may be more valuable than had he won that 2010 showdown in Vancouver against future Ultimate Fighting Championship interim welterweight titleholder Carlos Condit.
“I’m grateful for how things turned out,” says MacDonald ( 162), who on Saturday night returns nearly four years to the day to the scene of that epic 2010 bout, when he takes on Tyron Woodley ( 13- 2) in the co- main event of UFC 174 at Rogers Arena.
“It taught me that I can’t fight like that. Maybe if I would have won that fight – ‘ Oh, yeah. Maybe that’s how I should fight from now on.’ It was a big lesson for me: dealing with all the pressures, attention.”
MacDonald came into that fight billed as the future of the sport. Just 20 years of age and already four years into his professional fighting career, he was being talked about as a future UFC welterweight champion, the next- generation Canadian superstar, the fighter to carry on after then- welterweight king Georges St- Pierre.
MacDonald thought he was ready for that night. Turns out he wasn’t. “It got to me,” he admits. “Walking out to the arena, that took me by surprise. The fans going crazy. I just wasn’t ready for that … I had no clue that it was going to be like that. It was a shock.”
Though he was in the opening fight of the pay- per- view against Condit, the fans erupted for him like he was in the main event. And through two rounds against Condit, MacDonald fought like a main eventer. He was not only living up to all the hype, he was exceeding it, dominating the highly respected Condit. All MacDonald needed to do was keep it up for five minutes.
“Then I got hit with one shot and my adrenalin faded,” says MacDonald. “Everything hit me like a wall. I was, all of a sudden, gassed.”
With each blow inflicted by Condit in that final round, the fans’ cheers grew more desperate. Just survive, they pleaded. Make it to the bell and earn the huge win. Instead, Condit kept firing away. The clock ticked under 30 seconds, then 20 seconds. With seven seconds left, the referee couldn’t let it go on any longer: the match was stopped and Condit had his hand raised.
“It was a great learning experience for me as a UFC fighter, to adapt to those kind of situations, to perform in them,” said MacDonald.
He’s back in Vancouver a far different fighter. Since then, MacDonald has fought in front of 56,000 fans at Rogers Centre in Toronto, ragdolling Nick Diaz. In a de- facto main event on a FOX network broadcast, he beat up two- division champion and UFC legend BJ Penn.
He’s spent endless hours in Montreal learning from trainer Firas Zihabi and UFC icon St- Pierre. He’s expanded his game and grown in confidence.
“I’m a UFC fighter to stay,” said MacDonald, who has gone 6- 1 since that Condit loss.