There aren't many fighters out there, if any, whose star is rising faster than Canadian welterweight Rory MacDonald. He has burst into the mixed martial arts fans' consciousness based on his willingness to take a challenge (he fought Carlos Condit in only his second fight in the UFC) and his divinely technical fighting prowess (he rag dolled Nate Diaz and ran through Mike Pyle in his two fights this year).
"Ares" was at the UFC 140 press conference this afternoon, and I got a chance to chat with him about some things, including his UFC 140 opponent Brian Ebersole, how he is handling his fast ascent to MMA stardom and fighting in Canada again for the second time this year.
Please see the attached video for the entire Bleacher Report interview.
If he is happy with facing Brian Ebersole as his next challenge?
"Yeah I'm very happy. He's an experienced guy and he seems to have a lot of following in the short amount of time he's been in the UFC so. He has won all his fights, very tricky, very smart so I gotta bring my A-game for this fight."
On how he is handling his fast ascent in MMA, and if he is able to stay focused?
"Of course. I stick to my training, try to evolve and get better everyday. I have a passion for martial arts and it's a part of my life. It's inevitable that I am gonna keep getting better."
"Handling the attention and all that, it comes with the territory, it's what I expected and what I wanted for my life so, I'm handling it fine."
Did he or does he get an extra boost in his game from fighting in his home country?
"Anywhere I go, anywhere I fight it doesn't matter who's watching or whatever, it's me fighting and there's one guy in the cage you know, that I have to worry about and that's it. Being home in Canada, it's that sense of home so I enjoy being here and fighting for sure."
MacDonald is an incredibly poised and mentally focused man for his age, he also has that key element in sports that is essential to succeed. Confidence in his ability. It was evident when I asked him if he was surprised at how he handled veteran Mike Pyle in his last fight.
"No, it's pretty much how I thought it would go."
I can't wait to see MacDonald live on December 10th.
Dwight Wakabayashi is a Featured Columnist for Bleacher Report MMA and Correspondent for MMACanada.net.
Catch him on Facebook and Twitter at wakafightermma
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