Bongfeldt Replaces MacDonald against Natal at UFC 124

Jason MacDonald file photo: Andy Cotterill | Sherdog.com

Jason MacDonald's road back to the Octagon just got a little bit longer.

“The Athlete” was last seen in the UFC writing in pain after a broken leg ended his night against John Salter at UFC 113 in May. MacDonald reportedly suffered an injury during training that will prevent him from returning as scheduled at UFC 124 to face Rafael Natal on Dec. 11 at the Bell Centre in Montreal. The nature of MacDonald's injury is unknown at this time. Replacing him will be fellow Canadian Jesse “Water” Bongfeldt.

The news was reported via Twitter late last night by Natal's management company, Dominance MMA.

Bongfeldt will be making his promotional debut and is riding a seven-fight win streak, including a submission victory over UFC veteran T.J. Grant. The owner of 27 career fights, Bongfeldt has fought for both King of the Cage and TKO, becoming the latter's last welterweight champion before the promotion folded. He owns more than half of his victories by submission. The Canadian has won 12 of his last 13 bouts, losing only to UFC veteran Jonathan Goulet in that span. “Water” has not fought since September 2009, when he scored a 37-second knockout over Nolan Clark at Rumble in the Cage 36.

Natal is coming off a disappointing UFC debut in which he fell to Rich Attonito by unanimous decision at UFC Fight Night in September. Like Bongfeldt, “Sapo” owns more than half of his career victories by submission. The BJJ black belt trains with the Gracie Fusion team in New York and holds a knockout win over “TUF 4” champion Travis Lutter.

The event will be headlined by a rematch between Georges St. Pierre and Josh Koscheck for St. Pierre's welterweight title. The pair originally fought at UFC 74 in 2007 in a matchup that saw St. Pierre shock the former All-American wrestler by repeatedly taking him down en route to a unanimous decision victory. The two are opposing coaches on season 12 of “The Ultimate Fighter.”