Rory MacDonald says he needed to lose and guarantees: 'I'm very motivated'

R.McDonald (photo) fell one position in the welterweight rankings. Photo: Josh Hedges/UFC

Anyone who thinks that is mistaken Rory McDonald is disappointed with the defeat to Robbie Lawler at UFC 167. The setback, which dropped the Canadian in the welterweight rankings and kept him from a possible title fight, was seen positively by MacDonald, who even admitted that he was comfortable in the midst of a great positive sequence. In an interview with the “MMA Fighting” website, Rory assured that now, however, he has regained his motivation.

“Everything was coming very easy for me in the last three years, since I lost to Carlos (Condit). The fights were going really smoothly, and I just felt like, 'Wow, this is getting really easy!'. So I kind of let my guard down a little bit. I needed to lose. I needed to get in a tough fight. I'm very motivated, more than ever now. I'm very hungry. I feel like I have that fire again”, assured the Canadian.

Criticized after his last fights for adopting a bureaucratic style, MacDonald echoed the negative comments and was dissatisfied with his most recent performances. “I want to express myself when I'm inside, like an artist painting a picture. It's basically self-expression for me, and I haven't done that in these last two fights this year. I didn't like them. I didn't leave the cage knowing I had fun. Normally, win or lose, in my fights in the past, I've always had fun. This year, I didn’t have fun fighting,” he said.

Finally, the Canadian also revealed that he is already negotiating his next fight and, even without revealing the name of his opponent, he sent an intimidating message to whoever might share the Octagon with him. “It (my next fight) should be announced soon, I’m sure. Not a bad fight, that's for sure. It's very motivating. I have that fire back and it feels good. When I think about fighting, I want to go in there and crush someone. I want my opponent to cry in the locker room. I want them to be scared of me. I just want to hurt someone, and that's the kind of mentality you need to have. In 2013, it wasn't like that for me. But now it is,” he concluded.