5 Defining Moments: Rory MacDonald

Rory MacDonald sees at least one more mountain he wants to climb.

The battle-tested 33-year-old Canadian will confront the undefeated Magomed Umalatov when their 2022 Professional Fighters League welterweight semifinal headlines PFL 8 on Saturday at the Cardiff Motorpoint Arena in Cardiff, Wales. A shot at a $1 million payday awaits the winner. MacDonald enters the playoffs as the No. 1 seed at 170 pounds, having gone 1-1 during the regular season—a first-round submission of Brett Cooper at PFL 3 on May 6 offset by a unanimous decision defeat to Sadibou Sy at PFL 6 two months later.

As MacDonald makes final preparations for his high-stakes scrap with Umalatov, a look at five of the many moments that have come to define him:

1. Growing Pains

Former World Extreme Cagefighting champion Carlos Condit authored an unlikely when he stopped McDonald with a toxic ground-and-pound tonic—the elbows, hammerfists and punches flowed—in the third round of their UFC 115 welterweight showcase on June 12, 2010 at GM Place in Vancouver, British Columbia. Condit brought it to a close 4:53 into Round 3. MacDonald was stellar in his promotional debut and pressured “The Natural Born Killer” for much of the first two rounds, as he operated effectively from the outside and from the clinch. He executed three takedowns inside the first five minutes but failed to keep Condit grounded and never sniffed a finish. Coasting was not an option. Condit emerged for Round 3 with renewed vigor and purpose. He tagged MacDonald with a right hand, bullied him to the canvas and unleashed a devastating series of blows that carved up the ex-King of the Cage titleholder in the waning seconds. MacDonald, the youngest fighter on the UFC roster at the time, was unbeaten no more.

2. A Show of Resilience

MacDonald outwrestled, outgrappled and outstruck “The Ultimate Fighter” Season 5 winner Nate Diaz to a unanimous decision in the featured UFC 129 prelim on April 30, 2011 at the Rogers Centre in Toronto. Scores were 30-26, 30-27 and 30-27. Diaz kept it competitive for a round, but the longtime Cesar Gracie protege had far fewer weapons upon which to call. MacDonald used a varied striking attack and well-timed takedowns to chip away at the Californian throughout the first 10 minutes. In Round three, he wowed the crowd with three belly-to-back suplexes before battering Diaz with standing-to-ground punches. When the dust settled, MacDonald had completed seven takedowns, piled up more than five minutes of control and held a 42-26 advantage in significant strikes.

3. Sin City Savagery

Robbie Lawler retained the undisputed Ultimate Fighting Championship welterweight crown with a fifth-round technical knockout of MacDonald in the UFC 189 co-headliner on July 11, 2015 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. “Ruthless Robbie” closed the door 60 seconds into Round 5, bringing a decisive conclusion to an instant classic. MacDonald forced the American Top Team rep to rally to keep his title. He withstood a ghoulish onslaught from Lawler in the second round, where the champion left his face mangled with a seemingly endless volley of punches down the pike. Straight lefts followed digging jabs, as Lawler slammed one fist after another into his face. MacDonald shifted the momentum in a blink, as the Tristar Gym ace wrapped a head kick around his opponent’s defenses. Lawler staggered and absorbed a barrage of punches, standing elbows and knees from the challenger but refused to wilt. The violence was off the charts. Round 4 provided more of the same from the two welterweights, who stood and traded. MacDonald seemed to get the better of the exchanges, especially early in the frame. However, the damage to his face left him vulnerable. Less than a minute into the fifth round, Lawler sent a straight left crashing directly into the Canadian’s nose. He crumbled to his back in visible distress, and Lawler finished him with follow-up punches.

4. Reaching the Summit

MacDonald withstood a grotesque hematoma on his left shin and significant damage to his nose, as he took a unanimous decision from Douglas Lima and laid claim to the undisputed Bellator MMA welterweight crown in the Bellator 192 co-main event on Jan. 20, 2018 at The Forum in Inglewood, California. Scores were 48-47, 49-45 and 49-46. Lima bagged points and made life difficult for the Canadian with a sustained barrage of leg kicks. However, MacDonald managed to dictate the terms of their engagement on multiple fronts through clinches and takedowns, suffocating the Atlanta-based Brazilian with pressure while refusing to allow him to operate in open space. The “Red King” iced the most significant win of his career in Round 5, where he completed a takedown inside the first minute, applied his ground-and-pound and bled the remaining time off the clock to capture his first major mixed martial arts championship.

5. A Gulf Too Wide

Gegard Mousasi retained his Bellator MMA middleweight championship and did so in overwhelming fashion when he put away MacDonald with a burst of punches and elbows from full mount in the second round of their Bellator 206 main event on Sept. 29, 2018 at the SAP Center in San Jose, California. MacDonald bowed out of the champion-versus-champion superfight 3:23 into Round 2, having crashed and burned in his bid to become a rare simultaneous two-division titleholder. It became apparent from the start that MacDonald had bitten off far more than he could chew. Mousasi peppered him with blistering jabs—he snapped the Canadian challenger’s head back on more than one occasion in the first round—while incorporating stinging leg kicks, well-disguised left hooks and crisp right hands. Perhaps sensing the situation was dire, MacDonald rolled for a possible takedown in the second round but wound up in bottom position. There, he was met with ferocious elbow-laden ground-and-pound that left him with a bloody and badly damaged nose. Mousasi shifted to half guard and ultimately achieved full mount before tearing into the Tristar Gym star with repeated punches and elbows to prompt a merciful stoppage.