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Rory MacDonald says winning PFL title would be his greatest achievement: 'The hardest thing I've done in my career'

Rory MacDonald has tackled a lot of challenges during his career, only nothing has tested him quite like the rigors of two seasons with the PFL.

The one-time UFC title contender and ex-Bellator welterweight champion has faced plenty of obstacles during his career, including his all-time corking fight confronting Robbie Lawler, likewise as moving up a division in an effort to merits a second Bellator earth championship. But cipher has put more strain on him than the relentless nature of the PFL schedule.

"It's probably the hardest thing I've done in my career," MacDonald told MMA Fighting. "It's a huge challenge physically and mentally to get through it. It'due south a lot of pressure. It's a lot of stress on the torso and the mind.

"It's been extremely hard, extremely hard to manage it, to be honest. I learned a little bit from terminal year, merely I'd exist lying if I said it's not been a struggle this yr. It is what it is. You have to be a really strong guy to get through the season and the playoffs in the PFL."

Through v fights in the promotion, MacDonald has posted a two-3 record overall, though that includes a very controversial split up decision loss to Gleison Tibau in 2021 that most believe he should take won. MacDonald came up short in some other close decision in his about contempo fight confronting striker Sadibou Sy, only he even so earned a spot in the playoffs based on his dominant win over Brett Cooper to kickoff the flavor.

At present every bit he prepares to face late replacement Dilano Taylor on Saturday in Wales, MacDonald has once again put himself through the ringer to go fix for another fight merely 6 weeks later he endured a grueling, three-circular battle.

"Information technology's been a challenge," MacDonald said. "I would have liked to rest. It's not the funnest time to exist in the training camp over again afterwards two fights and two training camps. It's been a lot of training. Just trying to push myself to become through it and then go a little bit of a intermission when preparing for the finals if I can beat this guy.

"I'm pretty much taking it as my championship fight. That'due south the way I have to see it against every guy in the PFL. Guys can come up in as alternates or guys I've never heard of, and then I have to be at my all-time because these guys are going to bring it. They want to make a proper noun and they want that coin. I'm going to fight them tooth and nail to get to that position."

MacDonald has seen first-hand just how tough information technology has been for other fighters to adapt to the PFL format, where athletes can compete upwardly to 4 times over a six- or seven-month bridge in order to win a championship and take home the $ane one thousand thousand 1000 prize.

In his own division, MacDonald only has Sy every bit a returning competitor from final year'due south playoffs, which speaks to the difficulty of even getting back to this point in back-to-back seasons.

"It's really tough field to go out there and compete against these guys year later year," MacDonald said. "PFL is no joke. Y'all've got to exist one of the all-time in the world to get through this. It's an laurels to compete against these guys who are grinding through information technology the aforementioned as me."

Fifty-fifty later claiming a Bellator title and holding wins over names such as Nate Diaz, B.J. Penn, Tyron Woodley, and Demian Maia, MacDonald admits that capturing a PFL title after this twelvemonth would probable be considered his greatest feat nevertheless.

"From personal experience, it'due south definitely the hardest thing I've had to do to win a championship in my career," MacDonald said. "The back-to-back fights, information technology's a huge challenge. It would probably exist my biggest achievement personally."