A UFC legend’s run in the promotion ended shortly after one of the best fights of all time.
Rory MacDonald has recently re-emerged in the eyes of the combat sports world having recently helped Stephen Thompson prepare for his latest outing.
Thompson ended up being the last opponent that ‘Red King’ shared the Octagon with before he parted ways with the promotion due to his contract expiring.
While he went out on a loss, it was his previous fight that had many, including Dana White, questioning whether MacDonald would ever be the same again.
As difficult as any loss is, especially one with such high stakes, the 36-year-old now has a different perspective on his biggest setback.
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Rory MacDonald admits that winning the welterweight title at UFC 189 wouldn’t have been good for him at that moment in time
In the co-main event of UFC 189 in 2015, Robbie Lawler faced Rory MacDonald in a rematch for the welterweight title.
What followed was one of the greatest UFC fights of all time, where both men pushed each other to the limit until the challenger could no longer continue in the final round.
Lawler has spoken about how his opponent changed after their incredible back and forth battle that has defined both men’s careers.
While MacDonald didn’t attend the UFC Hall of Fame ceremony where the fight was inducted in 2023 because he didn’t want to celebrate a defeat, ‘Red King’ now has a different outlook on the result.
He spoke on The Ariel Helwani Show about how when he looks back at the outcome, he believes that while it would’ve been great to become a UFC champion, it wasn’t the right step for him at that stage in his life.
“I don’t have any bad feelings at all and I’m glad it came out the way it did… Actually, I think it was meant to be that I didn’t win that fight. I don’t think it would have been any good for me with where I was at in my life at that point to carry that.
“I don’t think I was mature enough. I definitely wasn’t. The choices I was making, definitely not. I’m happy with my personal growth but obviously, it would have been nice to have that.”
Rory MacDonald reflects on attending a UFC event for the first time in nearly a decade
Along with the injuries that he suffered at UFC 189, which would go on to be a consistent theme in his career, Rory MacDonald retired in 2022 after being burned out.
After disappearing from the spotlight for several years, the Canadian star recently re-emerged by taking part in UFC 315 fight week in Montreal this past May.
MacDonald said that he no longer had the drive to compete when speaking at that event, but his opinion on this has changed and he’s now back full-time in the gym.
‘Red King’ spoke about his experience of being back at a UFC event for the first time since his final bout inside the Octagon in 2016 during his appearance on The Ariel Helwani Show.
“It felt great. It felt refreshing. I missed it a bit annoyingly… I was reminiscing being backstage at weigh-ins and I even had my kids with me, my wife, and it was really cool. It was a cool moment that took me back to those moments that I was back there getting ready to get on stage for weigh-ins and fight week and all that.”