World, meet Rory MacDonald: Exclusive Interview with the 20 year-old Canadian phenom

By Elton Hobson

For the first two minutes of his UFC debut last January, everything was going according to plan for Rory MacDonald. But like the old saying goes - no plan ever survives contact with the enemy.

The enemy on that night was Mike Guymon, a 10-year veteran with a wealth of experience. At first, MacDonald was firing on all cylinders against the seasoned vet when “The Joker” caught him coming in with a stiff shot that visibly hurt him. Staggered and on wobbly legs, it looked like the end for the Kelowna, British Columbia native.

Instead, MacDonald did what he has always done: find a way to win. Less then two minutes after taking the shot that rocked him, MacDonald had Guymon tapping to a picture perfect arm bar.

World, meet Rory MacDonald. Did we mention he was only 20 years old?

“I started training when I was 14, and I had my first professional fight when I was 16 years old.” MacDonald says of his incredible background in the fight game. “So I guess you could say I kind of grew up in this sport.”

It’s a fitting analogy, for many MMA fans and pundits have pointed to guys like MacDonald as the very first of a “new generation” of fighters; those brought up on, and trained exclusively in Mixed Martial Arts from the beginning, rather than adapting to it from a previously taught “traditional” martial arts discipline.

Guys like Jon Jones, Jose Aldo and Mauricio “Shogun“ Rua are admired for their incredible ability to put it all together in the cage, for having no seeming weakness in any range of the fight game. But even these phenoms first mastered individual martial arts before transitioning to the cage.

Not so for MacDonald.

“I’ve always been training just MMA. I’ve always focused on working and improving my whole MMA game, rather than just my individual boxing, jiu jitsu, and so on. So rather then learn each specific part on it‘s own, we are putting it together for MMA from the start.”

As Rory explains, this is a training philosophy he adopted from his longtime trainer and mentor, former MMA competitor David Lea.

“[Our style] is sport specific, and we meld and blend all those other [styles] down into one. That’s always been Dave’s philosophy and the way he sets up his training camps.”

David Lea is the owner of Toshido Fighting Arts Academy and he has been Rory’s head coach from the moment he walked into the gym as a green 14 year old. It’s been a solid and successful partnership for both student and mentor, but as MacDonald explains, it might never have happened at all.

“The funny thing is, I never sought out MMA [training]. Or never set out with MMA as a specific goal. I just kind of stumbled onto it, you know?”

Chalk it up to good fortune. Today, MacDonald is one of the most talked about prospects in the UFC‘s ultra-stacked welterweight division. A four-year pro with a perfect 10-0 record, MacDonald has never been to the judges’ decision in a fight. Before moving up a division and signing with MMA’s flagship promotion in 2010, he steamrolled his way through the King of the Cage promotion, becoming its lightweight champion in the process.

On June 12th, MacDonald will be making his PPV debut at UFC 115: Franklin vs. Liddell, the UFC’s first ever event in Vancouver. In front of a sellout hometown crowd in General Motors Place, he will face the toughest test of his career in Carlos “The Natural Born Killer” Condit, a battle-tested top 10 Welterweight and former WEC champion entering his 30th professional fight.

So the pressure’s on, right?

“Not at all. Actually, it’s a dream come true to be fighting in my home city. To be fighting in GM Place, where I used to go watch the Canucks play as a kid is just awesome. Beyond words.”

As I listen to the excitement creep into his voice, it’s easy to hear the childlike excitement behind the tough MMA fighter. Then talk turns to his opponent and the excited kid turns deadly serious.

“I never worry about where a fight goes. I’m comfortable in all areas.” He says when asked how he plans to stop the Arizona Combat Sports standout. "If it goes to the ground against Carlos, I ain’t gonna be worried. If I decide I want to keep it on the feet, I’m confident I can handle him there, too. Wherever this fight goes, I’m not too worried about it. I don’t feel like he’s a threat to me anywhere.”

A bold statement indeed for a fighter going into only his second UFC fight, but it speaks to the enormous confidence MacDonald has in his abilities. And he’ll need it. On the biggest stage imaginable he will face the toughest test of his career. A win here will launch him into the ranks of the Welterweight elite at only 20 years of age.

And in his hometown, to boot.

It’s a big challenge. But as MacDonald has proven over the last 4 years- from a 16-year old kid stepping into the cage for the first time, to eating a big shot from Mike Guymon and struggling to recover, to stepping up to fight a world ranked fighter in his hometown - overcoming challenges is something MacDonald excels at.