UFC on FOX 8 results/photos: Rory MacDonald jabs his way past Jake Ellenberger

SEATTLE – It was the fight that got the most hype on Saturday’s card, but “Fight of the Night” it was not.

Still, Rory MacDonald jabbed his way past a careful Jake Ellenberger and may have punched his ticket to a welterweight title fight.

The welterweight bout was the co-main event of today’s UFC on FOX 8 event at KeyArena in Seattle. It aired on FOX following prelims on FX and Facebook.

MacDonald kicked and jabbed early while Ellenberger sat back a while and seemed to look for his opening. Ellenberger had a couple moments in the first half of the round where he tried to get inside, but he wasn’t able to land anything of significance. After three minutes of no highlight-reel action, the crowd got restless. At the 1:40 mark, Ellenberger got inside with a knee and a quick combo to the body. But the first was mostly a story of MacDonald’s jabs.

Ellenberger in the second again seemed to struggle with the reach advantage that helped MacDonald to pepper his left jab. With three minutes left, Ellenberger finally shot for a double. MacDonald stuffed it, but Ellenberger landed a good uppercut on the break. A high kick from MacDonald with 80 seconds left was just off the mark. Ellenberger tried to close the distance with 20 seconds left, but MacDonald moved just out of his reach, which, along with MacDonald’s jab, was the story of the fight.

MacDonald opened with a pair of third-round kicks, and Ellenberger probably knew he had to go into desperation mode. But he never got anything going until a minute left in the fight, when he landed a takedown and tried to work out of MacDonald’s guard. But there was nothing to be had on the ground, and MacDonald essentially cruised his way to the unanimous decision with a pair of 30-27s and a 29-28.

“I obviously look to finish fights, but he’s a good fighter, so what can you do?” MacDonald said. “I think I had him worried with the elbows because he didn’t want to come near me after that. That wasn’t my game plan, but I accomplished what I needed to do. I think I’m a better fighter than him. I definitely want to fight again before the end of the year. I don’t really have an opponent in mind, but we’ll see what doors open.”

MacDonald (15-1 MMA, 6-1 UFC) ran his win streak to five; he hasn’t lost in more than three years. Ellenberger (29-7 MMA, 8-3 UFC) had a two-fight win streak snapped and lost for just the second time in 10 fights.

Up-to-the-minute UFC on FOX 8 results include:

• Rory MacDonald def. Jake Ellenberger via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 30-27)
• Robbie Lawler def. Bobby Voelker via KO (head kick) – Round 2, 0:24
• Liz Carmouche def. Jessica Andrade via TKO (strikes) – Round 2, 3:57
• Jorge Masvidal def. Michael Chiesa via submission (D’Arce choke) – Round 2, 4:59
• Danny Castillo def. Tim Means via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
• Melvin Guillard def. Mac Danzig via KO (punches) – Round 2, 2:47
• Daron Cruickshank def. Yves Edwards via split decision (30-27, 27-30, 30-27)
• Ed Herman def. Trevor Smith via split decision (30-27, 27-30, 29-28)
• Germaine de Randamie def. Julie Kedzie via split decision (30-27, 28-29, 29-28)
• Justin Salas def. Aaron Riley via split decision (29-28, 28-29, 29-28)
• Yaotzin Meza def. John Albert via submission (rear-naked choke) – Round 2, 2:49

For complete coverage of UFC on FOX 8, stay tuned to the UFC Events section of the site.

John Morgan and Steven Marrocco contributed to this report on-site in Seattle.