TKO Xtreme

For all those that thought Jason MacDonald was a newcomer to the MMA scene, think again. Although MacDonald made his UFC debut at Ortiz vs. Shamrock III: The Final Chapter in 06, he’s been in business since 1999. He has been around and paid his dues longer than you may have thought.

Born and raised in Merigomish, Pictou County, Nova Scotia, MacDonald later made the move to Red Deer, Alberta and thus began his mixed martial arts career. He first stepped onto the scene in December of ’99 at Punch and Crunch in Calgary, Alberta. It was there that he defeated Ken Manderson by armbar, which would be the first of many submission victories. After that MacDonald went on a tremendous winning streak successfully finishing his next 7 fights. At MFC 7: Undisputed, MacDonald suffered his first MMA loss falling victim to the hands of fellow Canadian Bill “The Butcher” Mahood. The next three years were hectic for MacDonald as he fought in various organizations, including the King of the Cage, a total of 14 times.

Before making the trek to the UFC, MacDonald submitted an application to the UFC’s hit reality series “The Ultimate Fighter”. Unfortunately, MacDonald did not make the cut. However, in the near future he would come to realize the bitter-sweet taste of irony as he got the opportunity to reshape the cookie-cutter fighters the TUF mansion spit out at him.

After seven years of blood, sweat, and tears MacDonald finally got his chance to shine in the UFC, stepping in with a pro record of 16-7-0. To casual fans, in which the UFC markets quantity, this was a ho hum record. Anyone who has seven losses can’t be that great, right? Wrong. Perhaps deemed as a stepping stone for new reality star Ed Herman, the reality of the matter ended up being Herman gasping for air and MacDonald making a memorable entrance for himself. MacDonald successfully submitted fan favourite Ed Herman via triangle choke at 2:43 of the first round. With a 6’2” frame, a 77” reach, and a career 23 fights deep, the UFC realized they had an important asset in a mediocre middleweight division.

Next up, another TUF star, was “badass” Chris “The Crippler” Leben (with a flaming Mohawk). Throughout the fight it seemed that MacDonald’s primary game plan was to close the distance and take the fight to the canvas. In the second round MacDonald got the chance to do so and took advantage of it. With Leben pressed up against the fence, MacDonald locked in his left arm and finished the fight submitting him with a modified guillotine choke.

In his next UFC bout, facing perhaps the biggest challenge of his MMA career, MacDonald fell victim to the hands of former UFC middleweight champion Rich Franklin. Shaking off the loss and learning from it like any good fighter does, MacDonald made the trek to Ireland and cemented his nickname “The TUF Killer” by pummeling 3rd season contestant, Rory Singer. Moving on to UFC 77, MacDonald lost to Yushin Okami via unanimous decision. As of today MacDonald has fought 5 times in the UFC holding a record of 3-2-0.

According to MacDonald, his next fight will come when the UFC arrives in Montreal, Quebec on April 19, 2008. Jason had some choice words for the UFC’s latest middleweight addition

“So Michael Bisping has dropped down to my division, middleweight. I think it’s a smart move on his behalf. He was a small light heavyweight, too small for that division…Not sure he’ll make a big impact…I do think Bisping is a quality fighter and could potentially match up for some interesting fights. I see myself matching well against Bisping, and I would love the opportunity to fight him.”

I personally would love to see this fight. I think it would be interesting and have no doubt that MacDonald would win. First of all I am a fan of MacDonald and NOT a fan of Bisping. Secondly, let me debunk Bisping’s hype as this is a major part of my argument. I think Bisping is arrogant and not only does arrogance bother me, but it bothers me even more if your not half as good as you damn well say you are. It reminds me of holding on to and then finally depositing a cheque that ends up bouncing. Sure it’s there on paper, and it will be in your account for a small period of time, but in the end it will bounce and be exposed as phony. Now I’m not saying Bisping is a bad fighter, I’m just saying that he is not worth as much as they say he is. The UFC over-markets the TUF contestants (especially the winners) because they bring bank to the company. In my humble opinion, I was just as surprised as many of you when Bisping beat Hamill. I don’t want to get off track because this is an article about MacDonald but there is one fight that persuades me to think that a close-decision might be swayed in the ratings direction. An example of over-marketing that I frequently see in the UFC is the “undefeated” record that the fighters hold. Undefeated? Before you are wowed next time you hear this, ask yourself who they have beaten. Anybody can be undefeated if they count fights at a bar, on the playground, or at the fight club they have at their office parking lot. Anyways that’s another topic I will talk about in the future. So basically check their resume before you get psyched about their undefeated record. People who fight less than stellar opponents are usually the ones that brag about being undefeated.

On that note lets compare their UFC records. We have established Jason’s already but let us check out Bisping’s near perfect record. The count would be 4 wins and 1 loss. The lone loss is to Rashad Evans while the wins are over Eric Schafer, Elvis Sinosic, Josh Haynes, and Matt Hamill (who should have won). So hypothetically (if the fans are right about Hamill) the two fighters hold the same record. Now lets compare the competition. MacDonald’s losses were to top tier competition, perhaps top 10, such as Franklin and Okami. MacDonald’s wins are held over TUF contestants, but in reality, are probably ranked higher in their division (except Singer) than Bisping’s opponents. Size wise, MacDonald has stated that he has met Bisping and that Bisping actually walks around smaller than him. I think MacDonald is not only bigger and stronger, but carries around something fighters don’t take seriously enough which is experience. I think MacDonald has more patience and this will come into play if they fight. Bisping seems sloppy when explosive. You can’t do that with a veteran because they will see it coming and have enough experience to weather the storm. I think that MacDonald would wait for this mistake by luring him in and then slip in like an anaconda and put him to sleep. I see MacDonald using his experience, size, and technique to subdue Bisping’s explosiveness, strength, and mouth.