rory macdonaldWhen it comes to earning(or giving ) UFC title shots there are often times there’s no rhyme or reason as to why a fighter is in that position. Sometimes a fighter runs the gauntlet of top contenders (Johny Hendricks), other times by fan demand (Nick Diaz), and other times by default/dominant champion cleaning out a division (Jake Shields). A new welterweight champion was crowned on Saturday night at UFC 171 when Johny Hendricks outlasted Robbie Lawler to win a unanimous decision in an instant classic.

The task now is identifying who Hendricks will defend the title against first, and according to UFC commentator Joe Rogan that fighter should be Rory MacDonald.

No. Not even close.

Let’s a take a look at Rory MacDonald (16-2) and exactly what he has done to earn a title shot:

  • Nate Diaz-Is really a lightweight fighter that was fighting at welterweight at the time
  • Mike Pyle-Good journeyman fighter
  • Che Mills-Not in the UFC anymore
  • BJ Penn-Is really a lightweight fighter and was well past his prime
  • Jake Ellenberger-Legit top 10 welterweight…MacDonald won in a snooze fest..almost everybody wasn’t impressed with his performance here
  • Robbie Lawler-He lost to the current #1 contender
  • Demian Maia-Maia is a top 10 welterweight and MacDonald fought well after surviving a tough first round

So what exactly has MacDonald done to earn a title shot? He beat up a bunch of journeymen and smaller fighters. He won a lackluster decision against a legit guy, lost to a legit guy, and then beat a legit guy. It’s not like MacDonald has a legion of cult fans like Nick Diaz. He may be able to draw well in Canada, but why should Hendricks have to defend his title on the home turf against MacDonald?

I think MacDonald should have to win another fight before being granted a title shot. A fight with Hector Lombard makes all the sense in the world and would certainly clear the small log jam in the welterweight division.

The next UFC welterweight title shot should go to Tyron Woodley in my opinion. He has won three of his last four fights and finished all three of his opponents in the wins, including former interim champion Carlos Condit. Some may view the Condit win as a fluke, but Woodley was handling him before the injury occurred. Some may say he beat up a washed up Josh Koscheck in the fight before that. Well, it’s true that the loss to Woodley was the third consecutive loss for Koscheck. The other two losses came against Robbie Lawler and Johny Hendricks, and some thought Koscheck beat Hendricks in their fight. Also, the bout could be billed using the wrestling credentials KO power of Woodley and Hendricks as both fighters were All-American wrestlers in college, and both have devastating KO power in their hands.

I laid my case out against Rory MacDonald and for Tyron Woodley, let’s hear you lay our your arguments for whomever you think should get the next title shot in the comments section.

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6 thoughts on “Why Rory MacDonald doesn’t deserve the next UFC welterweight title shot”
  1. Rory lost a split decision to the guy that should be holding the title right now. Woodley lost to Jake Shields. This is just to use your logic to show how you go around in circles only to discredit MacDonald. Get some real arguments, chump. Rogan’s argument is that MacDonald is the best fighter in the division to challenge Hendricks. Technically, MacDonald is above Diaz and Woodley. A fight with Hendricks won’t be as explosive as Woodley, but it would be the best mixed martial arts display.

  2. 100% agree. Rory lost a split decision to the current #1 contender and than got back on the winning track against a top ten guy.

  3. You really think Lawler should have gotten the decision over Hendricks? Wow…I’ll just stop responding to you right now…thanks for reading though.

  4. if you think it’s not even worth discussing then I have to really question your understanding of MMA and stop reading you now-

  5. There’s nothing to discuss….Hendricks won the first two rounds…Lawler won the next two…last round was back and forth with Hendricks taking over about halfway through…it was one of the best fights I’ve seen…but there is absolutely no case for Lawler winning that fight.

  6. this is what happens when baseball players with degrees in phys ed write stuff about mma

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