UFC Fight Night 89: MacDonald vs. Thompson Preview

UFC breaks into new territory this weekend as they host their first Canadian card of the year in the country’s national capital of Ottawa, Ontario. This debut carries a stellar card from top to bottom, headlined by two surging welterweights vying for a future title shot. On one side we have Canada’s own and fan favorite, Rory MacDonald, and on the other we have the highlight reel providing KO artist, Stephen Thompson. Upon the announcement of the fight, it immediately became one of my most anticipated fights of the summer. This will mark the first time Rory MacDonald has stepped into the octagon since his brutal war with Robbie Lawler last July, which in eyes of many fans, could be considered one of the best fights in UFC history. Even though he lost that fight and his place in the welterweight division, he still gained the appreciation and admiration of many fans. It’s going to be interesting to see how Rory is mentally after enduring such a brutal fight. It could either make him a stronger fighter or show that it has broken him mentally, and one of Rory’s best traits as a fighter is his composure mentally in the ring and his steady focus on his game plan. If Rory is going to beat Stephen Thompson, he has to avoid making mistakes or second guessing himself at all in this fight, especially against someone who capitalizes on the smallest errors like Stephen Thompson is known to do.

No welterweight has been surged as much recently as Stephen Thompson has. Since his loss to Matt Brown 4 years ago at UFC 145, Thompson has won 6 straight fights with notable wins over Robert Whittaker, Patrick Cote, Jake Ellenberger and former Welterweight champion Johny Hendricks. Being the first fighter to ever finish Johny Hendricks, Thompson’s stock is at an all-time high. In a lot of fans’ eyes, it should be him challenging for the Welterweight title, but here we are, and should Thompson get past Rory, there will be no argument about who the true #1 contender is. What makes Thompson so special as a fighter is his kickboxing background. Before entering MMA, he compiled a sterling kickboxing record of 57-0 and has managed to integrate his kickboxing abilities into MMA perfectly. In his fights with Whittaker, Ellenberger and Hendricks, the timing of his strikes has been comparable to those of the legendary Anderson Silva. Going against Rory, though, he is facing a completely different animal that doesn’t possess any technical weaknesses in his game. Thompson is going to have to keep his distance, strike at range and counter Rory in order to win this fight. As for Rory, he is going to have to keep Stephen guessing. Rory can do it all: he is a capable wrestler who possesses good jiu-jitsu skills and good striking. He epitomizes the new hybrid in MMA, fighters who aren’t great in one area but excel in all areas. To me, Rory has more tools to secure a win and also has 5 round fight experience, which is why I’m leaning on him to win a close decision.

Also in the co-main event, countryman Patrick Cote takes on the fan favorite Donald Cerrone. This is a very intriguing fight in many ways. Cerrone is moving up in weight class after fighting his last fight at 170lbs, but against a natural lightweight in Alex Oliveira. In this fight he will be facing a much larger opponent in Patrick Cote, who has fought at middleweight for most of his career, even challenging for the UFC title at one. Cerrone came in as a favorite but for those fans who are inclined to bet, Cote is a live underdog in this one. Cote is a veteran fighter who’s been in the sport since 2002 and has fought some of the very best of different eras, and his game is ever evolving over the years, keeping him relevant in the sport. Cote knows what he has to do to beat Cerrone, which is using his size to his advantage and muscling Cerrone around the cage, nullifying his speed advantage. Cerrone has slick submissions and can end a fight at any moment, but I am still predicting a Patrick Cote upset over Donald Cerrone in Canada’s national capital.

The rest of the card consists of a lot of up and coming Canadian talent such as Ultimate Fighter: Canada/Australia winner Elias Theodorou, Misha Cirkunov, Oliver Aubin-Mercier, Steve Bosse, Jason Saggo and much more, giving the nation’s capital a glimpse into what Canada’s MMA future holds. All in all, this is definitely a card you should be tuning in to. I’m anticipating a lot of fireworks.