Rory MacDonald (born July 22, 1989) is a Canadian former mixed martial artist who most recently competed in the welterweight division of the Professional Fighters League (PFL). Prior to signing with the PFL, MacDonald competed for Bellator MMA, where he is a former Bellator Welterweight World Champion. Having been a professional competitor since 2005, MacDonald was a top contender in the UFC with an overall UFC record of 9–4. He challenged for the UFC Welterweight Championship at UFC 189 against then-champion Robbie Lawler in a bout widely considered one of the greatest of all time and for which both fighters were inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame. He is also a former King of the Cage Lightweight Champion.
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Mixed martial arts career
MacDonald's interest in MMA originated watching early UFC tapes with his dad and brother as a child. After discovering an MMA gym near him, MacDonald started his training with David Lea at the age of 14 and his fight team Toshido Fighting Arts Academy out of Kelowna, British Columbia. He soon quit all other sports and began pursuing a career as a professional fighter. MacDonald described himself as a scrawny, timid kid who "wasn't the type to get involved in fights at school." He made his professional debut at the age of sixteen, winning in the first round by submission against Terry Thiara at an Extreme Fighting Challenge event via rear naked choke.
King of the Cage
He then moved to 2–0, by beating Ken Tran in his King of the Cage (KOTC) debut. He won a fight in Rumble in the Cage and then signed exclusively with King of the Cage. He won two fights after signing and was then rewarded with a shot at the KOTC Canadian Lightweight title, against Kajan Johnson, which MacDonald won. MacDonald then was awarded a shot at the King of the Cage Lightweight Championship, against Clay French, MacDonald knocked him out in the second round. After the fight MacDonald moved up to welterweight and defeated Elmer Waterhen by first round armbar.
Ultimate Fighting Championship
MacDonald was signed to the UFC after compiling a 9–0 professional record. By the time he signed with the UFC he was regarded as a teenage prodigy and leading figure of the next generation of MMA fighters, who specifically trained MMA as a discipline instead of transitioning over from a traditional background.
He debuted for the promotion at UFC Fight Night 20 against Mike Guymon. Guymon dropped MacDonald with a right cross, before MacDonald quickly recovered, took Guymon down and won the fight with an armbar submission in the first round.
MacDonald lost to Carlos Condit via third-round TKO at UFC 115 in a bout that earned the Fight of the Night award. MacDonald was competitive in the first two rounds using effective striking and taking Condit down three times. Condit came back with a more aggressive attitude in the final round and finished MacDonald with a combination of elbows and punches. After the fight, the judges' scorecards were revealed and showed that had MacDonald not been finished in the last seven seconds, he would have picked up a split decision victory. After this loss, Macdonald moved to Montreal and joined Tristar Gym, home of elite fighters such as former UFC Welterweight Champion Georges St-Pierre.
MacDonald was expected to face Matt Brown on November 20, 2010, at UFC 123, but was forced from the card with an injury and replaced by Brian Foster.
MacDonald was expected to face James Wilks on April 30, 2011, at UFC 129. However, Wilks was replaced on the card by Nate Diaz. MacDonald dominated Diaz during all three rounds (throwing Diaz via German Suplex three times in the third round) and earning a unanimous decision victory.
MacDonald next faced and defeated Mike Pyle by TKO in the first round on August 6, 2011, at UFC 133.
MacDonald was expected to face Brian Ebersole on December 10, 2011, at UFC 140. However, MacDonald pulled out of the bout with an injury and was replaced by Claude Patrick.
Bellator MMA
On August 26, 2016, MacDonald signed a contract with Bellator MMA. He subsequently appeared at Bellator 160 and announced his intentions to win both the welterweight and middleweight championships. In his Bellator debut, MacDonald fought Paul Daley in the main event at Bellator 179 on May 19, 2017. He won the one-sided fight via rear-naked choke in the second round.
MacDonald faced Bellator MMA welterweight champion Douglas Lima at Bellator 192 on January 20, 2018. He won the back-and-forth fight by unanimous decision. He sustained an injury with a big swelling on the shin of his left leg, midway through the fight.
MacDonald moved up and challenged Gegard Mousasi for the Bellator Middleweight Championship on September 29, 2018, at Bellator 206. He lost the fight via technical knockout in round two.
MacDonald next defended his Welterweight title against Jon Fitch in a fight that is simultaneously the first round of Bellator Welterweight World Grand Prix at Bellator 220 on April 27, 2019. The back-and-forth bout ended in a majority draw. Due to the fight ending in a draw, Macdonald retained the title and advanced to the semifinals against Neiman Gracie. MacDonald faced Gracie in the main event at Bellator 222 on June 14, 2019. He won the fight by unanimous decision.
In the Bellator Welterweight World Grand Prix final, MacDonald faced Douglas Lima in a rematch at Bellator 232 on October 26, 2019. He lost the fight and title via unanimous decision.
Professional Fighters League
On December 18, 2019, it was announced that MacDonald had signed with the Professional Fighters League. After a year-long layoff, mainly due to PFL not running events in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, MacDonald was set to make his promotional debut on April 29, 2021, against David Michaud as the start of the 2021 PFL Welterweight tournament. On April 8, David announced he pulled out of the PFL season due to a heart condition. He was replaced by Bellator and UFC vet Curtis Millender. MacDonald won the bout in the first round via rear-naked choke.
MacDonald faced Gleison Tibau at PFL 5 on June 17, 2021. He lost the bout by a controversial split decision, with the vast majority of media scores and other professional MMA fighters scoring the bout as a win for MacDonald.
MacDonald faced Ray Cooper III in the semifinals of the Welterweight tournament on August 13, 2021, at PFL 7. He lost the bout via unanimous decision.
MacDonald faced Brett Cooper on May 6, 2022, at PFL 3. MacDonald won the bout in the first round via rear-naked choke.
MacDonald faced Sadibou Sy on July 1, 2022, at PFL 6. In an upset, MacDonald lost the bout via unanimous decision.
MacDonald was scheduled to face Magomed Umalatov in the Semifinals of the Welterweight tournament on August 13, 2022, at PFL 8. However, after Umalatov was forced to pull out due to visa issues, he was replaced by Dilano Taylor. MacDonald lost the bout via TKO stoppage in the first round.
Retirement
On August 14, 2022, MacDonald announced his retirement from MMA competition. On July 29, 2025, MacDonald cited burnout and disappointment as the main factors behind his early retirement, but teased a potential return to MMA.
Submission grappling career
On November 22, 2014, MacDonald fought to a draw against Jonathan Torres in a grappling match in Metamoris V.
MacDonald announced in 2024 that he was going to release a series of submission grappling instructionals with BJJ Fanatics.
Personal life
In September 2014, it was revealed that an anonymous fan had picked MacDonald's walkout music for several years until UFC 145. According to MacDonald, he had changed phone numbers after moving to Montreal and the producer who arranged entrance music continued to unknowingly text his previous phone number. MacDonald also explained that he had been too focused on training to think of walkout music. Unaware that MacDonald was not the one making the song choices, the producer approached MacDonald in-person to tell him they could not use a song by Nickelback that the fan had chosen, revealing the ruse. The last choice the fan made was "U Can't Touch This" by MC Hammer at UFC 133, which MacDonald called his worst walkout song. MacDonald later chose "We Found Love" by Rihanna for his fight against Lawler at UFC 167.
MacDonald is of Scottish, Irish and Norwegian descent. He was raised Catholic, but has said he left the faith early in his life. In 2019, he became a Born Again Christian after an encounter with God.
MacDonald and his wife Olivia have a daughter and a son.
Championships and accomplishments
Mixed martial arts
Bellator MMA
Bellator Welterweight World Championship (One time)
Two successful title defenses
Bellator Welterweight World Grand Prix runner-up
Canadian Pro-Wrestling Hall of Fame
Class of 2023 (MMA Wing)
Ultimate Fighting Championship
UFC Hall of Fame (Fight Wing, Class of 2023) vs. Robbie Lawler 2 at UFC 189
Fight of the Night (Three times) vs. Carlos Condit, Demian Maia and Robbie Lawler
Performance of the Night (One time) vs. Tarec Saffiedine
UFC.com Awards
2010: Ranked #9 Newcomer of the Year & Ranked #6 Fight of the Year vs. Carlos Condit
2014: Ranked #5 Fighter of the Year
2015: Fight of the Year vs. Robbie Lawler 2
King of the Cage
KOTC Lightweight Championship (One time)
KOTC Canadian Lightweight Championship (One time)
RotoWire
2010s Fight of the Decade vs. Robbie Lawler 2 at UFC 189
Bleacher Report