UFC Fight Night 89: MacDonald vs. Thompson Analysis - A Fight of Cerebral Welterweights
- By Renjith Ravindran
- June 14, 2016
UFC 200 is going to be one hell of a pay-per-view. The stacked card, returning Brock Lesnar and many other facts are making everyone buzz about the show, but before we actually get there, we have ourselves a potential fight of the year contender in our hands, Rory ‘The Red King’ MacDonald vs. Stephen ‘The Wonderboy’ Thompson.
The headline fight of UFC Fight Night 89 in Ottawa, as die-hard MMA fans would understand, is going to deliver more than what it meets the eye. If we consider this fight as a story, it is layered with subplots which will contribute towards the entire picture.
Strengths and weakness of Stephen Thompson
The Wonderboy is someone that relies heavily on his Karate skills. He has this special side stance which is pretty hard to invade and he comes in with some vicious kicks that could knock anyone out. And to his credit, Wonderboy likes to keep his opponents in his kicking range. While he is not someone who is comfortable when his opponent closes in on him, he is intelligent enough to back away and maintain the space from where he could deliver one of his kicks.
But at the same time, he struggles a bit when this space is invaded. We saw this during his match against Matt Brown, but it was four years ago and Wonderboy has improved heavily afterward. In fact, he has also shown huge improvements on his wrestling skills, but it still stands out as a weak point, especially when fighting someone like Rory MacDonald.
Strengths and weakness of Rory MacDonald
Just like The Wonder Boy, Rory is someone who makes use of his legs a lot. The kickboxing background is to be credited for the same. In his last fight against Robbie Lawler, Rory was pushed to the limits that he never thought he could go. This is a big advantage for Rory as he heads into the fight with the Wonderboy.
Rory had a great game plan against Lawler as he was constantly invading the boxing range in that fight. He did expect some vicious rights from Lawler, but that was the game plan: lure Lawler in and then take him out. But unfortunately for Rory, Lawler packed more power than everyone expected and it completely caught him off guard. Despite the loss, this shows how intelligent Rory is, as a fighter. He knows to pick apart the weakness of his opponents. This is why; Rory will want to get Wonderboy to the ground. If Rory manages to get on top, it will be safe to say that the fight is over.
The contract chaos
For those of you that don’t know, this is the last fight on the current UFC contract of Rory MacDonald. Last time he had a fight, it turned out to be ranked as the MMA fight of the year by Wrestling Observer and MacDonald felt that he deserved better than what he was earning right now. This is probably the reason why he and UFC are yet to come up with a new contract.
When he gets into the cage with Thompson next, MacDonald will be out to get more leverage for the currently on-going negotiation. To be frank, MacDonald is a highly priced performer for UFC and even if he loses, he will probably get a contract, but if he wins, it works in his favor as far as the monetary benefits are concerned.
Verdict and Predictions from The Fan Garage Team:
It is a tough fight to call. Both MacDonald and Wonderboy are evenly matched and statistically, the difference is not much. It could go either way depending on how both fighters feel on the actual fight day.
But as a prediction is mandatory, I will be going with Rory MacDonald. Rory probably had the fight of his life against Robbie Lawler and he learned a lot about himself during the fight. Also, training at the Tristar Gym, where he worked closely with some great kickboxing specialists, will help Rory overcome the threat that Thompson will produce.
Prediction: Rory MacDonald Wins.
One of the best match-ups to have been put together, the winner of this fight will easily be considered a frontrunner for a shot at the welterweight champion. Thompson, an elite kickboxer (undefeated in his time as a pro) has been beaten only once in his 12 appearances inside the Octagon and is in the middle of a 6-fight win streak. MacDonald, on the other hand, has suffered losses only to the current champion in his last 10 fights.
Stylistically, the match is an interesting one as Rory is among the best-rounded fighters in the division and Thompson is among the best strikers. However, as Rory has shown in the past, he is capable of putting even the most accomplished grapplers (Tyron Woodley) on their butt and has a dangerous submission game when there. The only loss for Thompson did come when he was taken to the ground by UFC veteran Matt Brown. Then there is the factor of the fight being in Ottawa, Canada and Macdonald having the home crowd advantage.
However, confidence is one of the major weapon in a fighter’s toolkit and Thompson is riding high on it which makes him a tough challenge for MacDonald, but as shown in his last fight, Rory has heart for days and under the able tutelage of Firas Zahabi, should be considered the favorite to win this bout.
Prediction: Rory MacDonald wins
No matter who walks out as the winner in this fight, it is going to be a battle of the brains and a treat for the MMA fans.
