MacDonald

By FCF Staff

Rory MacDonald was in need of a memorable win last night at UFC 170, and the emerging welterweight did just that, while handing Demian Maia a unanimous decision loss.

Heading into UFC 170, the 24 year-old was coming off disappointing performances versus Jake Ellenberger and Robbie Lawler. While MacDonald outscored Ellenberger at UFC on FOX 8 last July for the decision win, the bout was widely criticized for its conservative pace. Then, at UFC 167 in November, MacDonald dropped a split decision loss to Robbie Lawler.

Saturday night, however, not only did MacDonald survive the feared ground game of Maia, but he punished the contender with strikes. The thrilling scrap, which earned “Fight of the Night” honors, prompted Dana White to tell FOX Sports 1 afterwards:

“I’ve been hard on Rory in the past. I predicted that this fight was going to be the stinker tonight, but he looked great. He got out of the mount that Maia had him in and then he lit Demian up with some great punches on the outside.”

With the victory, MacDonald improved his record to 16-2, and ensured his #4 ranking at 170 remains intact.

“I wanted to let it all out and show myself out there,” MacDonald told FOX Sports 1. “I didn’t want to have any regrets when I went back to the dressing room this time and I did that.”