Rory MacDonald is very much looking forward to the next chapter of his MMA career.
The former Bellator welterweight champion and multiple-time UFC title challenger makes his long-awaited PFL debut on April 29 against David Michaud as part of the 2021 PFL welterweight season kickoff.
MacDonald (21-6-1) signed with PFL at the end of 2019. He was expected to debut in 2020, but the organization was forced to cancel its season due to the coronavirus pandemic. Now resuming in spring, MacDonald is excited to step in the cage and already looking forward to making the playoffs, where he’ll be required to fight twice in one night.
“I’m looking forward to the tournament style,” MacDonald told MMA Junkie. “I like that I have a scheduled year ahead of me. I know when I’ll be competing, so I get to plan for that. It’s good. I’m also excited for the two fights in one night. That would be a first for me, kind of a bucket list thing in my career to check off, so that’ll be nice.”
Fighters competing in the PFL season format get two fights in order score points and qualify for the playoffs. Once in the playoffs, fighters compete twice in one night and from there, two finalists advance to compete at a later date for the $1 million prize and the PFL title.
Although MacDonald has close to 30 fights under his belt and competed in the Bellator welterweight grand prix, he’s never fought twice in one night. The 31-year-old Canadian likes that it’s a throwback to the early days of MMA.
“I’ve been into MMA since I was young, and I would go and watch the tournaments back in the day – they were prominent back then,” MacDonald said. “I always found them intriguing, and it’s a challenge to fight two guys in one night, to be able to fight, cool down, and come back and fight again off the adrenaline and stuff. It’s an experience that I want to have in my career.”
As far as the organization itself, MacDonald is one of the many high profile signings by the PFL in the past year. MacDonald is happy to be part of PFL’s growth and thinks it’s the start of something big.
“I think it’s great. I think they’re doing a good job at signing all these free agents, and I think we can all expect them to continue,” MacDonald explained. “They’re not just trying to be flash in the pan, they’re trying to build a brand, a long-term brand and build a name for themselves in the sport and be big players. I think they’re going to go after free agents, and they’re going to pay well, which is going to attract a lot of these guys to consider free agency with these other organizations.”
Rory MacDonald eager to fight twice in one night under PFL: ‘Kind of a bucket list thing’
