UFC 189's Rory MacDonald: 'My hunger was not there' in first fight with Lawler

MONTREAL – Rory MacDonald admits his passion for competition had fizzled prior to his first encounter with Robbie Lawler at UFC 167. The Canadian wasn’t the first to make that claim and there’s a good chance he’s not the last, either.

Unfortunately for MacDonald (18-2 MMA, 9-2 UFC), his low point came at a crucial time. A time in which had not lost to Lawler (24-10 MMA, 10-4 UFC) by split decision at the November 2013 event, he would have earned a UFC welterweight championship fight.

MacDonald will finally get his title shot nearly 19 months later in a rematch with now-champion Lawler at UFC 189 on July 11. Although he experienced stumbles along the way, MacDonald believes that sometimes the longer and more difficult road is ultimately the best one.

The 25-year-old said he wasn’t in the proper physical or mental state for the first meeting with “Ruthless.” MacDonald claims he went into the fight with a lingering injury and did not have the “fire” needed to defeat an opponent of Lawler’s caliber.

“I had a couple things in training and my body wasn’t feeling good; I just lost motivation,” MacDonald told MMAjunkie. “I couldn’t train as hard as I usually did and the injury kind of made me not focused. It just made me not into it. I think it was just my hunger was not there. I wasn’t really into the fight at that point.

“Before that fight I was like, ‘Oh, I just kind of want this to be over.’ I wasn’t really interested in fighting. I just wanted to get it over and done with and just relax.”

MacDonald said the severity of the ankle injury raised questions about whether he should compete. Injuries have forced MacDonald to withdraw from five UFC fights during his career and he said he wasn’t interested in pulling out again.

“I had people telling me I shouldn’t fight, but I did it anyways,” MacDonald said. “I said that I was going to do it. I don’t think the fight was signed, but I said I was going to do it. I had got injured like two or three fights in a row and I was just sick of it. I kind of came to the conclusion that you can’t be perfect in every fight.”

Despite the training camp hindrances and a lack of motivation, MacDonald put up a solid, and arguably even winning, effort against Lawler. It was a closely contested three-round fight, but the most significant moment came in the third round when Lawler connected with a left hook that briefly dropped MacDonald.

One judge thought MacDonald won the fight, the other two sided with Lawler, who got the win then captured the UFC belt just a few fights later.

MacDonald said he expects the complexion of the rematch to be entirely different. Injuries and mental focus are non-issues, MacDonald said, and the 25-minute time period provides “Red King” with more time and freedom to implement his tactics. The first fight was closely contested and MacDonald believes only minor adjustments are necessary to get the edge.

“My skills come a long way; my focus has changed since that fight and I’m just a little more determined to get in there and actually fight,” MacDonald said. “I don’t think I was focused on the actual fighting. I was a little distracted, a little less motivated to actually do martial arts at that point in my life.

“It was a close fight. Technical. My heart wasn’t in it and I just wasn’t there. That’s how I felt anyway. … I have a lot more techniques (now). I have a lot more skills to show in this fight than what we had last time. I’ll be better prepared mentally and physically. That’s going to show itself.”

MacDonald appears to have reached a new level of competition following the first bout with Lawler. He’s won three consecutive fights and that includes mostly one-sided efforts against Tarec Saffiedine, Tyron Woodley and Demian Maia.

Since he made his UFC debut in early 2010, MacDonald has been assigned as championship material. For the first portion of his career he was allowed to flourish in the shadow of teammate and former 170-pound titleholder Georges St-Pierre. After St-Pierre took a hiatus from the sport in December 2013, though, MacDonald has elevated to the forefront and begun to realize his full potential.

MacDonald believes his skills are at the necessary level required to take the title from Lawler in the UFC 189 co-main event at Las Vegas’ MGM Grand Garden Arena. The main card airs on pay-per-view following prelims on FOX Sports 1 and UFC Fight pass.

Winning a fight isn’t entirely about skills, though, as MacDonald has already learned. The outcome can be decided by which side is better focused and prepared. MacDonald has hovered around a UFC title fight for several years. Now that it’s here, he said he doesn’t intend to let the opportunity slip away.

“The difference is this time I want to fight; I’m looking forward to being in there and having the blood on my face and being in the heat of battle,” MacDonald said. “I don’t think he’s as dynamic in his skills than me, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be a hard fight.”

For more on UFC 189, check out the UFC Rumors section of the site.