It was a fight that was hyped up to be bigger than the main card event: MacDonald vs. Ellenberger. A lot of pre-fight discussion about the implications of this fight were swirling around the MMA world , as the winner of this match would likely be poising himself for a shot at current welterweight stalwart, Georges St. Pierre (assuming he defeats Johny Hendricks later this year). While many felt that MacDonald would come out victorious, which he did, there was more importantly an expectation that this fight would deliver fireworks and propel the young Canadian to the next level.
Unfortunately, despite the win this fight will not likely push MacDonald to a title-bout with his long-time training partner Georges St. Pierre. Dana White characterized the co-main event between MacDonald and Ellenberger in his usual eloquent self: “That fight so sucked so bad”… and truth be told he wasn’t far off the mark. Neither fighter really looked as though he wanted to engage and most of the fight was spent with the two 170 lb’ers dancing around one another. I would honestly challenge any fight fan to say that it was a fantastic match.
All things aside, MacDonald did put up another win bringing his record to 15-1, and has put him close to the top of the heap in the welterweight division. So, where does he go from here…?
A Shot at the Title:
This seems like the least plausible situation overall. Let’s put aside the notion that MacDonald has publicly stated that he refuses to fight; as MacDonald stated: “No, me, Georges aren’t fighting”. I think MacDonald wants that title, and his comment was made under the context that they would be training partners; if MacDonald trains at another camp for one fight, I am sure he could rationalize the fight in his mind. All this ga-ga aside, I don’t think Dana White is going to award a title shot to a fighter after such a disappointing performance – it is not in his nature. MacDonald will need one more convincing victory before getting his shot at the strap.
The Re-Match:
The one loss that MacDonald does have on his came in the final moments against Carlos Condit – a fight that Rory would’ve assuredly won on the scorecard. With Condit and MacDonald ranked 2 and 3 in the division, (respectively), this match has some marketability and is guaranteed to be exciting.
All for the Hype:
No one really knows what the deal is with Nick Diaz right now, but it seems he’s still tentatively retired. That being said, we all know that Diaz could return to the cage at any given time. Diaz and MacDonald presents an interesting match. Diaz’s style of fight would force MacDonald to be much more aggressive (similar to a fighter like Condit), and Diaz’s non-stop trash talk always makes for a great build-up – especially since Rory is so terrible at talking up a fight.
Laying Down the Law:
Robbie Lawler could be an outside option too. With Lawler’s convincing win last night, he has bolted himself right back into the mix. This fight would likely be considered a step down for MacDonald, but could be a subtle little wrist slap from the UFC brass for MacDonald for such a terrible performance. I don’t think this scenario is very likely, but I do think it’s an outside possibility.
Maybe Maia?
I don’t like this fight at all. I think it has a repeat of the Ellenberger match written all over it. While both fighters can be very exciting in their own right – throw a BJJ expert and guy with a wrestling base in the cage together and I just don’t see it being a good match-up at all. That said, they are close in the rankings (Maia is ranked 5th), so who knows?
I am fairly confident that MacDonald will rebound from this fight with another really great one. I think he had a lot of pressure on his shoulders and was up against a fighter who was just sticking-and-moving the entire match, without ever really coming in. MacDonald is still one of the top names in the division, so I think Joe Silva and Dana White will set him up with another big match to redeem himself in his next match-up (I honestly think Condit is the number one choice, win or lose against Kampmann).
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