When thinking about the welterweight division at the moment, it’s very simple. There’s one man who rules the seas in Georges St Pierre. Then there are a couple very dangerous sharks who circle the shallows for anyone who dares to brave the waters of one of the most dangerous weight classes in the sport.
Ask anyone who is a force in the welterweights, and you will hear the likes of Johny Hendricks, Carlos Condit, Nick Diaz, etc..
One of these young killers is Rory Macdonald. He’s only 23, and is easily one of the best in the business at the moment. Where many fighters are dangerous because of what they have accomplished, Rory is scary because of what he appears to be capable of.
People generally believe Rory is capable of being the next welterweight champion of the world. But with his upcoming fight against Jake Ellenberger on the last Saturday of the month, he will either fall down the ladder, or cement his argument for a shot at the belt.
With his size and complete fighting style between crisp striking and grappling abilities, he has options when the cage door shuts. Yet against Jake, any direction he decides to take in the cage will be met with adversity.
Where Rory has been able to find success at out wrestling his opponents, Jake is capable of testing this strategy further than anyone has before. Other than the champ GSP, or #1 contender in Hendricks, this could be the biggest test for Rory right now.
There styles are very similar in the way they move around the Octagon, both are probably planning on moving right through their opponent, and neither has been met by an opponent of equal physicality or strength. That’s a formula for a very entertaining bout. It also promises a very entertaining finish, one way or the other.
This one may comes down to momentum, not skill. This was obviously in the forefront of UFC matchmaker Joe Silva’s mind when he paired these two.
Rory has put away his last four opponents with relative ease, recently ending BJ Penn’s career in dominate fashion. His only loss happened very early in his career during his second UFC appearance against Carlos Condit.
Condit stole the show in the third round with a TKO victory, but go back and watch the fight to see who had the edge all the way up until the final moments.
Jake also lost to Condit a few years back in 2009, but by split decision. Since then he has picked off eight of his last nine opponents. His only loss among that crew was a crazy TKO loss to Martin Kampmann, of whom would be hard pressed to repeat the success he had in that one in 2012.
So if Rory gets past Jake, what happens if GSP successfully defends his belt against Hendricks at UFC 157? Would these two training partners fight? These questions and more will most likely be next for Rory after the co-main event of UFC on FOX, July 27th.
~ UFC 162: Chris Weidman KO’d the greatest in Anderson Silva, now change is a comin’