Demian Maia surprised the world after such a dominant first round. He secured a takedown early on and eventually made it to full mount where he landed shots at will. A bloodied MacDonald finally made it back to his feet but he ate a couple punches from Maia that forced him to think twice. The round was so one sided, it could be argued that it was a 10-8.
MacDonald knew he would have to do some damage throughout the rest of the fight, and he turned his volume of attack up tenfold in the second round.
Maia absorbed too many body kicks and it showed in his sluggish punch attempts. Maia’s gas tank decreased by more than half and all of his takedown attempts were stuffed by MacDonald. MacDonald’s attack was very methodical and he forced Maia to stumble back multiple times in the second.
Round three was more even than the first two, but MacDonald really sealed up his victory by outstriking Maia. After being awarded the decision win, MacDonald told the world, “The animal is back.”
Rory MacDonald def. Demian Maia by way of Unanimous Decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)