After suffering his first knockout loss of his professional MMA career in the opening round of the 2022 PFL Playoffs 2, Rory MacDonald has decided to hang up his gloves and retire from the sport.
MacDonald (23-10-1), a former Bellator welterweight champion and UFC title challenger, suffered his fourth loss in his last five fights on Saturday when he was knocked out by Dilano Taylor less than four minutes into their semifinal playoff bout at Cardiff Motorpoint Arena in Wales. The fight took place in Wales. MacDonald was a title challenger for the UFC title.
It’s possible that this choice has been percolating in your mind for some time now. MacDonald stated that he had begun to experience internal difficulties over his participation in the sport a number of years ago, particularly in regard to the manner in which he dealt injury to opponents.
Since then, the outcomes have gradually but inexorably deteriorated into a more undesirable state. Over the course of the last three years, MacDonald has a record of 3-5.
MacDonald’s career in the sport has been lengthy and arduous, despite the fact that he is only 33 years old. In October of 2005, when he was only 16 years old, he made his debut in the professional ranks and started his career with a perfect record of 10-0.
After winning his first octagon match in January 2010, the Canadian was given the opportunity to compete in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). Carlos Condit, a former interim champion of the UFC, was nearly knocked out during the Canadian’s second outing in the octagon.
After that, MacDonald amassed a string of impressive triumphs inside the octagon, including victory over Nate Diaz, B.J. Penn, Demian Maia, and Tyron Woodley, among others.
The defeat that MacDonald suffered at the hands of Robbie Lawler in their title fight at UFC 189 in July 2015 was the defining moment, as it was voted Fight of the Year. During the fight, he received a significant amount of damage, and thereafter, he never appeared to be the same as he was before the fight.
Following his departure from the UFC, MacDonald signed with Bellator and made his debut with the organization in May of 2017. After defeating Douglas Lima for the promotion’s welterweight championship, he went on to lose the belt in a subsequent fight.
After that, MacDonald signed with the PFL, where he had a record of 2-4, with victories over Brett Cooper and Curtis Millender. Both in 2021 and 2022, he was eliminated in the semifinals of the welterweight playoffs.
