UFC legend Rory Macdonald withdrew from MMA at the age of 33 and he rarely looked back.
The former Bellator Welterweight Champion is one of the largest What-IFS of the sport for what followed by epic title Rematch against Robbie Lawler on UFC 189 in 2015.
Considered 'the most cruel fight in the UFC history' for the broken nose of Macdonald, Lawler's Split Open Lip and so much blood, many believe that MacDonald was never completely the same after a brutal TKO loss of the fifth round.
Macdonald withdrew from MMA in 2022 after a 2-4 stint in the PFL. Before his war with Lawler, a 25-year-old MacDonald was considered Canada's next Georges St-Pierre. MacDonald was at a certain point 18-2 as a Pro with high-level skills and wins on BJ Penn, Tyron Woodley and Nate Diaz.
Now 35, MacDonald was welcomed back in the UFC, not as an active hunter (as some fans want to see), but instead a guest speaker at UFC 315.
There, one of the most violent competitors of the UFC was asked if he would ever return to the Octagon …
Photo by Christian Petersen/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images
Rory MacDonald says he does not have the 'drive' or 'intensity' to compete in the UFC
Almost nine years away from his last UFC performance against Stephen 'Wonderboy' Thompson and three years after his retirement, MacDonald is brutally honest about the idea of fighting again in the UFC.
“I mean, from time to time, [the itch] Returned, “said MacDonald on a UFC 315 Q&A.
“But shortly thereafter, when I really think about it and what it means, I am no longer that kind of person.
“I don't have the drive, the intensity needed to be more at the level of championship.
“Sometimes it is nice to dream if you have a lot of coffee or something, but when the reality comes back to it … No, it's not for me anymore,” said MacDonald about a UFC decay.
Rory MacDonald has no plans for a UFC Comback and admits that MMA is “no longer for me”.
“I am more that person more. I don't have the drive, the intensity.” pic.twitter.com/bff9duhcr1
– MMA Junkie (@mmajunkie) May 9, 2025
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Rory MacDonald's life after the UFC
Once the second best welter weight in the world, MacDonald went in 2016 in 2016 and signed with Bellator MMA where he became the promotion champion in his second fight.
MacDonald defeated the will of Paul Daley and Douglas Lima before challenging middleweight gold against former UFC -hunter Gangarded Mousasi. He would lose by second round of TKO.
MacDonald went 1-1-1 in his next three fights and lost his title to Lima in their Rematch in 2019.
The Canadian would not be lucky in the PFL where he dropped four of his last five fights and called it a career after a TKO loss of the first round for Dilano Taylor in August 2022.
Fortunately retired, Rory MacDonald is a family man who spends his days managing a number of rental properties and day trafficking.
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