The Scrapyard

He’d love nothing more than to come out of Tuesday’s fight with Tom Lawlor unscathed. Then fight in Calgary two month’s later. Jason MacDonald wants to retire close to home. Here’s the story

By JOSE RODRIGUEZ
QMI Agency
UFC vet Jason ‘The Athlete’ MacDonald isn’t a tentative fighter.
He isn’t the sort to eke out a win by fighting not to lose.
So don’t look for the submission specialist to hold anything back in his scrap against Tom Lawlor at Tuesday’s UFC on FUEL TV 3 fight in Fairfax, Virginia.
Even if he hopes to come out healthy enough to be added to the UFC 149 card in Calgary in two months.
MacDonald has maintained that, barring anything catastrophic, he hopes to close out his long run in the UFC at the July 21 Calgary event before a hometown crowd.
He’s not looking past Lawlor, but he is looking forward to a giant retirement bash at the Scotiabank Saddledome.
“(UFC president) Dana (White) has always been very fair to me. I expect that if everything goes well in Virginia, Dana will have me on the card,” the Red Deer ground expert recently told the Sun.
“Dana takes care of the fighters. I know he knows it would mean a lot to me. And if it can happen, I’ll be here.”
A 10-fight card has been announced for Calgary’s UFC 149 but director of Canadian Operations Tom Wright says he has every intention of adding MacDonald to the event if he’s uninjured.
MacDonald has seen the sport grow and mature since his first fight in the UFC in 2006.
“The sport has come so far since that time,” says the former jail guard.
“Everything has changed when you look at the sport as a whole. (The UFC) went from trying to find someone to host a UFC, to now places around the world begging to host a UFC.”
He said his first UFC fight — a two minute and 43 second triangle choke victory over Ed Herman — will always hold a special place in his heart.
But MacDonald has been a part of many historic moments in the UFC.
He was on the first Canadian show at UFC 83 in Montreal.
He was part of the biggest show in UFC history — UFC 129 in Toronto.
Still, he says all of that stands to be eclipsed by a spot on the Calgary card.
“I’ve had some amazing moments in the UFC. It’s been a big part of my life. I’ve travelled all over the world,” said MacDonald, 36.
“But nothing could be more special than coming to Calgary and closing out my career here.”
Before that, he has to make his way through Lawlor.
The American is 7-4 but has been susceptible to submissions in the past.
The UFC on FUEL TV 3 card will be headlined by ‘Korean Zombie’ Chan Sung Jung taking on Dustin Poirier and will also feature ‘Cowboy’ Donald Cerrone fighting Jeremy Stephens.
The card is available in Canada on Sportsnet.
jose.rodriguez@sunmedia.ca
twitter: SUNJRodriguez
www.canoe.ca/scrapyard

Tickets for UFC 149 will go on sale to the general public Saturday May 12.
UFC officials said ticket pricing hasn’t been set and will be announced May 7.
The organization also said pre-sale of tickets will go as follows:

• Fight Club pre-sale – Thursday, May 10, 10 a.m. – Fight Club members have the opportunity to purchase tickets via ufcfightclub.com.

• UFC Newsletter pre-sale – Friday, May 11, 10 a.m. – A special Internet ticket pre-sale available to UFC newsletter subscribers (users must register for the UFC newsletter through UFC.com)

• General Public on-sale – Saturday, May 12, 10 a.m. –  Available through Ticketmaster.ca, charge by phone 1-855-985-5000, at all Ticketmaster outlets, and the Saddledome Box Office.
  

As reported earlier, the show will be headlined by a featherweight title bout between champ Jose Aldo and challenger Erik Koch.

An update on who’s on the card is below the pic of Jose Aldo.

Calgary’s ever-changing UFC 149 card will still feature a championship fight — it just won’t be Jon ‘Bones’ Jones
UFC president Dana White said he wanted to have Jones defend his light-heavyweight title against Dan Henderson on the July 21 card.
Jones’s camp has since said the champ will instead fight Henderson later in the summer.
White also said he had hoped to move featherweight champ Jose Aldo — originally slated as the Calgary headliner — to a card in Brazil.
Sun sources confirm that Aldo will indeed remain as the headliner on Calgary’s UFC 149 and will take on Erik Koch.
Aldo — who is 21-1 and hasn’t lost a fight in nearly seven years — will take on the 23-year-old American for the featherweight belt.
Koch is a respectable 13-1 and is coming off a decision win over Jonathan Brookins.
The fight has not been officially announced by the UFC but both fighters have verbally agreed to the Cowtown tilt.
Aldo will not be the only Brazilian on the card with Mauricio “Shogun” Rua expected to take on Thiago Silva and Thiago Alves squaring off against Japan’s Yoshihiro Akiyama.
As earlier reported in the Sun Cheick Kongo will face Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira in a heavyweight tilt and MMA news site MMAJunkie is also reporting that Michael Bisping’s fight with Tim Boetsch has been moved from UFC 148 and will now also take place in Calgary.
The rest o the card for Calgary looks like this:
• Antonio Carvalho vs. George Roop
• Bryan Caraway vs. Mitch Gagnon
• Mitch Clarke vs. Anton Kuivanen
• Court McGee vs. Nick Ring
jose.rodriguez@sunmedia.ca
twitter: @SUNJRodriguez
www.canoe.ca/scrapyard

By JOSE RODRIGUEZ
QMI Agency
Calgary’s first UFC is getting an infusion of big name talent.
Light-heavyweight champ Jon ‘Bones’ Jones will likely have his next title defence at UFC 149 and the Sun has also learned that former interim heavyweight champ Antonio Rodrigo Nogueira will face Cheick Kongo at the July 21 event.
UFC president Dana White said Tuesday that featherweight champ Jose Aldo — who was to headline UFC 149 in Calgary — will instead defend his belt in his native Brazil at UFC 147 which will also feature The Ultimate Fighter Brazil battle between coaches Vitor Belfort and Wanderlei Silva on June 23.
The Nogueira fight will be his first fight since Frank Mir snapped his humerus at Toronto’s UFC 140.
Sources say that while Nogueira and Kongo have agreed verbally, no paperwork has been signed.
White said that if Jones heals quickly following his five-round title defence against Rashad Evans this past weekend, he’s on the top of his list for Calgary and will battle Dan Henderson.
“If we could make that fight happen (in Calgary), that’d be great,” said White of the Jones/Henderson affair.
Henderson has been waiting in the wings for Jones to fight Evans and has refused to take other fights until he got a title shot.
Henderson and Mauricio ‘Shogun’ Rua brawled for five rounds at UFC 139 in November, with each fighter staggering the other and winning fight-of-the- night honours. Henderson got the unanimous nod, although many, including White, feel the fight could have been scored a draw.
In an interview with the Sun last month, White said the former Pride champ was a ‘pain in the ass’ for turning down fights while awaiting a title shot.
“As aggravating as Dan is … Dan and I go back and forth with each other all the time, I respect him,” White said.
“I can tell you he’s a pain in the ass. He is a pain in the ass, and he knows it, too. But I’m not out here smashing him.
“Dan Henderson has earned his respect, and if he wants to sit out and wait for one of these title fights, he can do it.”
White hinted strongly that Henderson will get his wish.
Tickets for Calgary’s UFC event are expected to go on sale the week of May 7.
jose.rodriguez@sunmedia.ca
twitter: @SUNJRodriguez

Would be a great main event if it happens. Jones vs Hendo. My story for the papers is below.

By JOSE RODRIGUEZ
QMI Agency
Jon ‘Bones’ Jones will likely have his next title defence in Calgary.
UFC president Dana White said Tuesday that featherweight champ Jose Aldo — who was to headline UFC 149 in Calgary — will instead defend his belt in his native Brazil.
Aldo — who has yet to have an opponent named — will fight at UFC 147 which will also feature The Ultimate Fighter Brazil battle between coaches Vitor Belfort and Wanderlei Silva slated for June 23.
White said that if Jones is heals quickly following his five-round title defence against Rashad Evans this past weekend, he’s on the top of his list for Calgary in a battle against Dan Henderson.
“If we could make that fight happen (in Calgary), that’d be great,” said White.
Henderson has been waiting in the wings for Jones to fight Evans and has refused to take other fights until he got a title shot.
Henderson and Mauricio ‘Shogun’ Rua brawled for five rounds at UFC 139 in November, with each fighter staggering the other and winning fight-of-the- night honours. Henderson got the unanimous nod, although many, including White, feel the fight could have been scored a draw.
In an interview with the Sun last month, White said the former Pride champ was a ‘pain in the ass’ for turning down fights while awaiting a title shot.
“As aggravating as Dan is … Dan and I go back and forth with each other all the time, I respect him,” White said.
“I can tell you he’s a pain in the ass. He is a pain in the ass, and he knows it, too. But I’m not out here smashing him.
“Dan Henderson has earned his respect, and if he wants to sit out and wait for one of these title fights, he can do it.”
White hinted strongly that Henderson will get his wish.
jose.rodriguez@sunmedia.ca
twitter: @SUNJRodriguez

Had a chance to chat with Rory McDonald about his upcoming fight with Che Mills. For a young man, he sure has his head screwed on right. Here’s the piece for the Sun Media papers.

By JOSE RODRIGUEZ

QMI Agency

For Rory MacDonald, that dark, dank hall in a Calgary industrial park seems like a lifetime ago.

It was November 2008 and the King of the Cage Canadian lightweight champ was getting his shot at the world title.

Barely 19, the B.C. fighter was touted as a young up-and-comer with star ability. He was 6-0 and had stopped all his opponents before the final bell.

That night was no different.

He defeated then-champ Clay French with punches in the second round and was thrust onto the world stage.

He says that night — for which his family made the eight-hour drive from Kelowna  — will always be special to him.

“That fight opened up the door for me. I finished out my contract with King of the Cage and I got my shot against Mike Guymon (his first UFC fight) and the rest is history,” says MacDonald.

But the struggles of those early days aren’t lost on 170-pounder — who is preparing for his fifth UFC fight against Brit Che Mills at UFC 145 later this month.

“It’s incredible (how much things have changed),” says the 12-1 fighter who is 3-1 in the UFC.

“From having to work part-time jobs to scrape by to pay the rent and eating cheap food just to get by to train twice a day, it was really tough.

“I managed to pull through it with a little help from my family and friends and a lot of focus from my part.”

MacDonald said he jumped from construction work to other manual labour jobs all the while continuing to train.

“Then I figured out I had to do something easier on my body so I could spend more of my energy at the gym,” recalls MacDonald.

“So I got a job working at a grocery story. It was very easy but very boring but it got me through. Once I got in the UFC I just concentrated on fighting.”

Now 22, MacDonald trains out of Tristar Gym in Montreal — famous for being the home of Georges St. Pierre — where the straight-shooting B.C.-native has shown a focus and maturity beyond his years.

“I feel very confident in my own head,” says MacDonald.

“Seeing other guys fight and knowing what I’m capable of, I feel I’m one of the very best. I don’t know where I fit in the rankings or in the eyes of the UFC but I feel I’m one of the best right now. It’s about showing it.”

He has proven to be one of the strongest 170-pounders in the UFC — throwing Nate Diaz around at will during their UFC 129 tilt.

His only loss came to top contender Carlos Condit at UFC 115 and he is currently riding a two-fight win streak.

UFC 145 goes April 21 from Atlanta and is available in Canada on pay-per-view.

jose.rodriguez@sunmedia.ca

twitter: @SUNJRodriguez