Rory MacDonald announces retirement following PFL elimination?
Is MMA veteran and former welterweight world champion Rory MacDonald calling it a career?
Following his loss to Dilano Taylor in the PFL playoffs, MMA welterweight veteran Rory MacDonald took off his gloves and exited the cage, his future uncertain (and definitely in doubt at least).
Now, in a new social media post, MacDonald has confirmed that he is stepping away from active competition in the cage.
“My time has come to put the gloves down for good,” MacDonald said in a social media statement. “I’m so thankful for this sport and every person I’ve been able to meet along the way.”
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Rory MacDonald retires from MMA after a 17-year career
MacDonald made his professional MMA debut at just 16 years old in October 2005, scoring a first-round submission. Most of his early bouts came in King of the Cage, where he was a lightweight champion before moving up to welterweight.
MacDonald made his UFC debut in January 2010, defeating Mike Guymon via first-round submission. He’d suffer his first career loss in his next bout to Carlos Condit, but he and Condit came away with the UFC 115 Fight of the Night.
MacDonald then went on a five-fight win streak that included victories over Nate Diaz, B.J. Penn and Jake Ellenberger before a narrow decision loss to Robbie Lawler at UFC 167.
Following wins over Demian Maia, Tyron Woodley and Tarec Saffiedine, MacDonald got another shot at Lawler, this time in the co-main event of UFC 189 for the welterweight title. In one of the greatest fights in MMA history, MacDonald came close to defeating Lawler before ultimately being stopped in the fifth.
After a loss to Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson one year later, MacDonald jumped to Bellator MMA, making his promotional debut at Bellator 179 in May 2017, submitting Paul Daley. MacDonald then scored a decision over Douglas Lima at Bellator 192 in January 2018 to capture the Bellator welterweight championship.
MacDonald fell short in trying to capture the Bellator middleweight title from Gegard Mousasi before defending the welterweight title in the Bellator Welterweight Grand Prix. In the tournament, he drew with Jon Fitch and defeated Neiman Gracie before dropping the title back to Lima in the final.
MacDonald then signed with the PFL as a free agent by the end of 2019 but would have to wait until 2021 to make his PFL debut due to the COVID-19 pandemic. MacDonald’s 2021 PFL season saw him submit Curtis Millender before losing a highly controversial decision to Gleison Tibau. He’d lose to eventual champion Ray Cooper in the semifinals.
MacDonald’s 2022 campaign in the PFL saw him submit Brett Cooper but lose to Sadibou Sy before being knocked out by Taylor.
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