Rory MacDonald battled through massive injuries on Saturday before losing to UFC welterweight champion Robbie Lawler via knockout, and it has since emerged that he broke his nose and right foot during the bout.
Greg Beacham of the Associated Press revealed MacDonald's nose was broken as early as the first round, while his coach Firas Zahabi added that he also fractured his right foot, via Ariel Helwani of MMAFighting.com:
Dana White says Rory MacDonald's nose got broken in the first round. Couldn't see or breathe. Afterward, he didn't know what year it was.
— Greg Beacham (@gregbeacham) July 12, 2015
Rory MacDonald suffered a fractured nose and fractured right foot, per his coach @Firas_Zahabi.
— Ariel Helwani (@arielhelwani) July 12, 2015
If anything, the extent of those injuries puts MacDonald's performance in an even greater light after what will undoubtedly be remembered as one of the best fights of 2015 and the highlight of the UFC 189 card.
A thumping left from Lawler stifled MacDonald's challenge for the welterweight title at Las Vegas' MGM Grand, but MacDonald's reputation won't have suffered from the commendable defeat.
