21 year old welterweight Rory MacDonald beats Nate Diaz by unanimous decision at UFC 129.
What was the high spot of this fight?
In the third round, Rory MacDonald executed three beautiful high slam takedowns. Easily the high point of a tremendous performance.
Where do these guys go from here?
Rory MacDonald was fantastic in victory. I had concerns that a long layoff would render him less effective and lead to possible issues with his endurance as the fight wore on. Instead, Rory seemed to get stronger throughout as he bested Diaz on the feet and the ground. I still would love to see a rematch with Carlos Condit but if that is out of the question a fight against someone like fellow UFC 129 fighter Jake Ellenberger holds a certain appeal.
As for Nate Diaz? I’m sure we’ll see him continue on as a Spike TV fixture both on Fight Night cards and pay-per-view prelims. He didn’t find success at lightweight but he looks like he’s getting outsized at welterweight. I don’t really know what is in the future but he’s an exciting fighter and one that I’m sure the UFC is not looking to let go.
Watch it now, later, or never?
MacDonald is very possibly the future of 170 pounds. I can’t tell you to watch every single fight on the card now, so I’ll make this a “watch it later” but seriously…watch it.
More UFC 129 Results and Analysis from Bloody Elbow after the jump.
- Next Day Thoughts – Donna Hurrle
- GSP Tried to Force the KO Against Jake Shields – Kid Nate
- Jose Aldo Continues Fight for Mainstream Recognition – David St. Martin
- Georges St. Pierre vs. Anderson Silva Loses Steam – Brent Brookhouse
- Great Judging Should Be Applauded Sometimes – Tim Burke
- UFC Hits Home Run With UFC 129 Live Experience – Matt Bishop
- Zuffa and the UFC Finally Hit It Big – Matthew Roth
- Hours After, GSP Still Can’t See With His Left Eye – Anton Tabuena
- UFC 129 Play by Play and Live Commentary – Brent Brookhouse
- Is Steven Seagal Secretly a Martial Arts Genius? – Jonathan Snowden
- Georges St. Pierre Holds Back UFC’s Canadian Coming Out Party at UFC 129 – Jonathan Snowden
- UFC 129 Post-Fight Press Conference Video
- Georges St. Pierre Slips Past Jake Shields
- Jose Aldo Holds Off Mark Hominick
- Lyoto Machida Clouts Randy Couture
- Vladimir Matyushenko Mops the Floor With Jason Brilz
- Ben Henderson Whips Up On Mark Bocek
- Rory MacDonald Ragdolls Nate Diaz
- Jake Ellenberger Brutalizes Sean Pierson
- Claude Patrick Edges Daniel Roberts
- Pablo Garza Submits Yves Jabouin
- John Makdessi KO’s Kyle Watson With Spinning Back Fist
- Jason MacDonald Triangles Ryan Jensen
- Ivan Menjivar Clocks Charlie Valencia