Is Rory MacDonald shot from his wars in the UFC?

[ironfist05]

rory was a bright young prospect that melted under the pressure of “he’s the next GSP”

funny to think of the forums around 2013 when people really thought the young guns that would define the future of the WW division were Rory (next GSP) and Erick Silva (next Anderson). It's ok tho, Silva is still young, still has potential, he'll only be 37 so plenty of time.

 

[Prince Nephilim]

Nah…he’s just morally and mentally checked out of fighting.

I knew he was done when lost to Moose and questioned his will to hurt people and be hurt.

 

[560ti]

There's more to the story than age. Rory is nowhere near his fighting prime.

Agreed. Rory started full time training at age 14 and then went pro at 16. No way he's peaking now, he peaked 23-25 age range

 

[560ti]

rory was just never that good.

He couldn't match the hype of "the next GSP" but he was a damn good fighter.

At age 24 he already had wins over Diaz, Penn, Maia, Woodley, close split decision lose to Lawler, and was 7 seconds away from beating Condit. Even his win was Tarec was impressive for the time (Tarec was on a long win streak and had never been finished, Rory went down as the only person to ever finish him)

 

[Only Here for Attachments]

They may have edited it out on Fight Pass, but I recall Rory convulsing in pain after falling over from that last nose shot.

I remember that. His coach said he was perfectly fine, just emotional because of the loss.

 

[BabyBlue_Bomber]

According to Sherdoggers, Tibau has a win over Nurmagomedov…

No shame in losing to the GOAT-killer

 

[method115]

I just thinking how Rory seems to have disappeared into obscurity. Either way Tibau is one of the biggest dopers in this sport. Losing or even having a close fight with him is impressive.

 

[Osiris3657]

That’s barely enough to cover medical expenses

You goof, they don't pay their own medical expenses, the UFC covers all that. Hell I don't know any MMA organization that doesn't cover their fighters medical expenses

 

[dildos]

He couldn't match the hype of "the next GSP" but he was a damn good fighter.

At age 24 he already had wins over Diaz, Penn, Maia, Woodley, close split decision lose to Lawler, and was 7 seconds away from beating Condit. Even his win was Tarec was impressive for the time (Tarec was on a long win streak and had never been finished, Rory went down as the only person to ever finish him)

tbh i just think he was over hyped and rated for a long time.

sure the next gsp thing made him look very mediocre in the sense too, but you got to look at it like this, diaz never that good, penn was done prime penn would have killed rory, maia slowly starting to fade and woodley didnt hit his ufc prime yet. tarec, such a forgotten name. saffedine or something right? even i forgot the name because he was a no one.

 

[560ti]

but you got to look at it like this,

To be fair i'm not a fan of over analyzing/nit picking wins. You could literally do that to every fighter since most fighters in there peak never or hardly lose so of course it's easy to look in retrospect and say "uhh that guy he beat wasn't in his prime" (well no shit, if the guy was in his prime he wouldn't of lost).

Rory already had 4 top 10 wins by age 24 and had another 2 top 10 wins that where extremely close, dude had high level talent

 

[dildos]

To be fair i'm not a fan of over analyzing/nit picking wins. You could literally do that to every fighter since most fighters in there peak never or hardly lose so of course it's easy to look in retrospect and say "uhh that guy he beat wasn't in his prime" (well no shit, if the guy was in his prime he wouldn't of lost).

Rory already had 4 top 10 wins by age 24 and had another 2 top 10 wins that where extremely close, dude had high level talent

Look all I’m saying is he was ok at best and was overrated.

 

[GreatSaintGuillotine]

No moreso than anyone who has been fighting that long I suppose

 

[moreorless87]

Agreed. Rory started full time training at age 14 and then went pro at 16. No way he's peaking now, he peaked 23-25 age range

Pretty much, he started very young so its not at all surprising he's on the downturn by 30, people have just gotten too used to fighters who didnt start MMA until their late 20's lasting until their late 30's.

 

[theincognito]

It's not so much that he started young. Mousasi started in his teens and is still as good as ever. Oliveira, Masvidal and Lawler started as teens and peaked in their 30s. Many different examples.

With Rory it was probably just losing the drive to do it. He even said he found god and wasn't sure about continuing fighting. He's no where near as aggressive as he used to be. Just goes through the motions now. The Lawler beating didn't help things either.

 

[kellier]

Metaphysically, Lawler has Rory locked in his basement

 

[Sopapo]

The sport is much more competetive than you think. He is that good, he won that fight, and he has lost a step since leaving the UFC.
He would still beat everyone in the top 10 except for maybe Wonderboy, Usman and Covington

 

[NoContest]

I really think he'd have beaten Woodley during his title reign. Rory had all the tools to destroy Woodley just like in the first fight, even after the Lawler mauling.

 

[Pacemaker Joe]

The UFC HAD to have given him some extra money under the table after that fight. It was FOTY and people still talk about it 6 years later.

You have a lot more faith in Dana's generosity than I do.

 

[MPD-Psycho]

Agree with the 2nd Lawler fight took a lot out of him both physically and mentally, and the pressure of being the next GSP.

 

[DoctorDeelon]

Dude is 31 and should be in the prime of his life but can’t get past Gleason Tibau. I know it was a robbery but still, he should be dominating an old dog like Tibau without controversy.

It’s kinda sad how the game and chew you up and spit you out and you’re still not financially stable.

He’s had years taken off his life from that 2nd Lawler fight for 59k. Makes you think right?

Yeah I think there is a lot too that, that Lawler fight took a lot out of him. But he's still solid and IMO got robbed last night.