Rory MacDonald and Robbie Lawler had two of the best fights in UFC welterweight history. And if the UFC is interested, maybe they could have a third.
MacDonald has been out of the sport for three years but has resumed training and admits he’s gotten the itch to compete again. Lawler retired in 2023 but there are reports that he’s also considering a return to fighting. In a new episode of the JAXXON Podcast, Rory was asked if he’d be interested in fighting on the UFC’s big White House card, and he said
a third fight with Lawler would lock him in.
“Would be tempting,” MacDonald said. “Yeah, for sure. But the right opponent and I don’t know, though, if I’d be welcomed back … yeah, I don’t know where I stand [with UFC].”
“If Robbie was up for it, [yeah],” he said.
As for the relationship with Rory and UFC, that goes back to his departure from the promotion in 2016. MacDonald refused to sign a new contract with UFC and left for Bellator, which ruffled the feathers of UFC brass.
“I just poured myself out there for my dream, and I never was really focused on money,” MacDonald explained. “My whole dream as a kid was climbing the ranks and and fighting for the title, winning the title. So when I got there and it didn’t work out, which is fine, but to do all that and never negotiate hard for money, always just like ‘You want me to fight that guy, I’ll fight that guy for this much. Just get me where I need to be,’ you know?”
“But once I got there, I saw like, okay, I’m not gonna be compensated for this. I was never really a business guy or anything like that, but it felt this is just taking advantage, you know? So I’ll be a man of my word, I’ll fight out my contract, and then I’ll just see where else I could go. And that’s what I did. And then Bellator stepped up and offered me a really good contract, and so I went with Bellator.”
MacDonald also delved into how he pushed through the second Robbie Lawler fight where his face was smashed into a bloody mess.
“I had a good poker face, but I was suffering,” he said. “There’s body language and your poker face, so if you show weakness or that you’re you’re hurt, a guy like Robbie is a shark in the water. He’s just gonna go for the kill. And I felt like I still had energy. Like I needed to just not be a pussy and keep fighting.”
MacDonald is 0-2 against Lawler. Will he have a chance to win a third fight?
