Rory MacDonald, for the first time in his professional career, has just lost two consecutive fights.
The number one ranked welterweight contender will lose that spot when the rankings are updated on Monday morning due to his unanimous decision defeat to Stephen Thompson in the main event of UFC Ottawa on Saturday night.
MacDonald was systematically picked apart by ‘Wonderboy’ and it wasn’t until the fifth and final round, when MacDonald decided to open up to redress his deficit on the scorecards, that we got the familiar sight of blood streaming down his nose.
There was a stage, with minutes remaining, that MacDonald covered up with a high guard against ‘Wonderboy’ in the same way that he did before he dropped to his back in his famous defeat to Robbie Lawler last July.
But the Canadian toughed it out in Ottawa and made it the distance but the decision was never in doubt.
And after the fight, MacDonald revealed that his nose has been a recurring issue for him since Lawler smashed it in the co-main event of UFC 189 last year.
“Fifth round [against Thompson], during a trade, we were both trading a little bit. I don’t know what it was, I was just trying to throw combinations and duck my head but something landed and I felt the waterfall start. The familiar feeling,” MacDonald said at the post-fight press conference.
THEY ARE THROWING IN THE FIFTH!!! #UFCOttawa https://t.co/LFs3Io5Jm6
— UFC (@ufc) June 19, 2016
“I broke it actually a couple times before this fight. I have no idea. I gave it time, it kept breaking. I don’t know if surgery’s going to be the best route. I really just have to take time and at least I’d probably look into surgery, see if that can make it stronger because just time off didn’t do shit.”
MacDonald’s UFC contract is officially up and his next step will be a fascinating one. Will the promotion offer him an improved contract despite his recent record in big fights or will ‘The Red King’ accept an offer from a rival promoter?
First things first, the Tristar product realises that he has to deal with his nose problem because he will not be able to continue breaking it so regularly and fight to the best of his ability.
“My nose needs surgery,” MacDonald said. “I’m going to need some time.”
