MacDonald vs. Thompson
UFC Fight Night: MacDonald vs. Thompson goes down this weekend in Ottawa, Canada.
In the headliner, we have perhaps the most interesting welterweight bout available to us right now. Former title challenger and acclaimed future champion Rory “The Red King” MacDonald will defend his Canadian home soil against surging striking specialist Stephen “Wonderboy” Thompson.
Rory MacDonald
We last saw MacDonald in a bloodbath and Fight of the Year when he threatened Robbie Lawler for his welterweight title. While MacDonald eventually succumbed to a broken nose via Lawler’s left straight, we got to see MacDonald’s potential as he nearly finished Lawler, and was ahead on points before being stopped in the fifth round. This was the second fight between Lawler and MacDonald; the first one resulted in a split decision win for Lawler in a three-round fight.
Since his last fight, MacDonald has taken nearly a year off from competing.
This raises a lot of questions: Obviously, it’s good that he took time off to recover, but one needs to question where he is at physically and mentally. Rory has said that he believes the fight was beneficial, and that it was the best thing to ever happen to him.
MacDonald proved that he was at a champion caliber, but he also came under the brutal reality that there is a mad man tougher and more psychotic than him. But what exactly can MacDonald take away from that? I suppose there are mental benefits from being involved in a truly humbling experience, but I question how MacDonald will grow technically from that fight.
To put things simply – I don’t think MacDonald was at a skill deficit against Lawler. Lawler outlasted Rory in a battle of attrition, pain tolerance and mental fortitude. That’s not to say there weren’t areas that Lawler bested MacDonald, but it will be interesting to see how much MacDonald can grow from that fight.
Rory MacDonald’s Techniques & Style
Rory is perhaps one of the most technically-sound fighters in the welterweight division with only a handful of men close to challenge. Nevertheless, MacDonald has shown some different looks in the past. Early on, Rory was a ground-and-pound artist who relied on his physical advantages to bully his opponents; always looking to deal damage no matter the position.
But he has evolved.
Against BJ Penn, Demian Maia, and Tyron Woodley, he showcased very aggressive Octagon control as he continually had his opponent backed against the cage. Doing so minimized the opponent’s movement, and allowed MacDonald to have the whole Octagon to move around in case of escape.
When it comes to offense, the first thing to discuss is his potent jab. Let’s not forget how he systematically shut down a prime Jake Ellenberger with virtually only this weapon. MacDonald is typically content to sit at range and pot-shot his opponent with single kicks and jabs, but if his opponent stands his ground to exchange, Rory is more than willing to oblige.
MacDonald is a reader; he reads his opponent’s movement and calculates it so when it’s time to attack, he brings the right tool for the job. We saw this when he knocked out Tarec Saffiedine. In that fight, Saffiedine was having success throwing shot-for-shot with Rory at range (in particular his leg kicks), but once Tarec started to exchange more, he was vastly out-gunned.
While we haven’t seen much of MacDonald’s grappling skills as of late, we know he is wise beyond his years. He stays calm in tense situations (survived the first round with Demian Maia on his back), and possesses a strong, controlling top game very similar to that of training partner Georges St. Pierre.
Stephen Thompson
At 7-1 in the UFC, Stephen Thompson is one of the most exciting and dangerous fighters in the division. Thompson blends traditional martial arts in with modern MMA approaches to bring an aesthetically-pleasing, unorthodox fighting style. He poses a very unique challenge to most fighters because of how well he commands distance, and how difficult it is to train for his style.
In his last fight, Thompson took out former welterweight champion Johny Hendricks in the first round as he obliterated him from the outside with kicks, counters, movement, and well-timed blitzes. Hendricks had never been stopped before, even after two back-to-back fights with Robbie Lawler. This is a testament to how dangerous Thompson is. His punching power may not seem that prevalent, but the accuracy, variety, and timing of his strikes can finish off even the toughest of opponents.
After his TKO win over Johny Hendricks, Thompson was expecting a title shot. Unfortunately, he was passed over by Tyron Woodley, and finds himself matched up against Rory MacDonald. From what I’ve seen, this doesn’t appear to phase Thompson at all. He has spoken before about how he welcomes the challenge of Rory MacDonald. I believe Thompson is mentally and physically in his prime.
Stephen Thompson’s Techniques & Style
In Robin Black’s breakdown of this fight, he mentions how Thompson’s main weapons are in his right foot. When he stands southpaw (right foot forward), he stands extremely bladed (hips almost perpendicular to the opponent), and very light on his right foot. He whips the lead leg up with virtually no telegraph, and his flexibility allows him to attack from different angles. He can throw the leg up the middle, hook it from left to right, throw it round from right to left, and even spin to throw it from the opposite direction. He can throw his right leg with as many angles as someone can with their punches.
When it comes to Thompson’s hands, he typically resorts to straight punches. He often uses his fancy movement and kicks to mesmerize his opponent, and then darts forward in straight lines, blitzing his opponent with punches. He also responds very well when his opponents move forward and miss; he’s very quick to pull the trigger and enter back into range. Doing this has put him in some danger though, most recently against Jake Ellenberger when Thompson was met with a hard right hand counter that dropped him early in the fight.
Because of how dangerous Thompson is on the feet, one can expect most opponents will look take him down. Hendricks, arguably the division’s best wrestler, struggled to do this as Thompson’s circular movement proved difficult to intercept. Even when Hendricks was able to pin Thompson against the cage, Thompson circled off with little issue. Rather than just securing the standard underhooks or a Whizzer to defend takedowns, Thompson’s takedown defense starts way earlier in the sequence with evasive footwork and his resistant behavior against the cage. Thompson’s entire game revolves around maintaining distance between him and his opponent.
How They Match Up
Like I said in the beginning, MacDonald vs. Thompson is one of the most intriguing bouts on the table for this year. I’m only hoping that we’ll get to see multiple rounds so we can really appreciate the skill level between these two.
It’s going to be very interesting to see how MacDonald receives Thompson’s distance striking. Will he embrace the challenge and try to out-strike Thompson at range like he did against Ellenberger and Lawler? Or will he march forward with his patented aggressive footwork and try to crowd Thompson like he did against Woodley and Maia?
If he chooses to strike with Thompson and let Thompson control distance, I think Rory will be in trouble. As good as Rory is at exchanging long-range strikes, he’s going up against a guy who has been mastering this range his whole life and has more weapons. In addition, MacDonald likes to calculate his opponent before committing to his attacks; doing so will only help Thompson establish his rhythm and feel.
If he tries to crowd Thompson, then I think we’ll get a competitive fight. Thompson’s game is evolving to deal with opponents who want to do this, so expect him to be well-equipped at dealing with MacDonald’s forward pressure. MacDonald will have to bring something to the table that disrupts Thompson’s status-quo. Robin Black hinted at catching Thompson’s kicks, something MacDonald and other Tri-Star fighters have showed to be in their arsenal.
Something MacDonald might also be able to exploit is Thompson’s forward blitzes. He may be able to crowd and pressure Thompson against the cage in order to draw out a blitz, when that happens Rory can be ready with counters. Doing this will put both men in danger, but it may be what MacDonald has to do in order to get some fair exchanges on the feet, because I don’t see MacDonald being able to land anything very meaningful at range.
If MacDonald can draw out a blitz and use it grab ahold of Thompson instead – that’d be even better. While Hendricks failed to impose his wrestling on Thompson, MacDonald could at least use his grappling to land some punishing strikes. We saw Matt Brown land effective strikes in the clinch as he used elbows and knees to batter Thompson in what was just Thompson’s second UFC bout.
In Summary
Once again, a big x-factor in MacDonald vs. Thompson going to be how much MacDonald has grown from the Lawler fight – or if he has grown at all. Assuming MacDonald is a better fighter now than he was against Lawler, I think we’re going to have a very competitive and beautiful contest between two brilliant welterweights.
I’m very curious about how MacDonald is going to approach this fight. Thompson is coming in with a very defined and specific goal – stay at range. If he can do this, then I see him winning. However, the more MacDonald can close the distance, the more opportunities open up for MacDonald and the more the opportunities close for Thompson.
Thompson’s entire game revolves around him striking from comfort at a distance while MacDonald has shown to sometimes be a pressure fighter and sometimes be a distance fighter. Because of this, I’m leaning towards Thompson to win this fight with a more specialized skill set. The problem with specialized skill sets is that fighters don’t have much to fall back on if they can’t establish their game right away. MacDonald has never been known to be a quick starter by any means, and his calmness in the Octagon could work against him here by letting Thompson establish his rhythm early.
MacDonald vs. Thompson will take place this Saturday in Ottawa, Canada, live on Fox Sports 1. Do not miss this fight because it’s going to be a fantastic match up! If you enjoyed this breakdown, be sure to share it!
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