We’ve heard commentary about the evolution of MMA — how fighters can no longer reach the upper echelons of the sport on work ethic and determination alone, and how younger fighters, who have only trained MMA from their inception, promise to elevate the sport to previously unattainable heights.
One such young talent is rising UFC welterweight star, Rory MacDonald. He’s not a Golden Gloves boxer or a world champion Tae Kwon Do fighter, and he’s never won an NCAA wrestling title. No, Rory MacDonald has a background in one thing and one thing only—mixed martial arts. Combined with raw talent and a cold, calculating demeanor, MacDonald is as purely concieved as a modern fighter can be. Carrying a formidable 13-1 professional record (4-1 in the UFC), he is set to take on a legend in Hawaii’s B.J. Penn. The scary thing? He’s still years away from reaching his full potential and hes’s only 23.
Fighting at the top of a stacked division (one ruled by his own teammate and mentor Georges St-Pierre), MacDonald’s future is sure to be one filled with tests worthy of the most stalwart warrior. On page 50, Chuck Mindenhall takes us into the mind of one of MMA’s most enigmatic young fighters to find out how he intends to handle the seemingly inevitable clash between himself and the champion who took him under wing. As it turns out, MacDonald has a plan.
Ladd Dunwoody
Editor-in-Chief
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