Rory MacDonald has been almost universally praised for his effort in defeat against Robbie Lawler in their classic slugfest at UFC 189 nearly two years ago.
In a bout that topped most of 2015’s “Fight of the Year” polls, MacDonald was on the verge of defeating Lawler before a left hand from “Ruthless” shattered his opponent’s already mangled nose 60 seconds into the fifth frame. Heading into the fifth, all three cageside judges had MacDonald up 39-37 on their scorecards, an impressive feat considering that the “Red King” likely had his nose broken in the opening stanza by one of the sport’s hardest hitters.