Zahabi: Lawler an inspiration for Rory MacDonald's rebirth at UFC 170

The plan for Rory MacDonald‘s next fight is to not set much of a plan.

That’s according to his longtime trainer, Firas Zahabi, who on Thursday told MMAjunkie Radio that he’s hired new coaches to push the idea that MacDonald (15-2 MMA, 6-2 UFC) stay loose and limber against submission specialist Demian Maia (18-5 MMA, 12-5 UFC).

“He has to go in there and read and react, and not just have a cemented game plan,” Zahabi said. “The game plan has to be flexible. Ground-and-pound and MMA jiu-jitsu is very different from Brazilian jiu-jitsu.”

Fans will find out whether MacDonald’s grappling is on par with Maia’s when they meet on the pay-per-view main card of UFC 170, which takes place Saturday at Las Vegas’ Mandalay Bay Events Center.

To combat Maia’s threat on the ground, Zahabi said he brought in extra help while MacDonald prepared for the fight at Montreal’s Tristar Gym. He hired Matthew Miller, a freestyle wrestling coach, and Travis Stevens, a two-time Olympian in judo.

“[Stevens] came in and helped us with Maia’s unique method of taking people down,” Zahabi said. “[Maia] doesn’t really use judo or just wrestling; he uses a blend of the two. I have more coaching stuff. I share the credit, share the workload, and get the job done.”

Maia, a decorated submission grappler before transitioning into MMA, has submitted seven opponents inside the octagon, though he’s relied far more on striking in his later UFC career and gone to the scorecards in nine of his past 11 fights, including an unsuccessful bid for the middleweight belt against former champ Anderson Silva.

MacDonald is seasoned at outwrestling opponents and damaging them with ground-and-pound, so Zahabi isn’t necessarily concerned with whether his fighter will be able to survive. Moreso, it’s about what he does when that time comes.

“I don’t think it’s panic mode at all,” he said. “But the ground, it’s too general. Are you on top or on the bottom? If you want to go to the ground, make sure you’re on top. A guy like Maia is dangerous off his back, but it’s safer than a grappling match. You can hit the guy, you can break his ribs, you can do a lot of great things from the top position.”

The other way around, with MacDonald on his back, Zahabi feels differently.

“It’s no secret,” he said. “You don’t want to go on the bottom with Demian Maia; it’s not a place where he’s very vulnerable.”

Recently, the 24-year-old MacDonald looked more frail than usual in a split decision loss to Robbie Lawler, who subsequently got a shot at the now-vacant welterweight title against Johny Hendricks at UFC 171. MacDonald took heavy punches and wasn’t able to dominate the pace and positions of the fight, as he often is.

Zahabi, though, said the effects of the loss won’t be known until MacDonald steps into the cage and performs against Maia.

“It’s not a bad thing if you learn from it,” he said. “It remains to be seen whether it was a good thing or a bad thing for this young fighter’s career. The Robbie Lawler was a good fight to prepare us for future lessons. A great inspiration to look from is Robbie himself. He got cut from the UFC. His career took a major detour, and now look: He’s fighting for the world championship, and he’s an inspiring guy.”

Of course, MacDonald has another major inspiration to look to – Georges St-Pierre, who stepped away from the belt to set up the UFC 171 title fight. St-Pierre remains a presence at Tristar, Zahabi said, and provides a road map for fighters looking to follow in his footsteps.

There was a time when many thought MacDonald’s success would lead him to a fight with St-Pierre, but with that now out of the way, Zahabi said his fighter is focused on moving forward.

Asked whether he planned for MacDonald to follow in St-Pierre’s footsteps, Zahabi said, “That’s the plan.”

For the latest on UFC 170, stay tuned to the UFC Rumors section of the site.

MMAjunkie Radio broadcasts Monday-Friday at noon ET (9 a.m. PT) live from Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino’s Race & Sports Book. The show is hosted by “Gorgeous” George Garcia, MMAjunkie lead staff reporter John Morgan and producer Brian “Goze” Garcia. For more information or to download past episodes, go to www.mmajunkie.com/radio.