Why did the ufc let Rory MacDonald walk?

thatKid said:
He wanted more than they wanted to pay
Bellator was willing to pay

Hard to negotiate a good long term deal coming off two losses
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Yea but he did have the greatest fight ever according to Dana, but that doesn't mean anything either.

He's going to wreck every fighter in Bellator
 
CM 4 said:
Yea but he did have the greatest fight ever according to Dana, but that doesn't mean anything either.

He's going to wreck every fighter in Bellator
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Probably. And he seems happy to leave. Belltaor made him an offer, the UFC didn't want to match it - so Rory gets paid. Is normal.
 
Dana said he thinks the Lawler fight changed him
 
Money versus saleability.

No doubt the UFC recognized Rory as a top 3 talent but it is one of those things where they fear he might actually become champ and end up 'Aldo'ing' a different top PPV division by not appealing to fans as others in the WW division could.
 
They let Misha Cirkunov go. Looks like there plan is to sell UFC fights not fighter fights. So it wont be Bones vs Shogun, it will be the UFC champ vs the #1 contender.
 
It's funny how Dana can pay a piece of crap fighter like Sage Northcutt 60 k (for losing) because he like's his body, yet a young killer like Rory who has a win over the current champ can't get paid. Marketability is the NUMBER ONE priority for the UFC and I don't see that changing any time soon.
 
I think they thought with 2 losses to Lawler there was nothing left for him and then Woodley knocked Lawler the fuck out making a rematch with Rory an intriguing fight. Too bad.
 
I can understand if he was pushing the upper limits of the average veteran salary amount but he isn't. He was getting paid like 59k and another 59k to win. Rory has had some of the most memorable fights at WW in recent years. It was a stupid decision to let him go if they aren't planning on resigning him in the future.
 
Mikey Palangio said:
The Wonderboy fight showed that Rory had lost that fire.

I agree with Luke Thomas when he stated "when a fighter just moves forward with little striking, then he is probably done."

I realized Wonderboy wasn't that good, when he failed to finish a fighter (Rory MacDonald) who didn't want to fight at all, and was just walking in a straight line like a zombie.
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I don't think that's true, or at least you can't really tell that from that fight. WB didn't look that impressive in that fight either. A big reason why that fight was what it was, was because both guys were hesitant due to their styles. It's not the first time a match between two great fighters turned out to be a stinker. WB and Rory are also friends, and were training partners at TriStar. With those factors in mind, it doesn't make sense to make any clear judgments on where Rory is mentally, or physically.

Letting Rory go is just mind blowingly stupid if the UFC wants to be THE MMA organization. Rory is young, lost only to the former champ/the former interim champ/and the guy fighting for the title next, and he has clear wins over current champ Woodley, as well as next guy in line, Maia. He also has wins over names like BJ Penn and Nate Diaz
Top to bottom retarded ass move by the UFC.
 
tbird05 said:
Rory is way younger with wins over the champ (Woodley) and uncrowded champ (lol, Maia).
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Rory's first pro fight was in 2005. Henderson was 2006. Age doesn't matter in this situation-- It's the mileage.
 
I think it's pretty simple: fighters are now demanding better pay and WME has boxed themselves into a corner with their $4 billion purchase. They've adopted hardball bargaining tactics because it's the only card they have to play.

Bellator is the beneficiary so far.
 
Only tier 1 (popularity) and tier 2 fighters really affects ufc's bottom line. Cutting the rest only angers the hardcores, so we come here.

The struggle is real.
 
You guys are overreacting to the Wonderboy fight. WB is an elite point fighter when he's not KTFO'ing with head kicks.

Wonderboy would have won the belt in a very boring fight if Woodley didn't hurt him in the 4th round
 
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Because WME overpaid to buy the UFC and need to keep fighter pay at a bare minimum. By not signing and paying fighters like Rory, Larkin, Cirkunov and others or playing hardball with guys like GSP just sends a message to the rest of the roster.
 
Rory will win a few more fights and come back.

They probably don't want to make another Melendes error.
They gave him a coaching gig on TUF, a title shot, and a lot of money, to stay. Then Gilbert decided to enjoy himself and be a slacker, instead of achieving.
 
Dude is a psychopath, never gonna have fans
 
He is underrated even to this day. How he handled Maia and Woodley with his calm strategic approach was fantastic. He would defeat Woodley easy and is always very dangerous. Clear top5 fighter.
 
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