Issue 081
November 2011
Standing two feet from Rory MacDonald you can’t help but be struck by how softly spoken and shy the young Canadian is. Misleading. He should never be judged on his age outside the Octagon. When the door closes, he’s like a starving animal; pacing back and forth, his eyelids heavy and angular. He’s looking for his prey.
He has it all. Athleticism, brilliant transitions, an eye for openings and that finisher instinct. Experience, he will gain. He’s learning – or is it actually stalking? – in the shadow of Georges St-Pierre, with the UFC champion on a daily basis. MacDonald could be ready for GSP quite soon…
When I put this to him, he laughed nervously and shrugged it off. But don’t believe for a moment he hasn’t thought about it. “I feel I could beat anyone, but that’s my confidence. I know I have to keep my feet on the ground, I have so much more to evolve… GSP is helping me.” Of course he is.
John Chaimberg, his coach, and a clever man, knows this. Friends close… enemies closer. MacDonald wants revenge against Carlos Condit. MacDonald beat him like you would a cockroach, but couldn’t crush him. Rory also told me he would gladly fight Jon Fitch or any of the other top contenders.
UFC president Dana White insists MacDonald cannot be rushed, which is, of course, true. “He’s a force – and one of those talented athletes who would have played other sports. He’s really nasty.” But didn’t we hear the same thing 12 months ago from White in reference to Jon Jones? It’s on record.
Indeed, in October 2010, I worked with Jones at a UFC Fan Expo, and as we sat marooned in a car together in traffic on the way to the O2 Arena for UFC 120, he expressed the same sentiments escaping at present from MacDonald.
Five months later, Jones had an impromptu shot at the title, due to an injury to Rashad Evans, and was the UFC light heavyweight champion after munching through Ryan Bader and seeing off ‘Shogun’ Rua in a one-sided title fight. If you’re good enough, you’re old enough.
Ebersole for GSP…
Shout me down or call me bonkers if I’m way off the mark here, but having seen Brian Ebersole at close quarters in his first two UFC performances, is it beyond the pale to suggest that the unorthodox American fighter – who has taken seven years to become an overnight sensation – could also be seen as a legitimate challenger to Georges St-Pierre.
Certainly as tough as anyone else in the 170lb division, Ebersole has had over 70 MMA fights. Not all are on record. In Sydney, at UFC 127, he squeezed and harried his way out of Chris Lytle’s submission attempts and then battered him on the ground for a well-earned points decision. Lytle looked like he had been run over. I had a beer with Ebersole after, and there wasn’t a mark on him.
At UFC 133, he added Dennis Hallman to his record with a brutal TKO finish on the ground. Again, escaping numerous submission attempts – and Hallman’s escaping genitalia – to totally dominate. In my opinion Ebersole would pose problems all the way through the welterweight rankings. Perhaps seeing the veteran in against MacDonald would offer some clarity.
MMA in the Community…
Without wanting to make claims that mixed martial arts is the answer to societal ills (ref: recent teenage riots in the UK) it was difficult not to contemplate the role the sport can play in the community in the same way that boxing gyms once did.
The ripple effect of a good combat club in most communities has a galvanizing effect, to which politicians have been blind to for decades. Don’t ask me why? I’ve been banging my head against a wall for almost two decades in the offices of politicians trying to get the point across. They say they understand, but they fail to act. From housing projects in the US, to housing estates and inner cities in the UK, to the favelas of Brazil, MMA has a huge role to play. MMA in our communities is a ‘win-win’ for all.
