R. MacDonald. Photo: Josh Hedges/UFC
Last Saturday night (16) was definitely not the best for Rory McDonald. In addition to having suffered his second defeat in his career, losing to Robbie Lawler In the judges' split decision, the Canadian heard criticism from his boss, UFC president Dana White, who accused him of being too passive in his fights.
MacDonald had already received criticism for his performance against Jake ellenberger, in a fight considered by many to be one of the biggest disappointments of the year. This caused White to reveal his frustration with the 24-year-old fighter.
“I can't tell if he doesn't let go or if he's just not that complete. He's very one-dimensional. He has the style of canceling a fight. His style is simply to make sure there is no action,” said the manager. “I think he annoys a lot of fighters when he starts doing that and then it ends up being a staring contest.”
However, White stated that he already imagined that Lawler could find holes in MacDonald's game. “Before the fight, I said it was the perfect marriage for MacDonald, because Robbie Lawler would force him to fight. Lawler has this style of wrestling, good hands and power to hurt, so you need to fight in a completely different way than you are used to,” he assessed.
With the result of the fight, MacDonald dropped to fourth place among welterweights in the official UFC rankings, losing one position to Lawler, who jumped to third.
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