PFL’s Rory MacDonald Feels at His Peak After Taking Physical Conditioning Seriously

Professional Fighters League fans already had the chance to see the new and improved version of Rory MacDonald. Former Bellator MMA 170-pound titleholder MacDonald (23-8-1, 2-2 PFL) made a statement in his latest appearance after choking out Brett Cooper in the opening frame of their PFL 3 encounter. On that occasion, the “Red King” showcased quite a physical performance, overwhelming his adversary on the canvas en route to the rear-naked choke that finished the fight. Recently, the Canadian fighter moved to Austin, Texas, to work with former Ultimate Fighting Championship and Strikeforce alum Tim Kennedy, whom MacDonald credits for his recent improvements, especially for having made him take his physical conditioning seriously. MacDonald will return in action on July 1 with a yet-to-be-announced opponent.

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Timestamps:

(00:00) Intro
(00:42) Training at Team Kennedy in Austin, Texas
(02:00) Scoring his sixth rear-naked choke submission
(02:44) Finishing his opponent and feeling at the best
(03:48) Dealing with a long training camp
(05:00) Taking seriously his physical conditioning
(06:14) Aiming to continuously improve
(06:50) The biggest lesson he learned in his first PFL year
(07:42) Saving his energy for all Regular Season
(08:58) Hoping to face Ray Cooper III
(09:32) His plans for the summer
(09:55) Walking out to “Smells Like Teen Spirit” by Nirvana
(10:55) Outro

Tudor Leonte started writing about mixed martial arts in 2013 for Italian media outlets. His journey with Sherdog began in 2018 and now he covers One Championship and countless European shows. You can follow him on Twitter @MrTudorLeonte.